Aug

Hoegaarden Beer Review

I like beer. I like beer a lot. I used to hate beer. When I first married my husband, I would take a sip of his Miller High Life and then shudder. Don’t ask me why I kept doing it, but for some perverse reason I kept taking sips of his gross beer. This went on for a few years. Then one day I took a sip and realized it wasn’t so bad. Eventually, I would actually drink one on a hot day.

Then everything changed. My sister married Roger. Roger likes beer more than anyone I know….. and he has the Top 100 Beer Rater ranking on Ratebeer.com to prove it. Currently, he’s rated more than 3600 beers. I’ve rated a measly 27. Roger is my beer hero!

Because of Roger, I hate Miller High Life again. Thanks to my beer hero I was introduced to a world of creamy dark stouts, light crisp wheat beers, tart Belgian Lambics, dark malty Scottish ales, and …. oh you get the point. There’s an astounding variety of styles of beer, and I’ve just begun to scratch the surface. Oh…. a little side note… my husband hates just about every beer I can convince him to taste. The only beer I really see him enjoy are Miller High Life and Jamaican Red Stripe. When it comes to beer we’re a mixed religion family.

I promise not to deluge you with beer reviews. I’ll only bother you with some of the better beers I try. I’m still a newbie to beer tasting, so please bear with me if you have more experience.

This past winter I was trying a lot of porters and stouts, but this summer I’ve been trying more wheat beers and have found a few that I really like. On of the best I’ve tried so far is Hoegaarden Witbier. The brewers description is an unfiltered Belgian White, flavored with coriander and orange peel, creating a sweet & sour taste.

When I poured it into my glass it was a hazy pale yellow and had a frothy white head that disappeared quickly. The first thing to hit my nose was a definite sense of banana and yeast. After another sniff or two I picked up a bit of citrus. The flavor of the beer was in keeping with aroma. It had a great fruity/banana flavor, as well as a prominent yeasty/wheat taste. There was also a light citrus flavor that gave the beer crispness . Combined with a light carbonated body, I found this beer perfect for a hot summer day. I’d like to rate it again later as my palate becomes more experienced to see if I can pick up the spices used in the brewing. This time around I wasn’t able to pick up those flavors. Because of the extreme heat and humidity we’ve been having, I drank this pretty cold, which may be why I wasn’t able to pick up the spice flavors. When I get around to re-rating it, I’ll be sure the beer is a more appropriate temperature.

One last thing…. be still my beating heart!! My husband liked this beer and asked me to pick up some more! From what I know, this beer has a rather wide distribution so you should be able to find it in a well stocked liquor store.