The Het Anker brewery is in the city of Mechelen, near Antwerp, and is most well known for their ‘Gouden Carolus’ range of beers. This beer isn’t part of any label range, rather a one off beer brewed to celebrate an historical legend of their city.
The story dates back to a night in 1687, when the moon that night projected an unusual reddish glow. A drunken guardsman stirred from his stupor and looked out over the city that was wrapped in a dense blanket of fog. The red glow through the fog bounced off the roof of the beautiful tower of Saint Rumbold’s Cathedral, deceiving his bleary eyes. He raised the alarm that the tower was on fire,
The city guard sprang into action, racing toward the tower. But before they could get there, the moon has moved through the fog and the red-orange glow of the tower disappeared, giving the impression the fire has been put out. From that moment on, the Mechelen’s were known as ‘Maneblussers’, which translates as ‘Moon Extinguishers’. Hence the firefighter on the label!
The beer is higher in alcohol than a typical witbier, tending toward a blonde. The aroma is rich in citrus and banana. The yeast character carries through in the flavour, with a fairly light malty body, citrus, coriander and a prickly finish.
Witbier with grapefruit and orange zest, kaffir lime leaves and coriander
The 'Witteke' is a typical beer from the past; a cloudy unfiltered, aromatic witbier.
Great example of a Belgian Witbier, voted 'Worlds Best Wheat Only Wheat Beer' in 2009.
Brasserie Du Bocq's classic witbier with fresh raspberry juice added
by Brasserie de l'Abbaye des Rocs
An intriguingly moreish Double Witbier from Abbaye des Rocs
by Brouwerij Corsendonk (at Brasserie Du Bocq)
The Belgian witbier from Corsendonk
A powerful yeast creates a sweet and dry wheat beer, technically classed as a 'Double White'.
An interesting Belgian Witbier, adhering to the Gruit style of using herbs and spices instead of hops
Four grains are used to produce this fantastic 'Double White' from KleinBrouwerij De Glazen Toren.
An imperial witbier, brewed with barley, wheat, oats and buckwheat, and the addition of coriander and curaçao
by Brasserie de Jandrain-Jandrenouille
A tasty Belgian style witbier, with a slightly heavier hopping for a lingering bitterness
A typical Belgian witbier with loads of orange and lemon citrus and a little coriander
A refreshing witbier 'hopped' with a healthy dose of jasmine
A tasty little Witbier from the province of Limburg in north-east Belgium
A witbier with orange peel, dry hopped with Mosaic hops
A cross between a Belgian Witbier and a German Weisse Bier, with the addition of the juice from blood oranges
A Belgian witbier originally made in 2012 as a one-off special, revived in 2020
This traditional Witbier has been developed in cooperation with Master Brewer Pierre Celis, the Godfather of Hoegaarden.
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
A classic Belgian witbier, brewed with a great mix common for all the Steenbrugge beers
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
A Belgian witbier made using 40% unsalted wheat, 60% barley, coriander, curaçao orange and a mix of spices
A witbier with barley, wheat and oats, with added real watermelon
A classic Belgian witbier from our anything-but-classic Dutch brewery
A traditional Witbier, from the 'Brewer's Town' of Watou; crisp, light and refreshing.
An amber beer recreated to a recipe from the 15th-Century, the typical beer from the Mechelen region of Belgium
The most well-known of the Golden Carolus beers is the 'Classic' - a beautifully balanced Belgian strong dark ale of 8.5% ABV
Five old-world hops are used in this fresh grassy Belgian IPA
One of our favourite Belgian triples from Brouwerij Het Anker
Gouden Carolus' Cuvee Van De Keizer Imperial Dark Ale infused with Het Anker's single malt whisky
A strong blond ale in the style of Duvel, brewed by Het Anker brewery
