Hoegaarden

Brewed by Brouwerij Hoegaarden (InBev)
Style: Belgian White (Witbier)
Hoegaarden, Belgium

This beer pours quite hazy with a straw color that almost has a tint of green to it. The head is initially three-fingers thick and is a pale, almost white color that sticks around for a fair amount of time. The aroma is almost bready with a yeasty note and there is a tart, green apple note here as well. As I delve in deeper that characteristic, earthy coriander spice note asserts itself, as well as some soft citrus notes.

The taste has a certain fullness to it, though overall it is quite light and refreshing. There is lots of spiciness here as well; definite notes of coriander, and citrus peel, as well as other notes of ginger, pepper, and clove. There is a fair amount of sweetness here as well, it just hides or sort of melds with the spicy notes. The citrus character, in combination with the light tartness, reminds me most of lemons. There is a nice, light tartness here that keeps this beer quite light on the palate. There is a certain, almost chewy grain character here that is only accentuated by the impact on the palate of the slight body fullness from this beer.

I am a sucker for Wits, especially on warm days (it hit 90*F here for the first time this year here), where I find them refreshing and invigorating. I have not had this in a long time, but I am quite happy to drink this beer, it is certainly much better than quite a few American interpretations of this brew (of course a lot of the American interpretations are better than this), which is a pleasant experience from this once only example of the style.

<font size=-4>Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson, AZ<font size=-1>

Bottle conditioned. Spicy aroma of earthy coriander and a faint touch of vanilla, phenolic and citrus fruit. Very soft refreshing body with some acidity and a touch of chalkiness. Better the Hoegaarden on tap I’ve had.

Had on tap in The Cellar, St.Andrews, Scotland. Strong Wheat. Worth having a couple to discern taste.

Bottle, 33 cl. Cloudy lion yellow, large fluffy white head. Malty, perfumy, and spicy aroma, with notes of grapefruit and clove. Medium bodied, smooth but with a lively carbonation. Dry and earthy but with a light sweetness, extremely well balanced.

33cL bottle. HB Dana. I have many memories of enjoying this beer. Sitting in a sidewalk cafe in Paris enjoying a pint comes to mind... This one was enjoyed in a Tumbler Glass. Hazy yellow-white color. Definite appearance of being unfiltered. Thick foamy bright white head. Aroma of popcorn, coriander, citron zest. creamy light bodied. flavors of malted wheat

Bottle. Pours lemon colored with good head, good lacing. Fruity taste and aroma. This is an old standard.

Nice at Cafe Belgique in Amsterdam. Citrus-y vanilla aroma. White body with hints of yellow and a rocky head. Refreshing wheat, citrus and vanilla taste. Soft carbonation and fullmouth flavour. Balanced!

Maybe I got a bad batch. I was overwhelmed by the coriander and orange of a bottle of Blue Moon, but this was really bland. Picked up as I drank more and the beer warmed up and my palate got used to the subtleness. Still missed the spicy notes.