Hoegaarden Witbier

Most of us in the states are familiar with Celis White, Peter Celis’ witbier from his brewery in Austin, Texas. Inbev bought the Hoegaarden brewery from Celis, which resulted in the move to Texas. You may recall that InBev now owns Annheuser-Busch, the maker of Budweiser. And Celis is now owned by Miller (which is in turn owned by a South African company). So much for small breweries staying small. Wikipedia has the whole story, of course.

At any rate, it’s not that often that I see Hoegaarden’s witbier on a beer menu. Usually, it’s Celis White or a local hefeweizen. Not at the Press Club where I ended up for lunch today. In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever had the Hoegaarden version.

It’s a very pale – think ginger ale – slightly cloudy beer as you’d expect from a wit. After pouring, it retains a nice thin foam on top, with champagne-like bubbles. Good champagne, not cheap brut. The aroma is of yeast, coriander, and spice with a little citrus tartness thrown in. The flavor is much like the aroma, crisp and pretty refreshing, though the yeastiness keeps the beer from being too light. It’s a great lunch time beer – not heavy, not too alcoholic, better than a sweet soda or some plain old water.

To be honest, I’m not sure I could tell this from Celis White, though I think it’s maybe a little lighter and more refined in the end. In the grand scheme of choosing beer based on speciality or location, both are owned by megacorporations, so it’s a no-win proposition. I’d just pick whichever is least expensive and available.

Who wants a maverick when you can have a Rogue?

Post-wedding madness and a busy week led Kathy and I to flee to Oceanside, OR for a weekend of rest on the Oregon Coast where we could frolick in the sand and eat fresh crab. As luck would have it, it also meant tasting a couple of new-to-me beers.

A friend gave us a bottle of Rogue’s Double Dead Guy as part of a wedding gift. Most excellent choice! I love the regular Dead Guy and it’s caramel-malty flavors. Double Dead Guy weighs in at 9% and thus is a heavier drink. Kind of a dessert beer, if you will, without being sweet. Rogue suggests you pair DDG with pork, so perhaps it also works with pork barrel politics. This beer will numb the pain of the election season and ensure you have a happy Fall.

Then, while perusing beer at the Tillamook Fred Meyer, I spotted Rogue’s Mom Hefeweizen. That sounded like a delicious pairing with the fresh crab we’d garnered at an oceanside dock! It’s a gorgeous pale honey colored beer with a bit of wheaten haze. Brewed with coriander and ginger, it has a lovely crisp wheaty flavor and a zesty ginger finish. It tastes like summer in a bottle! Forget the $700 billion bailout plan, we should just send everyone a Mom Hefeweizen and their troubles will melt away just like their financial stability.

So forget so-called mavericks, stick with the well-known Rogues!

At Wit’s End?

I hate to say it, but I think I’ve lost my taste for Belgian Wit style beers. I used to love the yeasty, bright, coriander and lemon flavors and aromas of the style, but lately I order a Wit and just don’t love what I’m drinking. None of the Wits at the Oregon Brewers Festival were awesome, and even the Allagash White I had last Friday at the Green Dragon fell flat on my tastebuds.

Luckily, there are lots of other beer styles to enjoy! Let’s just hope I can keep my Wits about me in the future.