Hop Ruiter

Schelde Brouwerij
Meer, Belgium
Imported by: Vanberg & DeWulf
Coopertown, NY

Available: AL, AK, AZ, CA, CT, FL, GA, IL, IN, IA, KY, LA, ME, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NE, NV, NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OR, PA, RI, SC, TX, VT, VA, WA, WI

Hop Ruiter combines Belgian yeast and American hopping rates. It is dry-hopped with two noble varieties.

ABV: 8
ABW: 6.3
Bitterness: 35-40
Original gravity: 1068

Beautiful pour, beautiful head! Brilliant white mousse over a gauzily golden body; it’s intoxicating just to look at it. Candy, sweet clove, zinging spiciness: this is the smell that drew me to Belgian beer 30 years ago. And it tastes…just like that, only with a twist of bitter at the end that spins this all into another paradigm. Is it overhopped? No. Is it soppy-sweet? No. Am I going to drink the rest of it? You damn betcha.
- Lew Bryson

“Rustic” it says on the label of this hoppy, golden Belgian, and that’s what comes to mind when nosing it for the first time – saddle soap and damp hay, dried apple and earthy spice, with a note of kaffir lime. On the palate, it’s slightly sweeter than it is hoppy, with notes of overripe melon, mint, citrus zest and some funky spiciness. By the finish, though, the hops and alcohol have taken hold, leaving a moderate and warming bitterness. I’d like to try this with roasted pheasant, or maybe bison steak.
- Stephen Beaumont

Lew Bryson
Lew Bryson writes about beer and whiskey from his home in southeast Pennsylvania. He has a family and two dogs. That's all you need to know.

Stephen Beaumont
Once described as “beerdom's Brillat-Savarin,” Stephen Beaumont is the author of five books and countless articles on beer, spirits, food, travel, and how it all goes together.