Belgian Witbier

ABV 4.5-5.5% · IBU 8-20 · SRM 2-4 · Serve 40-45F · Glass Tumbler 0.33L · Drink by under 4 months

Identify

Very pale straw to soft yellow, and milky rather than merely hazy. It looks like cloudy lemonade. A dense white head that clings to the side of the glass as the level drops. It smells of lemon peel, coriander seed and a little honey. Slippery and soft at the front, almost like skimmed milk, then the bubbles cut straight through it. Orange peel and a peppery, herbal note in the middle. It finishes dry and crisp, with no bitter aftertaste at all.

Place

Belgium, around Leuven and the village of Hoegaarden. Brewed there for centuries, then extinct from 1957, then rebuilt by one farmer in the mid 1960s.

Cause

Nothing about a Witbier happens by accident. Every feature of it comes from a choice the brewer made, and two of those choices are unusual enough to be worth learning properly. The traditional peel is dried Curacao orange, a bitter variety, and the same fruit that flavours orange liqueur and marmalade.

Confused with

German Hefeweizen, where the spice comes from the yeast rather than the spice rack. American Wheat Beer, which has no spice at all. Gose, which also uses coriander but is salty and sour. Saison, which is drier, stronger and more peppery.

Numbers

A Witbier is a pale wheat beer that a Belgian brewer flavoured on purpose, with crushed coriander seed and dried bitter orange peel. Wit means white in Dutch, and the beer earned the name honestly. It is milky enough to look almost white in a thick glass.

Will you like it and Try

Lemonade, lemon zest, or a squeeze of lemon on food. The beer is built around that register. Marmalade, or the smell of orange peel rather than orange juice. That is precisely what the dried peel gives. Coriander seed in curry, in pickles, or in a spice blend. Warm and citrusy, not the soapy leaf.

Order and Pair

A third of a litre is the Belgian pour, roughly 11 ounces. An American bar will give you a pint, which is fine, but the beer warms up before you finish it. Ask for the thick six sided tumbler if the bar has one. The heavy glass holds the cold and the wide mouth suits the dense head. Say no to the orange slice when you order.

Judge, Myth and Remember

It is properly opaque, with a white cast rather than a golden one, and a dense white head that clings to the glass. The spice is present but balanced. You should be able to find coriander and orange peel separately, and neither should dominate. The finish is dry and clean, with no bitter aftertaste and no sugar left behind.