Witbier, also known as Belgian white beers, are refreshing and spiced wheat beers, traditionally brewed with coriander seeds and bitter orange peel. Their colour is pale and hazy, with white and creamy foam and a light body.
Witbier (white beer) brewing
Witbier is brewed with a mixture of barley malt and unmalted wheat, in proportions usually around 50% wheat. Wheat brings haze, soft body and fresh-bread notes, while barley malt facilitates enzymatic conversion of fermentable sugars.
Unlike other wheat styles such as German Hefeweizen, Belgian Witbier does not seek the production of clove phenols or banana esters during fermentation. Instead, its distinctive character comes from the botanicals added to the boil, especially bitter orange peel and ground coriander, which bring citrus, floral and slightly spicy aromas.
The yeast used is usually from Belgian ale strains, with fermentation that highlights fruity nuances without dominating the sensory profile.
History of Witbier (white beer)
The origin of Witbier dates back to the fourteenth century, in the region of Brabant, in modern Belgium, specifically in the town of Hoegaarden. At that time, brewers used a wide variety of spices to balance cereal sweetness and preserve beer, since hop use was not yet widespread in the region.
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Witbier achieved great popularity in Flemish and Walloon Brabant, but declined from the nineteenth century onwards, displaced by bottom-fermented Lager beers.
The modern revival of the style is due to Pierre Celis, a Belgian milkman and brewer who in 1966 decided to recover the traditional recipe by founding De Kluis brewery in Hoegaarden. His reinterpretation of the style inspired many Belgian and international breweries, and today Witbier is a pillar of Belgian beer culture recognised worldwide.
Buy Witbier (white beer) online
The Witbier (or Biere Blanche) is the Belgian answer to wheat beers, with its own identity separating it from its German cousins. Here the key is not banana, but the use of unmalted wheat that brings that milky haze and unmistakable silky texture. The aromatic profile is built with botanicals: coriander seeds and orange peel (traditionally Curacao variety), resulting in a citrusy, spicy and extremely refreshing beer. In this section we bring together everything from classic references to modern craft reinterpretations that elevate this historic style.
