Interesting Historic Beer from Interbrew . Serve as an occasional curiosity
Disadvantages:
Acquired taste .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
My expeditions to the local supermarket tend have me gravitating towards the beer shelves. I am always ready to sample a new brew or sup on the recommendation of a CIAO reviewer. On occasions that tippling has led to my own published opinion.
I had come across Hoegaarden initially on a trip to Germany when it was freely available on draft. I have seen it in similar presentation in bars and hotels in Amsterdam as well as in Brussells. It was served both in draft and bottle at a restaurant in Daytona Beach, Florida. On the continent there is the practice of matching your beer with its own preferential glass (suitably imprinted with the brewery’s logo or label). The Hoegaarden glass is thick, squat and hexagonal - there is a picture of it on the title page.
THE BOTTLE
My specimen was a 750ml champagne style bottle, which was corked and wired. There was a blue label on the front pronouncing the Hoegaarden name. There were also two logos – one a bishop’s crook, one indefinable but could have been a lectern – which hark back to the monastic origins of the brew. A neck label is also inscribed with the words ‘Anno 1445’.
The rear label lists the ingredients in several languages (including French and Greek, but not English). It also announces that it has been brewed and distributed by Interbrew and has a 5% ABV.
WHERE IS HOEGAARDEN?
Belgium is a very small country with an amazing array of beers The number of breweries fluctuates constantly, but at any one time there are probably more than 800 Belgium beers on the world market. It is probably the only country where the people treat their beer with such high regard and names such as “Bourgogne”, “Grand Cru”, and “Cuvee” relate types of beer rather than wine.
Hoegaarden is a small town of some 6000 souls about thirty kilometres east of Brussels in Belgium. Apart from a brewery the guide books note some ornamental gardens.
The brewing tradition in Belgium is very old and was largely the province of the monks. Most monasteries had their own brewery. Brewing in the area dates back to 1445 – a year which is still celebrated on the can or the neck of the bottle. The original brewery was named Brouwerij Der Kluis (a Dutch name for a hermitage)
White beer has been brewed in Belgium since the 14th century, probably because of the abundant supply of wheat. Its popularity was eclipsed by the massive increase in lager consumption and the last white beer brewery in Belgium closed its doors in 1957. Ultimately a Hoegaarden milkman (Pieter Celis) reopened the brewery some ten years later and started brewing White Beer again. After a disastrous fire destroyed most of the brewery. It was sold to Interbrew. Celis moved to Austin, Texas.
INTERBREW
So who are Interbrew? I did some research on the internet for the purposes of this review.
[Abridged from the Interbrew website: www.interbrew.com]
HOEGAARDEN WHITE BEER.
Belgian white wheat beer is brewed by a top fermentation process. It contains 55% malted barley and 45% unmalted wheat. Amongst other ingredients added to the mix are hops, coriander and dried orange peel. After it has been put into the keg or bottle further yeast is added so that a second fermentation process takes place. This causes several effects: the final brew is cloudy (it is not filtered), it has a natural carbonation and the yeast aids the keeping qualities.
Over the years Hoegaarden White Beer has won a number of awards including Gold at the Australian International Beer Awards (1999), Supreme Champion at the UK International Food Exhibition (1997), Gold medal at the World Beer Championship in the USA (1996)
THE DRINK ITSELF.
The recommended temperature for storage and consumption is 3ºC . I tasted mine a few degrees warmer than that. The cork was extremely tight and required a very firm wrist action to remove it.
We formed a family panel of three to carry out the taste test. Hoegaarden is a pale yellow colour and it pours with a turbid consistency. It has a distinctly vinous rather than beery smell. The carbonation was obvious in the glass and it produced a good head.
The first taste had an immediate mild sweetness and gentle hint of hoppiness but this then gave way to a much more pronounced and characteristic almost medicinal flavour. We argued amongst ourselves about the nature of this and suggestions were of clove and TCP. This presumably reflects the coriander content. After this subsides there is a lingering refreshing bitterness on the palate.
CONCLUSION
This was a bottle bought largely for curiosity and tasted mainly for the purposes of this review. Overall, the spicy overtones of the added flavourings are an acquired taste. Would we drink it again? Probably not. I have given it a 'purchase recommendation' in the criteria below as it is only fair to give you the chance to make up your own mind. The 2* is of course my own personal rating. I am very much aware that this brew has its strong advocates and you may well become one.
I would have some difficulty making recommendations for food accompaniments but it would require dishes that were highly flavoured and spiced in their own right to avoid being overpowered by this brew.
The 750ml bottle is currently available from Tesco for £2.74. This supermarket also stocks the 330ml cans.
HOEGAARDEN WHITE BEER. In cans, champagne bottles, draft
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