Hof ten Dormaal is a traditional farmhouse brewery from Haacht in Flemish Brabant. It is known for growing and using their own hops and malt. And they are the only brewery in Belgium to use Witloof in their beers.
Witloof is known by a few different names. In Dutch it translates as white leaf, it is also known as endive in Belgium, chicory in the UK and Belgian endive in France. Whatever its name it used to be an important agri-product for Belgium. In the 1970's it accounted for around a quarter of all vegetables grown in Belgium.
When raw, they are crisp and bitter. Cooking them allows the flavour to soften with a nutty character. This beer uses dried chicory root to replace some of the hops.
The beer itself is a little hard to put into a style box. The aroma is very Belgian with a good dose of banana, citrus, clove and a little herbal spice. There is a solid malt body, with a certain sweetness early on. It isn't overly bitter, though there is certainly a strong herbal character in the beer that seems to finish a little woody with the slightest hint of sour right at the end.
An interesting beer from Alvinne, and one of Belgium's most bitter beers at 115 IBU
by Abdij Averbode (Brouwerij Huyghe)
A multi grain mix of barley oats and spelt, plus dry-hopping make this strong blonde ale a really interesting creation
A Strong Blonde Ale cross Belgian Tripel, with oak chips used in the brewing process to add a hint of vanilla
by Brouwerij De Hoorn (Palm - Swinkels)
A Belgian Strong Blond Ale aged on oak chips
The 'Devil's' little brother, made to the same recipe but without secondary fermentation in the bottle
by Brouwerij van Hoegaarden (AB InBev)
Like a super-charged Hoegaarden witbier...but better
A sort of Belgian style strong blonde ale, made using unsold sourdough bread
Like a bigger, tastier (and classier) version of the classic Leffe Blond
A strong blond ale in the style of Duvel, brewed by Het Anker brewery
A delicious strong blond ale with a crisp malt body and a nice hop bitterness
The world renowned Belgian Blond Ale from Orval Trappist Monastery. There simply is no other beer like Orval.
by Brouwerij Palm (Swinkels Family Brewers)
A fruity, malty Belgian pale ale, originally brewed in 2003 to celebrate the 90th birthday of the brewey's former head brewer.
by Brouwerij Verstraete (Deca Services)
An unfiltered, unpasteurised, dry-hopped strong blond ale with barley, oats and wheat in the grain bill
A classic strong pale ale from one of Belgium's old family breweries.
A variation on the acclaimed Piraat strong blond ale, this time with four different hops added at three separate times during the beer-making process
A delicious, complex but light and dry Belgian Strong Blonde Ale from Brasserie St Feuillien
A special Belgian Blonde ale, dry-hopped with Cascade hops. A tribute to Armand Desplenter, one of the founding brewers
A full malt body, spicy Belgian yeast and five different hops in this strong blonde ale
A fantastic Kriek that takes the Zure Van Tildonk blond barrel aged sour to another level
A traditional Belgian saison, dry and funky, grainy malt and a solid bitterness
A wintery imperial stout with roasted chicory root
