Brouwerij Hoegaarden
Commercial Brewery
in
Hoegaarden,
Flemish Brabant,
Belgium 🇧🇪
Owned by
Anheuser-Busch InBev
Established in 1965
Contact
Description
The last brewery in Hoegaarden, Tomsin, closed shop in 1957. Soon after, in 1965, the villagers decided to take action to preserve the original recipe. Milkman Pierre Celis decided to grasp the nettle and started brewing up a batch in his milk shed, using only a copper boiler. Because of the great success he quickly expanded his operation and moved into a bigger building – ‘De Kluis’ (The Vault) – a subtle nod to the monks. By 1985 the nod was no longer subtle as he was making more than 75.000 hectolitres per year. Just as he was about to start exporting to the United States, a large fire shattered his dreams (and the beer). The brewery was destroyed.
Since 1985, the brand has been part of Artois brewery, which provided fresh capital, after the fire. After the takeover, the recipe was changed to appeal to a wider audience and save on raw materials. The Artois brewery, which had already been absorbed into InBev (nowadays Aneuser-Busch InBev) for some time, decided in 2006 to close the brewery and move production to Jupille. On September 10, 2007, it was announced that Hoegaarden would once again be brewed in Hoegaarden. The brewery in Jupille didn't manage to imitate the typical taste of Hoegaarden...
Since 1985, the brand has been part of Artois brewery, which provided fresh capital, after the fire. After the takeover, the recipe was changed to appeal to a wider audience and save on raw materials. The Artois brewery, which had already been absorbed into InBev (nowadays Aneuser-Busch InBev) for some time, decided in 2006 to close the brewery and move production to Jupille. On September 10, 2007, it was announced that Hoegaarden would once again be brewed in Hoegaarden. The brewery in Jupille didn't manage to imitate the typical taste of Hoegaarden...
6.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Typical fully hazy orange, but shine more towards orange than to green; slim white head, lacey. Nose with wheat, touch of alcohol and whiskey malt. Taste is coriander and coriander agian, finishes with sweet-citrus notes. Medium-bodied. Unless served ice-cold, very little refreshing qualities. Bweeuh. Superfluous.
Tried
on 12 Dec 2003
at 18:30
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 4
Overall 6.5
Cloudy copper colour with a thin off-white head. Aroma of bananas, yeast, ripe fruits, subtle spices and some malt. Medium-bodied; Spicey (nutmeg/cloves) initial flavour with yeast and banana at the back-end. Aftertaste shows sweetness and spiceyness but combines nicely. Overall, a nice treat, fairly good, but could use some more complexities. Bottle date (Best until) 09-October-2005. I was lucky enough to sample this 33 cL bottle from my sister's fiance, which he got from Belgium! I sampled this beer on 27-November-2003.
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Dec 2003
at 19:41
5.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5.5
Cloudy golden colour, white head. Sweet alcoholic hop aroma. Sweet, bitter, not very dimensionless. Quite long salty aftertaste.
Tried
on 11 Nov 2003
at 16:46
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8
Bottled. Cloudy yellow. Stronger aroma of corander, cloves and orange peels. Sweet and rounded, firmly malty with notes of vanilla. Both flavourful and refreshing. Can Interbrew really brew a beer this brilliant?
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Oct 2003
at 11:28
5.3/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
Dull hazy amber; thin white head, fast gone. Nose with crystal malt, chocolate milk powder, soapy. Faint malt taste. A hint as from hoppiness starts, only to die immediately, as petrified by its own boldness - imagine we might experience some taste... Bit grassy finish (I'm really trying hard). Rather light to medium bodied. Honestly, even two palate cleansers don't yield any hitherho undetected flavours. THEY have more taste. BO-ORING. Don't try to tell me historic DAS ale not-tasted like this.
Tried
on 17 Oct 2003
at 15:04
5.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 6
Amber coluured with a lot of sediments. Rich head. Yeasty aroma with a little bit of citrus. The flavour is fruity and quite sweet with too much alcohol. If I had a cellar I would surely use it for year or two.
Tried
on 17 Oct 2003
at 12:07
6.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottled(330ml). -cloudly orange, fruity accents, good yeast aroma, creamy head
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Oct 2003
at 12:22
8.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Cloudy golden color; giant rocky head. Very nice aroma, malty, sweet; cookies; brown sugar; coriander. Very good mouthfeel, like a Tripel with some more malt and light liquorice; spices (coriander and orange peel); a bit carbonic-aggressive. Long final, quite aromatic and well balanced.
Tried
on 03 Oct 2003
at 03:48
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Cloudy blond beer; giant creamy head. Pleasant malty and spicy aroma (coriander); dry. Dry and spicy taste as well, very well balanced; some malt; correct bitterness at the end, quite long. I appreciate it mostly for its harmony.
Tried
on 03 Oct 2003
at 03:47
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Unclear amber colour with bubbly head. Strong yeast aroma of banana, the orange peel also very apparent. There is a pine tree aftertaste from the hops. I like it, but nothing makes it stand out.
Tried
on 19 Sep 2003
at 14:02