Actually, Celis While isn't a hefeweizen, it's a Belgian-style wit. Hefeweizens are prepared in accordance with the German Reinheitsgebot (Beer Purity Law) of 1516 and contain nothing other than grain, water, hops and yeast. Wit beers, like other Belgian styles, are flavored with spices such as coriander, Curacao orange and the marvelously-named blend "grains of paradise".

Call Celis White or any of his other beers a hefeweizen anywhere near Pierre Celis and be prepared to duck (and I don't care if he is in his eighties, he'd still take a swing at you).

Celis White is back in U.S. production after its Miller misadventure; it's being produced by the Michigan Brewing Company in Webberville, MI. Pierre Celis no longer has any connection with the brand bearing his name and he's not happy with it. So he's offering his own version that he feels is truer to the original Celis White. It's brewed in Belgium, and imported to the U.S. under the name "Ertvelds Wit".

By the way, Celis White/Ertvelds Wit is the second world-class wit beer for which Pierre is responsible. When he still made his home in Belgium, he gave the world the original Hoegaarden Wit in the early 1960s.

As for what's the best beer? Frankly, the question is as unanswerable as, "what's the best food?" My usual response when I'm asked that question (and I do get asked it regularly when people learn what I do for a living) is that it's ultimately a subjective decision and my answer would vary at least daily depending on where I am and what I'm in the mood for.

Gregg Wiggins
columnist, Brewing News/correspondent, American Brewer magazines