- Product Reviewed: Celis White
- Brewed By: Van Steenberge, Belgium
- Form Reviewed: Draft at Cafe Belgie, Utrecht, The Netherlands
- Date Reviewed: July 28, 2002
- Style: Belgian Witbier
- Added to the Tasting Notebook: October 12, 2002
Initial Impressions:
Two months ago, I spent the day in Utrecht. Ideally this would have been a house hunting trip, but as we had already placed a deposit on a flat in Rotterdam, this turned out to be more of a sightseeing trip. In addition to the adequate Nederlandsespoorwagen Museum, I visited a few beer cafes. Utrecht is a charming city, and relatively unhindered by tourists. If you're in the Netherlands, don't miss it.
Cafe Belgie is located at 196 Oude Gracht, a charming, quiet canal in the center of Utrecht. The cafe tends to the utilitarian, but has plenty of character as a local. The beer list is extensive, probably the best in Utrecht and among the most interesting in all of the Netherlands. In a land usually awash in Hoegaarden, I was able to find the Belgian brewed Celis here. Celis makes for a good story in the beer world, and I'm certain most of you are likely aware of it. By means of an abstract, future brewer enjoys Witbier as a young man, style dies out, future brewer resurrects style at a Belgian brewery in 1966 following a 15 year absence of said style, new beer named Hoegaarden after city in which brewery is located, new beer becomes popular and influences many imitations, brewery burns, forcing brewer to sell to massive Interbrew in 1991, brewer takes money, moves to Austin, Texas to start new brewery, new brewery named Celis, makes Witbier, which many consider superior to the Belgian offerings, beer acquires cult following among beer enthusiasts in the USA, brewer eventually sells stake in brewery to massive Miller, Miller eventually acquires controlling interest in brewery, and making good on its investment shutters brewery. While naive enough to do business with Miller, Celis was smart enough to retain the rights to the brand and recipes if production ceased. Prior to the closure of the Celis brewery, he had contracted out the production of Celis White to the Van Steenberge brewery in Belgium for the European market. Ironically, or perhaps not considering the path of the story, for several years one could only buy "Celis Wit from Austin, Texas" in Europe. Full circle and all that. As a postscript, a brewery in Michigan (the Michigan Brewing Comany) either has or will soon begin distributing Michigan brewed Celis White in the USA. So here you have a Belgian style perfected by a Texas brewery being supplied by breweries from Belgium and Michigan.
In the glass, the beer is beige, with the characteristic cloudiness prevalent in the style. The white head is quite foamy, and remnants remain even as the empty glass was sent back to the bar.
Nose:
The classic Belgian wits have a perfumy, spicy aroma, and this one lives up to the demands. The perfume is a function of fresh ground coriander and curacao orange peel added to the kettle during the boil. My notes indicate that I thought the curacao had won out that day, but do not recall why.
Flavor:
The flavor opens gassy, lending almost a chunky attribute to the palate. A solid, neutral maltiness follows, which slides into a tangy wheat flavor. Spiciness comes out towards the end, lending a perfumy note to the beer, which finishes with the slightest hint of bitterness.
Final Analysis:
The spice dominates this Witbier, making it more interesting than the majority of blander offerings. It's thick in the middle, almost chunky, and ultimately refreshing. An excellent everyday beer, and superior in my mind to the ubiquitous (in the Netherlands) Hoegaarden.
Rating:
(Excellent on my 5-star scale)