Kasteel Alcohol-Free Beers

Kasteel is the castle-themed range of Vanhonsebrouck, an independent family brewery that dates itself to 1811 and now brews at its Bierkasteel in Izegem, West Flanders. It makes four 0.0% beers; three of them, the fruit beers Rouge, Tropical and Rubus, are on sale in the UK.

Who makes Kasteel?

“Brewery Vanhonsebrouck has been brewing unique specialty beers since 1811,” the brewery says. Its story starts in Werken, where Amandus Vanhonsebrouck was mayor and ran a brewery; in 1900 Emile Vanhonsebrouck and his wife Louise opened Brouwerij Sint Jozef in Ingelmunster, it says. Wikipedia instead says it was founded in 1865, as Sint-Jozef.

In 1986 the family bought Ingelmunster Castle, which inspired Luc Vanhonsebrouck’s first quadrupel and the Kasteel brand, the brewery says. Kasteel Donker set “the tone in 1989”, and Xavier Vanhonsebrouck launched Kasteel Rouge, a cherry beer, in 2007, before taking over in 2009.

In September 2026 the brewery called itself an “independent, family-run brewery” led by “CEOs Michiel Clyncke and Xavier Vanhonsebrouck”, and its news calls Xavier the owner. We found no drinks group involved, so we list it as independent.

From Ingelmunster to the Bierkasteel in Izegem

West-Vlaanderen Werkt wrote in 2016 that the Van Honsebrouck brewery from Ingelmunster had recently been transformed with an investment of €45 million, describing the new Izegem site, with capacity of 200,000 hectolitres, up from about 102,000. The Bierkasteel, as the brewery calls it, runs guided tours Monday to Saturday and has a shop and a restaurant, Michelle’s Pub & Brasserie.

What Kasteel brews

The Kasteel range includes Donker, a quadrupel at 11%; Rouge, an 8% strong fruit beer “brewed from Kasteel Donker and featuring Oblacinska cherries”; Rubus Framboise, launched in 2023; and Tropical, 7%, the brewer says. Its other brands are St-Louis, Bacchus, Brigand and Filou. We found no awards for Kasteel’s alcohol-free beers.

How big is Kasteel?

“We ended 2023 at 169,000 hl,” co-CEO Michiel Clyncke said in May 2024, the most it had brewed; staff had grown from about 113 in 2019 to 142. Kasteel is sold in more than 60 countries, the brewery says.

Kasteel’s alcohol-free beers

Rouge 0.0 was the brewery’s first alcohol-free beer, launched in 2024: Clyncke announced it for that summer in May 2024, and the launch article says spring. “The plans for a Kasteel Rouge 0.0% had been on the drawing board for quite some time,” Xavier Vanhonsebrouck said. Tropical 0.0 was announced in May 2025, alongside the 7% Tropical, and Rubus 0.0, with raspberries, followed in October 2025. The UK shops sell all three in 330ml bottles; the brewery also makes them in 33cl cans.

Vanhonsebrouck doesn’t say how Rouge, Tropical or Rubus 0.0 are made. For Rouge 0.0 it speaks of “an alcohol-free recipe that would not compromise on the quality of the Kasteel beer label”, and it doesn’t mention removing alcohol. Rouge 0.0’s Dutch and Belgian label lists cherry concentrate, sugar and the sweetener stevia; a Dutch shop lists about 2% fruit concentrates in Tropical 0.0, and no sweetener; we found no reliable ingredients list for Rubus 0.0.

Its fourth, Kasteel Donker 0.0, a 0.0% quadrupel, isn’t sold by the UK shops we checked. The brewery’s news of 7 April 2026 said the first bottles were due off the line that day, ahead of a planned autumn launch, because “Many people have been asking for a non-alcoholic version of Kasteel Donker”. For this beer alone it describes the method: “We’re working with alternative yeasts that, under specific conditions, do not produce any alcohol,” and “It’s taken us a year and a half to nail the recipe.” It describes a dark brown beer with a thick beige head and aromas of caramel and candy sugar, from caramelised and toasted malts.

How Kasteel’s alcohol-free beers compare

Alcohol-free fruit beers from Belgian breweries in our directory. Calories as published. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

The Kasteel beers in our directory

Checked October 2026. Rouge’s calories are from the Dutch and Belgian label. Scores are Unhopped ratings out of 10.

Where to buy Kasteel

On 29 October 2026 The Alcohol Free Co had all three, from £19.87 for six, Dry Drinker all three, from £19.39 for six, and Wise Bartender single bottles of Rouge at £3.50; those are affiliate links. For more from Belgium, see our guide to the best Belgian alcohol-free beer.

Facts checked against Vanhonsebrouck’s own website, West-Vlaanderen Werkt, Wikipedia, Albert Heijn, Alcoholvrij Bierhuis, The Alcohol Free Co, Dry Drinker and Wise Bartender, 31 October 2026.