Hoegaarden Original White Ale
Brouwerij van Hoegaarden

Hoegaarden Original White AleHoegaarden Original White Ale
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From:
Brouwerij van Hoegaarden
 
Belgium
Style:
Witbier
Ranked #76
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
85
Ranked #20,499
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 14.78%
Reviews:
1,912
Ratings:
5,768
Status:
Active
Rated:
Wednesday at 10:34 PM
Added:
Jul 08, 2001
Wants:
  217
Gots:
  1,568
The Original Belgian Wheat Beer. Almost 600 years ago in the Belgian village of Hoegaarden, a band of monks experimented by adding oddball botanicals from halfway around the world to their traditional wheat beer. Our recipe, inspired by their creation, is a beer with a refreshing flavor and captivating aroma, unlike any in the world. Let the refreshing citrus and earthy coriander alleviate the stresses of modern living and whisk you to another place entirely. You might call it divine inspiration... we call it Hoegaarden.
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Ratings by AtaraxiaDnB:
Photo of AtaraxiaDnB
Rated by AtaraxiaDnB from Australia

3.79/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Nov 12, 2017
More User Ratings:
Photo of BurtonRed
Rated by BurtonRed from England

4.07/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 2.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Yum, soapy initial taste but smooth, banana and coriander is prominent and beer is very foamy. Hop notes are delicious
Wednesday at 10:34 PM
 
Rated: 3.94 by Mickeyharris from Alabama

Mar 10, 2024
Photo of Mugman8
Reviewed by Mugman8 from New York

3.51/5  rDev -7.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Slightly lemony shade of gold on the pour, with thick head that dissipates quickly, with no lace. Slight aroma of citrus and yeast. Taste is bread, citrus and lemon. Carbonation is mostly flat. Was expecting this to be better. Won't be buying again. Part of a Costco variety pack with Stella, Leffe Blonde and Hoegaarden. Probably dumping old beer.
Mar 09, 2024
 
Rated: 4.83 by m444ss from Georgia

Feb 25, 2024
 
Rated: 3.97 by Shoener_21- from Pennsylvania

Feb 15, 2024
Photo of MetalHead7734
Reviewed by MetalHead7734 from South Carolina

3.66/5  rDev -3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Purchased from Costco in the "Centuries of Brewing Tradition Heritage Collection" variety pack. Poured into a tulip glass.

Look: Completely cloudy and yellow. Frothy white mediam head. Ok head retention.

Smell: Citrus up front. Light and refreshing. An undercurrent of yeast and some spice buried in there.

Taste: Orange peel. Again, light and refreshing. Lemon citrus. Short finish.

Feel: Light-medium bodied with just enough carbonation to round it out.

Overall: A solid beer. It would probably be good in warm weather. Easy to drink.
Feb 12, 2024
 
Photo of johnnnniee
Reviewed by johnnnniee from New Hampshire

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Josh, thanks for the hookup.
Surprised I haven't rated this before.
Lightly hazy deep straw color with a fuzzy white head that persists.
Spicy cereal earthy with a hint of lemon and a sharp carbonic bite. Solid drinker.
Feb 03, 2024
 
Rated: 3.29 by Supper1

Jan 30, 2024
 
Rated: 3.55 by paylstep from Canada (ON)

Dec 31, 2023
Photo of nasal
Rated by nasal from Illinois

4.15/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Super malty, wheaty, light. Funky, but not too funky. It's really good.
Dec 31, 2023
Photo of Lucular
Reviewed by Lucular from Maryland

3.86/5  rDev +1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
330 ml bottle split with my dad. Somehow I've never had this before. It strikes me as a good Belgian witbier standard-bearer (better then Blue Moon, anyhow): Spicy clove/coriander notes, wheat, biscuity malt, fruit Belgian yeasty esters, hints of banana and bubblegum. Similar to a German hefe except fruitier (citrus mainly) and lighter in color. Creamy mouthfeel, not watery. Overall, quite enjoyable.
Dec 20, 2023
Photo of Hephaistos
Reviewed by Hephaistos from Netherlands

3.73/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
330 ml brown bottle, poured in a straight Vedett glass.
Opens with some fuzz, pours very vivildly but stays decently in the glass with a 3 finger white head with medium retention.
Smell is not very obvious, bit of biscuits, little orange/red fruit there.
Mouth feel is pretty good, although on the light side.
This is very accessible and easy to drink beer.
NIce yeasty tanginess, medium sweetness of the wheer and a mildly bitter herbal aftertaste of the hobs and herbs (coriandre).
The dried orange peel is not quite tasteable, but sure it blends in some where.
This style of beer is not my favourite, but surely I will drink it again, preferably on hot summer days.
A bit more chilled than the 7 degrees I drink it now. Some like some lemon in it, some think it is a waste, but drink it how you like it. Cannot imagine beerdrinkers not liking this beer.
I read below the recipee has changed a bit after AB INbev take over.
I can imagine. This beer used to be a bit more full of flavour in my youngers days.
But well, might also me be, having adjusted my taste during the years.
Dec 13, 2023
Photo of ElijahLep
Reviewed by ElijahLep from Ohio

3.36/5  rDev -11.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Across the board, for me this is a 3-3.5 beer. Has a really nice look to it and good smell but taste doesn't do it for me. Perfectly drinkable and fairly high quality but not my type of beer.
Dec 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4.4 by KeithGreatNorth from Canada (BC)

Dec 04, 2023
 
Rated: 4 by AbeO

Dec 02, 2023
Photo of PhilipSimpson
Reviewed by PhilipSimpson from Malaysia

3.83/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Good shit, no more words. Smoky, silky. When I drink it's as though my mouth is engulfed by them smoked wheat goodness, a bit mroe pricey than you normal beer in Malaysia, to me it's definitely worth it.
Oct 13, 2023
Photo of JZH1000
Reviewed by JZH1000 from Colorado

3.59/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
11.2oz bottle, best by May 12th 2024

On the pour 3 fingers of fine white head formed on top of a hazy golden yellow body. Retention is quite good. There is some sediment in the beer. Fine and sticky lacing is left.

Aroma is very bright, but also quite sweet. The orange aroma is right up front and almost a bit tart, followed by some sweet malts and coriander.

The flavor is much maltier than the aroma, with a touch of the coriander and some bitterness coming through in the finish. Still quite bright up front, but not nearly as much orange comes through in the flavor compared to the aroma. There is also an herbal and floral flavor, likely from hops. The sweetness becomes a bit much after a while.

The feel is at first quite refreshing, but the wheat seems to make this beer a bit heavier, both in the stomach and on the palate. The finish is quite long, and combined with the warm and almost cozy feeling from the spices, makes this beer more of an armchair/nap time beer than I ever would have expected.

Overall, if you like Witbiers try this out. AB-Inbev didn't fully ruin this one, but I've read that they did change the recipe. Good tasting, decent aroma, but a bit heavier than expected, and not in ABV. I will say the history of this beer is quite interesting.
Oct 10, 2023
Hoegaarden Original White Ale from Brouwerij van Hoegaarden
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 5768 ratings