What Is a Belgian Wit?

A hazy IPA has intense flavours. A Belgian wit is gentler and easier to drink, and it is a good beer to offer someone who says they do not like beer.

Where the Belgian wit comes from

Wit means "white" in Flemish. The style is a wheat beer from Belgium, and it is old. It was brewed in villages east of Brussels for centuries, had almost disappeared by the 1950s, and was revived in 1966 by a milkman named Pierre Celis in one of those villages. The beer he brought back is the model that every wit follows today. It uses a large share of wheat alongside barley malt, it has a soft and cloudy body, and it is seasoned with two ingredients that may sound strange in a beer: dried orange peel and coriander seed.

Where the orange and spice flavours come from

The first thing to know is that the citrus in a wit is not a gimmick, and it does not come from juice. Orange peel and coriander go in during brewing, in the same way as hops. Coriander seed tastes of gentle spice and lemon, not curry, and orange peel adds brightness rather than sweetness. Together they make a beer that tastes complete without being heavy.

Why a Belgian wit is cloudy

The second thing to know is that the cloudiness is part of the style. A wit is meant to pour a milky, warm, pale straw colour with a soft white head. The haze comes from wheat proteins and yeast suspended in the beer. Decades later, the hazy IPA used the same approach to get its soft body. A wit that has been filtered until it is crystal clear has lost much of its character.

How SOMA makes Sunday Wit

SOMA Sunday Wit is our version. It is brewed with wheat, orange peel and coriander, and fermented with a maltose-negative yeast that keeps it under 0.5% ABV. This gentle method matters even more for a wit, because the style's flavours are delicate. Nothing is done to the beer afterwards to lower the alcohol, so the orange is still there when you pour it. A 500ml can has an indicative 98 calories, and the beer pours a cloudy, pale straw colour, as the style requires.

Why SOMA chose to lead with a wit

We chose to lead with a wit in India because the style suits the way people here eat and drink. It is soft enough for a table at 11am and bright enough to go with biryani. It is also easy to enjoy for a friend who is trying craft beer for the first time. Sunday is in the name because the beer suits a long, slow Sunday meal when nobody is in a hurry.

A wit is an easy style to start with if you are new to craft beer, and SOMA Sunday Wit is under 0.5% ABV.