12/08/2026
🚨 Now open! 4pm-6pm.
🍒 Kasteel Rouge - Belgian cherry ale - 8%
The Van Honsebroucks have been brewing in West Flanders since the 1800s and the current one in charge is the seventh generation of the family to do it. The Kasteel range is their headline act, built around Donker, a proper heavyweight quadrupel. Rouge is what happens when they take that beer and lay Oblacinska cherries through it, which is a small dark Serbian variety with far more depth than the cherries you're picturing.
It pours a genuinely striking ruby red under a fine pink head. Cherry on the nose first, sweet and full, with caramel, toffee and malt underneath from the Donker base still making itself known. The mouthfeel is velvety and full-bodied, and there's just enough acidity running through it to stop the fruit taking over. Then it finishes dry, which is the clever bit - it's the reason you want another rather than feeling like you've eaten pudding.
At 8% it hides its strength beautifully, so treat it with a bit of respect. Serve it cold in a wide glass, and it's a lovely thing alongside cheese or dessert. We've got Rubus in too if raspberry's more your thing - Tropical will be back once we can get hold of it.
