vandeStreek Playground IPA Review: The First Dutch Alcohol-Free IPA
Published May 2026, updated October 2026 · 6-minute read · by Rich, founder of Unhopped
vandeStreek Playground IPA is one of those AF beers craft drinkers cite as proof that the category has matured. Widely credited as the first alcohol-free IPA from a Dutch craft brewery when it launched in 2017, Hop-forward and properly bitter, it drinks like the brewery's full-strength IPAs.
What is vandeStreek Playground IPA?
Playground IPA is the alcohol-free flagship of vandeStreek, a Dutch craft brewery based in Utrecht. It was reported at its launch in 2017 as the first alcohol-free IPA from a Dutch craft brewery, and it won gold for new-style non-alcoholic beer at the European Beer Star 2022, DUIC reported.
vandeStreek as a brewery has an interesting origin. Brothers Sander and Ronald van de Streek started homebrewing in 2010. They sold their first beers in 2013, brewed in other breweries' kettles, found financing in 2016 and opened their own brewery in Utrecht in 2017.
vandeStreek calls itself one of the largest independent breweries in the Netherlands. It brews, with a tasting room, on Ontariodreef, and runs a café-restaurant on the Oudegracht in central Utrecht. Playground IPA fits firmly into that tradition: hop-forward, properly bitter, recognisably craft despite the 0.5% ABV.
How Playground IPA is brewed
vandeStreek says it brews Playground “just like any other beer” and gives it ample time in the tank, and it doesn't describe the method further. We used to say it uses a special yeast and nothing is removed from the finished beer; vandeStreek doesn't say that, so we've taken it out.
For how the different ways of making alcohol-free beer compare, see our guide to how alcohol-free beer is made.
The hop bill is four American varieties, at 60 IBU, vandeStreek says: Columbus (citrus, pine, dank), Mosaic (tropical fruit, blueberry), Citra (grapefruit, tropical), Cascade (grapefruit, floral). This is the classic American craft IPA hop signature — and at 0.5% ABV, the hop expression is closer to a full-strength West Coast IPA than most alcohol-free options can match.
Tasting notes and what to expect
Appearance and aroma: Amber-gold in colour with a persistent lacy head. Aroma is hop-forward and assertive — citrus (grapefruit, lemon) leads, tropical fruit underneath (mango, pineapple), with a fresh pine note from the Columbus hops. Less sweet on the nose than fruit-infused AF pale ales; more bitter and resinous.
Palate and finish: Plenty of vibrant citrus and tropical character on the palate, with strong hop bitterness through the middle (more assertive than most AF IPAs). The bitterness lingers into a long finish — properly West-Coast-shaped rather than soft and hazy. The body holds up well thanks to the no-dealcoholisation brewing process.
How it compares: Bitterer and drier than Beavertown Lazer Crush (which leans softer and more tropical). More West-Coast than BrewDog Punk AF (which is closer to a hazy IPA in character). Comparable in hop intensity to Athletic Run Wild but with more European brewing pedigree. See our AF IPA showdown for category context.
Where Playground wins and where it doesn't
How Playground compares to the wider European alcohol-free IPA category
In European craft AF brewing, Playground sits alongside Mikkeller's Weird Weather Hazy IPA and Lervig's No Worries IPA as the leading craft AF IPA imports to the UK, up against UK brands such as Brulo (Lust For Life). Each takes a different brewing approach (yeast strain, recipe, hop bill); Playground's distinctive contribution is hop-forward, West Coast-style bitterness. For category comparisons, see our alcohol-free IPA hub.
Beers to explore
Playground IPA and the rest of the vandeStreek alcohol-free range sold in the UK:
