Hoegaarden Original White Ale - Brouwerij van Hoegaarden

Groomsy

Kentucky

3.2/5  rDev -16%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. bottle with "best before" date of December 2011, poured into a tall pilsner/wheat beer glass. Picked this up as a single in a mix-six pack. Review taken from brief notes.

Appearance: One of the palest beers I've seen - nearly yellow/bright straw body - hints of bright orange - with some haze and sediment in suspension. Topped by a large frothy head of bone-white foam which recedes fairly quickly to a small cap of foam. No lacing at all. The glass was clean as a whistle when I finished.

Smell: This may be an old bottle, so this review is by no means objective. (I may get a fresh batch and re-review.) All of the standard witbier smells are there: Spices, citrus, and fresh wheat; but this beer also has some hefeweizen-esque notes of banana and herbs. Pretty refreshing overall, but there's a slight note of skunk lingering in the background. (Old bottle?)

Taste: Not as much as I expected; maybe Sierra Nevada's Hefeweizen spoiled me, or maybe I need to find a fresher six-pack. It follows the nose in the most linear way possible. Fresh wheat sweetness hits the tongue at first, melting into a note of spices and citrus in the middle, followed by a snappy finish of banana and some fruity tartness. Very little hop bitterness to be found here. Not bad, but not great. The flavors overall are rather dull and somewhat watery. Fairly average witbier.

Mouthfeel: A little thinner than I expected, but still refreshing. Snappy carbonation makes it go down smooth and there's not a lot of flavor in the finish, so if you don't want to really think about what you're drinking, you might enjoy this.

Overall: Good place to start for wits, but maybe not the be-all end-all. Again, maybe I need to find a fresher batch and re-review, but I wasn't terribly impressed by this. Or maybe wheat beers just aren't my thing, as I'm discovering. It's worth a try, but it's not fantastic.

Serving type: bottle

04-29-2011 04:28:32 | More by Groomsy

ipc2000

New York

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-20-2013 04:46:53 | More by ipc2000

cgarcer

Georgia

4/5  rDev +5%

06-20-2013 02:40:12 | More by cgarcer

Waveoff

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

06-19-2013 20:06:31 | More by Waveoff

mporter249

South Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-19-2013 08:31:27 | More by mporter249

Docrock

Illinois

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

06-19-2013 02:15:43 | More by Docrock

PEIhop

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +5%

06-18-2013 23:40:08 | More by PEIhop

Fuzzy1179

Hawaii

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

06-18-2013 04:36:41 | More by Fuzzy1179

ValpoExpo

Ohio

4.25/5  rDev +11.5%

06-17-2013 18:56:05 | More by ValpoExpo

Riik3

Georgia

4/5  rDev +5%

06-17-2013 05:47:56 | More by Riik3

TT--Cashout

Newfoundland (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

06-16-2013 15:36:03 | More by TT--Cashout

adityashekhar

India

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

06-16-2013 14:06:23 | More by adityashekhar

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-15-2013 16:23:07 | More by TheBeeraholic

IchLiebeBier

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Pale gold body, with a bit of cloudiness; huge head on pour

Aroma: Yeasty; spicy; hint of orange

Taste: Clean and tart; nice spicy finish; refreshing overall

Remarks: Did not score A, T, S, M at that time; so please disregard those scores

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 13:43:52 | More by IchLiebeBier

JackRB

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-15-2013 03:30:08 | More by JackRB

KStark

British Columbia (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-14-2013 15:07:51 | More by KStark

Desmodoc

Georgia

4/5  rDev +5%

06-14-2013 14:56:16 | More by Desmodoc

VictorWisc

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -1.6%

06-14-2013 07:45:24 | More by VictorWisc

chuckgfk

Alaska

3.25/5  rDev -14.7%

06-14-2013 03:04:08 | More by chuckgfk

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-13-2013 15:34:27 | More by bigfnjoe

Paccamacca

California

4/5  rDev +5%

06-13-2013 05:18:35 | More by Paccamacca

MWolverines66

New York

3.2/5  rDev -16%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Had this beer on tap this past week at a local bar.

This beer had become a favorite of mine while living in London, but was not as happy with it this time. It tasted a little different, a little more a bitter grapefruit taste, definitely not as sweet.

The look was the same out of the tap, nice golden color garnished with a lemon. Smell was definitely not as strong as what I had been accustomed to in Europe.

Overall I was a little disappointed. It was a good beer, but something that I would grow tired of after two pints.

Serving type: on-tap

06-13-2013 02:12:18 | More by MWolverines66

CollegeStogie

Alabama

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-12-2013 01:47:49 | More by CollegeStogie

RaffPost

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -8.1%

06-11-2013 02:11:05 | More by RaffPost

jjarreau

Louisiana

5/5  rDev +31.2%

06-11-2013 01:17:13 | More by jjarreau