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...
Tap. Not very good in terms of artisanality. Overly sweet, sugary, relatively high level of artificially-feeling raspberry flavouring. Drinkable but nothing great.
0.33l bottle. Brown/ruby body with a thick and lasting beige head. Aroma of ripe banana, toffee, peach, nuts and some lemon zest. Taste of caramel, toast, orange zest, lemon zest and raisins. Sweet and fruity, but the finish has a hint of hops to it. The body is medium and it’s quite effervescent. Awesome beer.
Review based on the BJCP2015 guidelines (style 24A, adaptado). Bottle 25 cl - Batch 021. AROMA: medium clove and slight banana aroma with a wheat malt background and slightly sweet. no citric notes detected. APPEARANCE: gold color and hazy. medium white, moussy head with good retention. TASTE: medium-low slightly sweet, wheat flavor with medium-low to low notes of clave and banana. slight oxidation note (cardboard). medium-low bitterness with a semi-dry to dry finish. PALATE: medium-low body with slight fluffiness. moderate carbonation. OVERALL: not quite a witbier but with good wheat characteristics.
How: Bottle. Where: Bought in Nijmegen, had at home. Appearance: Amber colour with an off-white head. Aroma: Malt, fruit, yeast, some alcohol. Body: Full body, medium carbonation. Flavour: Sweet malt, fruit, some alcohol.
Can, from a Brussels supermarket. Dirty, pale, pinky orange. Foamy, lasting, off white head. Nose has a sweet, wit character. Lemonade. Orangeade. Taste is sweet, only slightly artificial. Foamy mouthfeel. Sweet finish. After mooching up the hill from Midi on a really hot day, this was pretty ok.
330ml bottle. Pours extremely pale and fizzy. Aroma is all orange. Flavour is perfumed orange and then a little bread with a soapy coriander finish and a little peppery heat.