Pierre Celis, who died April 9, 2011, was a beer legend in the Belgian beer world. The basic story is that he resurrected the style of Belgian Witbier back in the mid 1960s, naming it Hoegaarden, after the town where he lived and brewed the beer. This is a photo of a photo of Pierre, that hangs in the taproom at the St. Bernardus Brewery in Watou, Belgium. I took it this past fall on my Belgianbeerme.com Best Damn Farmhouse Ale Tour of Belgium & France. I recommend reading more about Pierre in Stephen Beaumont's blog, where he so deftly covers the life of this great beer man.
