Hoegaarden - Original White Ale in Homemade Chicken Pot Pie

Tonights review includes an interesting combination of food and brew.  The wife had a craving for pot pie this morning and that sounded delicious to me.  Over lunch I found a book on cooking with beer and noticed wheat beers generally went well with chicken.  Chicken pot pie baked with wheat beer?  Hell yes.  My wife being the culinary genius she is took the Hoegaarden Wit that I came home with and incorporated it beautifully into a homemade pot pie.

Sautéed chicken, shallots and garlic were cooked together until chicken was mostly done.  The chicken was removed and a bottle of Hoegaarden was added and reduced.  Green beans, coined carrots, peas and corn were then added along with a bit of flour for thickening.  The mixture was brought to a boil and simmered for 5 minutes until sufficiently reduced.  Cream of chicken and broth were then added to the veggie beer mixture and combined in the stoneware pot along with the original chicken.  A homemade crust was then placed over the pot and set in the oven until the crust was a nice and flaky golden brown.

The final product was amazing.  Our normal pot pie has always been thick and hearty.  This was no different but the pepper and citrus zest definitely made an appearance making it come alive.  It added an another layer of complexity that was very welcome.  Now, onto the actual beer!

This witbier pours very light and cloudy with a bright white head forming and quickly receding.  Like most white ales this one is full of different aromas.  Lemon rind, pepper, yeast and citrus all play a part here.  The flavor is malty sweet.  A high carbonation makes the flavors bounce around your mouth.  More citrus and subtle yeast and pepper notes reflect the aromas tones pretty closely.  A smooth finish with a mild bitterness finish this brew off.

Overall 5.2/6.0 - As far as witbiers are concerned this is a pretty solid example.  In fact, its the first example listed for the BJCP witbier style.  Nothing is overdone and the flavors are all blended nicely.  For somebody who typically drinks large, American craft beers this was a nice deviation from my standard line up.  I also think you could have used just about any wheat or witbier in the pot pie.  Although I would probably stay away from the sweeter wheats and stick to the more spicy ones.  The spice will compliment the food more than any fruity beer would.