THE spiced wheat beers of Belgium, centred in the province of Brabant, once enjoyed widespread popularity throughout the country, but by the 1950s had become all but extinct.

Their revival can be largely attributed to Pierre Celis, who, in 1966, re-opened a redundant brewery in his home village of Hoegaarden.

His beer, Hoegaarden Wit is now the property of the world’s largest brewing conglomerate, and is distributed throughout Europe and beyond. Its astonishing success has somewhat overshadowed the existence of numerous other beers in the same style, one of which, Blanche de Bruxelles, is this week’s feature.

It is brewed by the Lefebvre Brewery, established in 1876 in the town of Quenast. The label depicts the famous Brussels sculpture, the “Manneken Pis”, a bold, maybe even reckless move, inviting as it could ribald and unflattering remarks on the flavour of the beer. Let’s check it out.

The colour is very pale yellow, almost heading towards white when the yeasty haze is taken into account. On the nose it is quite mild, with a definite but gentle lemony zing against a background of bread dough and a hint of herbs.

The flavour is initially sweet, with light grain and more citrus fruit…orange and lemon. The herbal content comes through mid-palate, with coriander and camomile most prominent, but scarcely any hop presence (not an unusual feature of the style) and only the subtlest bitterness.

The aftertaste plays a curious sweet/dry trick, sweet on the tongue, dry at the back of the nose and on the throat, with a very soft, yeasty finish.

Overall, a restrained, mellow take on the style, which will be very refreshing when those hot summer days finally arrive.