Brewery: Brouwerij van Hoegaarden, Jupille, Wallonie, Luxembourg, BE (I think, it’s some place not here)
Brewery Description: “Hoegaarden is the authentic Belgian wheat or white beer. It has a unique and extremely complex brewing process whereby the brand is first top fermented and then is refermented within the bottle – ending up in a unique cloudy-white appearance. The brand’s unique appearance is mirrored by its one-of-a-kind taste – sweet and sour beer with a little bitterness, slightly spicy, with a strong touch of coriander and a hint of orange, perfect for warm summer days, instead of other refreshing beverages. Refreshing, a little quirky, and decidedly different – naturally.”
Brew Style: Belgian White, 5.0% ABV
Recommended Glass: Tumbler, Weizen=
The Ugly Truth: Hoegaarden White Beer is a great tasting white beer that you know is going to be good just from the way it pours. This beer is a fanatastic example of how the pour can affect the taste of a beer. I don’t think I’ve ever drank a beer that pours as easy as this, and because it pours so nice it releases all the flavors trapped in the beer that a bad pour can trap. The flavor is crisp, and moves into this slightly bitter taste with a spiced after taste. The description is dead on balls accurate in how they describe the flavor. The easy pour and the way it mixes gives it an interesting carbonated taste that does great things for the beer. Its tasty, and probably one of the better whites I’ve ever had. Definately something to go pick up and try.
Verdict: A well deserved 8 out of 10.
The belgians are, imo, the only ones who can add crap like fruit to their beers and not screw it up. Did you have one of the belgian-style glasses to drink these in?
Dude, there are about 17 different kinds of beer glass, I don’t recall one called “Belgium Style”. Are you talking about a stein, a pils, a thistle?
I presently have:
Snifter, Stein, English Pint, Shaker (16 and 22oz), Yard glass, Stem, Thistle, Dimpled Goblet, and a Flute.
Need to buy:
Trappist, Lager, Kolsch/Albiter, Footed Pilsner, Tulip, Weizen, and a Tumbler.
More glassware info: http://www.ratebeer.com/Story.asp?StoryID=124
Trappist.
I think you should do a special edition for the Beer Roster where you post pics of each type of glass and tell what it’s for.
Either that or I can include the best glass types for each beer. The link is the above comment to Dave is a great link for glass types.
If you like White Ales give these a try as well …
http://beeradvocate.com/beer/style/48
Allagash White is the best IMO.
I no longer use Beer Advocate since I read their review policies.
And those would be?
Its mainly this rule: “Do not slam a beer, without mentioning any of its characteristics. At least be constructive.”
If I think a beer sucks and has no redeeming qualities to it, which several of my reviews have said, I basically can’t do that on BA. It essentially equates to “If you can’t say something nice about a beer, don’t say anything at all”.
I’d much rather use RaterBeer.com. I’ve just never been a big fan of Beer Advocate for some reason. Its rare that I’ve actually found a badly reviewed beer.
This beer is probably more suited as a summer beer; a light tasting wheat beer with subtle hints of fruit and coriander, very refreshing. Very similar in taste to the Kronenbourg Blanc White Beer which you can enjoy in Europe but not the states; cannot be imported due to a non-FDA approved agent used in the brewing process. Anyways, the Hooegaarden does more than an ample job at filling that void.
I recently saw a blurb about Hoegaarden and White beers (and their resurgent popularity in Europe) on the telly. Now I thinks I have to have find this beer to sample. Or, try my hand at brewing a batch.