Hoegaarden

Maybe they had plenty of time. Or maybe they were fed up with the consecrated wine. Perhaps it was divine inspiration? We will never know for sure. What we do know is that the monks of Hoegaarden were the first to discover the unique recipe for white beer around 1445.

Historical sources show that the first white beer was particularly sour. That was before the monks of Hoegaarden started experimenting with orange peels and coriander from the colony of Curaçao: a divine discovery that led to Hoegaarden's world-famous recipe. White beer made Hoegaarden a vibrant city. Actually, Hoegaarden was one big brewery in the 18th century. In 1709 the town had no less than 12 breweries. By 1726 there were already 36. And there were also 110 malt houses.