Hoegaarden Witbier Reviewed
August 22, 2008
We’ve been on a bit of a Wheat beer kick as of late here at The Brew Club! We’ve had several wheat beers that have covered the spectrum of ratings from GREAT to eh. This review is of the famous Hoegaarden Belgian White Beer.
This beer is unfiltered, and one can see that the very moment it is poured into a glass. It is a light straw color, and the head is large and foamy creating a good amount of lacing on the glass. It is not overly carbonated. The beer is translucent – you can not see through it, but what you can see is an interesting little show of cloudy swirls of whatever stuff is in the beer! It’s an interesting effect actually – almost atmospheric! If you hold the glass up to the light, you will see what I’m talking about quite easily.
The smell of this beer is different than the other wheat beers that also claim the “orange and spices” on the ingredient list. One of the spices in the Hoegaarden Beer is coriander, and although the label suggests only a “hint” of this spice in the beer, my feeling is that it dominates the smell (and taste) overall. The Hoegaarden beer has some citrus overtones, but the “spice” is definitely stronger than the “orange” in this equation.
After trying to analyze the smell, tasting it was less of a surprise than I might have guessed. As the coriander seemed to dominate the smell of the Hoegaarden Witbier, so did it in the taste department as well. The beer has a medium kind of body, not that heavy, and it is rather wholesome and warm tasting, probably as a result of the spices in the mix. This might even be a good wheat beer for those colder times of the year, as it leaves a warm afterglow in your mouth.
Generally speaking, I thought this was a good beer, but the spices are just a litttle bit too much for my taste. I think that the Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat is still the best I’ve tried in this category, although if you are into this style of beer the Hoegaarden Witbier will not disappoint.
Rating: 
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Posted in 3 Star Reviews, All Brews Reviewed, Belgian Beers, European Beers, Wheat Beers
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August 26th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Hoegaarden is also available on draught in some pubs here in the UK, but at about £4.00 a pint (around $8) it’s more of a treat for a hot summer’s day than a regular pint.
Hoegaarden is probably the most popular (and most available) white beer in the UK, but recently InBev have brought out ‘Peeterman’ – at 4% ABV a slightly lighter, filtered wheat beer. ‘Peeterman’ is being brewed in Leuven and marketed as a member of the ‘Artois’ family. As such it’s probably more accessible that Hoegaarden, some drinkers are put off by Hoegaarden’s cloudiness.
August 27th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Hoegaarden is becoming very popular here in the States. I find it rather easily in most stores and a lot of pubs have it on tap. Luckily around $4 or $5.
September 7th, 2008 at 1:34 am
After working around the three freely available witbiers I can say we came to the conclusion that Hoegaarden topped the list. Blue Moon is obviously becoming very popular out there and Leinenkugel’s Sunset Wheat is also a tasty treat, but we feel like they just don’t have the harmony of the Hoegaarden. Right now we’d go 1) Hoegaarden, 2) Blue Moon, 3) Sunset Wheat. If you want to throw Shock Top in that fray it’s probably sitting at number 4 right now. Of course this ranking doesn’t factor in price, which is going to ding Hoegaarden compared to all the others.
March 8th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Ahh yes, another one of my favorite Belgian whites! Funny, when I first tasted this brew I didn’t like the amount of coriander it contained (thought it was too much).
But now I have somehow grown to like it alot! Very smooth, and though its great in the summer I can enjoy it the same all year round. Even the most expensive Belgian/Belgian style beers can’t keep me from going back to this staple in my extensive beer rotation! Cheers!!
March 9th, 2011 at 5:13 pm
For those who really LOVE the taste of coriander they might want to try a German beer called “Ayinger Brau Weisse” – I tried it for the first and last time about two years ago. Personally, it had so much coriander in it that I couldn’t finish the freakin’ thing! But this was also around the time that I first tasted Hoegaarden, so who knows – maybe I can handle the Ayinger now…….but I doubt I’ll ever find out!
March 9th, 2011 at 5:37 pm
@Thomas – great tip! Ayinger makes some really good beers, and I think I have tried the Brau Weisse. Ayinger Oktoberfest, and of course, Celebrator are excellent choices as well.
April 9th, 2011 at 6:52 pm
I feel the spice of coriander is to power full and actually taste like cloves i have had other belgian whites that are balanced . this one would be more for a hearty meal, chili or chesse and sausage. It is not best on it,s own
April 11th, 2011 at 12:43 am
Thanks Wayne. I could see those being nice meal combos with this beer!
August 12th, 2011 at 6:31 am
[...] BTW) is a decent Belgian-style Witbier, and just like the other offerings from the likes of Hoegaarden, Blue Moon and AB’s Shocktop, UFO White follows a similar, and for me, familiar path. Wheat [...]