White beer
White beer or wheat beer is a style of beer firmly rooted in Belgium. The recipe for this style of beer is centuries old. Yet white beer is mostly associated with the name of Pierre Celis. The former milkman saved wheat beer from extinction in the middle of the last century. The result: the Hoegaarden, the most famous white beer in the world.
Thanks to its fruity and slightly sour taste and relatively low alcohol content, white beer is a refreshing summer terrace beer, a real thirst quencher. Discover a wide range of Belgian white beers below and order them easily online. We guarantee fast and 100% insured shipping. Any questions? Contact Belgian Beer Heaven.
The delicious taste of wheat beer
White beer is not filtered and is therefore slightly cloudy. It has a pale yellow to light blonde colour and a creamy, collapsing head. The name therefore does not refer to the colour of the beer. It is probably a corruption of 'weitbier'. 'Weit' is Old Dutch for wheat and white beer is brewed with a mix of malted and unmalted wheat.
Belgian wheat beer has distant German relatives with Berliner Weiß and southern German Weissbier. Both the Belgian and German varieties are wheat beer, but there are also clear differences. Weissbier contains at least 50% wheat and no ingredients other than grain, hops and water. Belgian breweries were not bound by the German 'Reinheitsgebot' and added coriander and Curaçao peels of larahas, the bitter fruit of a citrus tree on the Caribbean island, among other ingredients.
How Pierre Celis saved white beer
High-fermenting wheat beer has been brewed in Belgium for centuries and was long one of the best-tasting Belgian beers. Yet it lost much of its popularity in the middle of the last century, partly due to the rise of lager. Milkman Pierre Celis learned to brew beer from his neighbour in the Flemish-Brabant village of Hoegaarden. Out of nostalgia, he founded his own brewery, De Kluis, in 1966. His fellow villagers loved his white beer, named after his municipality, and that popularity slowly but surely spread throughout Belgium. Pierre Celis was appointed honorary citizen of Hoegaarden in 2005.
A slice of lemon in wheat beer or not?
Hoegaarden's white became so popular that at one point the brewery could no longer keep up. As demand outstripped supply, the wheat beer was shipped too early, which meant it had not yet acquired its characteristic, slightly sour flavour.
The brewer therefore advised serving the beer with a slice of lemon. That advice was withdrawn again when production recovered. But by now, the lemon slice had become so well established that customers asked for it themselves.
For true beer lovers, throwing a lemon slice into a glass of white beer is like swearing in church. If the beer needed extra acidity to get its flavour, the brewer would have added it himself. But if you like it better with lemon, don't let that stop you. Cheers!
Wheat beer and foodpairing
Serving a wheat beer is how you do it
The addition of orange peel gives white beer a fresh, slightly sour flavour. It goes perfectly with mussels (a classic combination), white asparagus (e.g. as an extra ingredient in your quiche mixture) and a dessert with orange, e.g. mascarpone or pannacotta.
Essential to enjoying white beer as it should be, is serving it according to the rules of the art. Pour about half the bottle while tilting the glass. Waltz the bottle so that the yeast at the bottom loosens. Pour the rest into the glass in a smooth motion. Serve at a temperature between 4 and 8 degrees Celsius.
Ordering Belgian wheat beer at Belgian Beer Heaven
Wheat beer is a tasty thirst-quencher in any season. Hoegaarden is the most famous white beer, but you will discover many other Belgian wheat beers in our webshop. So you are sure to find one to your taste. Make your choice above and count on our 100% insured and fast shipping. Questions about your choice or your order? Contact Belgian Beer Heaven, we are happy and knowledgeable to help you.