Belgian Wits originated in Belgium, in the area of Brabant just east of Brussels. This are was a part of the Netherlands in the early 1800's and was the wheat growing region. In this era, the Dutch basically controlled the spice trade, thus, coriander as well as Curacao orange peel made its way into the beer. Spices were used well before the widespread use of hops in beer. At one point there were more than thirty breweries producing a Wit, but overtime the style died off and in 1954 the last of the breweries ceased operations. One of the most famous brands of Belgian Wits is Hoegaarden (pronounced \Who Garden") produced by Pierre Celis back in 1966. This revived the style and by the 1980's it was popular again!
Belgian-Style Blonde Ale
Four Peaks Brewing Company
Tempe, Arizona