Keepers of the Wit

The descendants of Pierre Celis, the celebrated brewer credited with the revival of the Belgian wit, have opened a brewery in Texas and are committed to keeping the recipe intact and untouched.

THERE ARE A LOT of steps involved in making a proper wit, says Christine Celis, daughter of Pierre Celis, renowned for “saving” the classic witbier in his hometown of Hoegaarden, Belgium. “It’s one of the longest beers we make time-wise because it’s a sensitive beer,” she says. “There’s the right temperature of water, the right ratio for the grist, and then the right temperatures for that.” Of course, that might sound obvious to even non-brewers or homebrewers, but decades of dialing in an exact process are what made Celis’s wit beers (including Hoegaarden, which he sold to Interbrew in the 1980s) in its various incarnations so desired and respected.

In keeping the tradition alive, Christine Celis says she’s hesitant to tinker with the original recipe.

“I’m more of a traditionalist. I don’t want to mess with my dad’s recipe. He worked hard on that, and I take pride in what he did and don’t manipulate it.”

There’s a nobility in that, given all the change that has come to traditional beer recipes in recent years. While the trend might be to add new hops, make something imperial, or try the addition of different ingredients, that there’s a brewery staying true to the tradition of a beer that was almost lost to time is heartening.

For brewing the style at home, Celis says to mill your wheat as fresh as possible, along with dried orange peel just before brewing because it imparts a more vibrant aroma and flavor. Celis Brewery has its own proprietary yeast strain, but there are others commercially available that can impart the desired characteristics.

“There are a lot of versions of Belgian witbier out there,” says Daytona Camps, Pierre Celis’s granddaughter and the brewer at Celis Brewery. “We want to stay true to the books.” —John Holl