Hoegaarden - Witbier - 4.8% ABV, 20l Keg (35 Pints)

Brewer's Notes

"A village called Hoegaarden, near Tienen in Flanders, is the modern birthplace of Belgian white beer. Records of brewing in the village date back to 1445, when the local monks were enthusiastic brewers, but the tradition died out in the 1950s

The village of Hoegaarden had been known for its witbieren (white beers) since the Middle Ages. In the nineteenth century, the village had thirteen breweries and 9 distilleries;^[2] however, in 1957, the last local witbier brewery, Tomsin, closed its doors.Pierre Celis, a milkman who had grown up next to the brewery and sometimes helped with brewing, decided some ten years later to try to revive the style. He started a new brewery, called de Sluis, in his hay loft.

After a fire in 1985, several brewers offered their help — as is traditional in Belgium. One of these was the largest brewer in the country, called Interbrew (after a merger with AmBev, renamed InBev). Interbrew lent money for the purchase of other buildings to rebuild the brewery.

Celis decided instead to sell them the brewery, and with the proceeds, he moved to the United States, where he set up the Celis Brewery in Austin, Texas, to continue making witbier to what he described as the original Hoegaarden recipe

First brewed in 1445 Hoegaarden is a witbier and is spiced with coriander and orange peel. It is unfiltered and therefore has a cloudy appearance. In many bars, it is customarily drunk with a slice of lemon^{[citation needed]}. It has an alcoholic content of 4.9%

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Unfiltered Belgian White, flavored with coriander and orange peel, creating a sweet & sour taste."