Blanche de Bruges (Brugs Tarwebier)
Brouwerij De Halve Maan

Draft at the brewery, Brouwerij de Halve Maan, in Bruges. A beautiful hazy golden color. Smells strongly of coriander, orange peel and banana. Taste is smooth and creamy, a little more subtle than the nose. Finishes dry. A wonderfully refreshing, fairly simple but well made beer.

 

 

 

330 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet Sandnes Kvadrat. ABV is 5.0%. Moderately hazy pale golden colour, moderate white head. Wheaty aroma and flavour with notes of spicy Belgian ale yeast, orange peel and coriander seeds. Low bitterness.

 

I've now drank 10 different brews from De Halve Maan and it's worth an inventory, of my consumption at least. Probably 7 get real distribution in Chicagoland and at least 3 of them don't. But now that I've been traveling this year, this wit is one of the recent finds. I try to repeat the ones I like, but I'm always looking for that next Unique. So repeats tend to focus on what I really like and, for De Halve Maan, I end up with 9 of my 16 repeats on UnTappd as the Zot Blonde. but bottom-line, Maan is one of the famous brewers that deserve more attention from me.

And Blanche de Bruges deserves broader distribution... if only for its famous brewer. Wit lovers (of which I am one as it is my second most drunk style on BA and UnTappd) can find better wits than Tarwebier. UnTapped has 40k Check-ins, but only 46K Total for this Blanche and, not surprising, a 3.4 average rating. Not many people return to this brew. It simply is not distinguished enough. It Looks good and the spices Maan adds give it that traditional flavor. But some spicing and fruit should come from the yeast and, given how fast the foam fades, the yeast needs more life.

To De Halve Maan, I give very good Overall Hugs. Blanche de Bruges, not so much.

2/22/26 I did return to this because I drank its sister Rose' and I wondered how similar they are. And they are. But I don't have to repeat either to have a satisfying drinking life. A Sante' !

 

 

If you like extra coriander in your Belgian white this is for you. Very crisp and flavorful. More flavor than a Hoegaarden for sure

 

 

 

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name and brewery/country, I haven't read the bottle lables (yet!)…
L- Very pale straw with a tiny amount of haze, somehow this look always suggests dry/austerity to me, we'll see. Pours with an eager to form 5Cm pillowy white head.
S- It has that distinctive Belgian wheat profile. This specific smell reminds me a dry aspect of aromatic timber.
T- Quite dry, the ^curious timber scent follows through directly into the taste. I've had similar before in some BE-Beers and I really need to know what it's called, is it as simple as 'Belgian yeast notes'; it isn't fruity ester notes? Half way through the beer and I believe I can also taste another facet, quite unusual, I believe it to be pepper! There is a definite though very small zing in the throat on the swallow.
F- A few sips later and my fresh palate relaxes somewhat, I'd now say it has a minor dryish note vs 'quite dry'.
O- This beer is very distinctive and it seems to all hinge around that timber note. I can imagine the latter could be quite a divider, with many people simply not liking it because of it. I'm ok with it, I'll not have a problem finishing it, though I don't see myself buying this one again.
Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! ==> The lable suggests spices have been added to this, though it doesn't list which ones.
330ml bottle BB: 03/11/2021 Bought from BelgianBeerCompany, Stoke/UK as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.