Brouwerij van Honsebrouck is colloquially known as the ‘Castle Browery’. Their story dates back to 1900 when the Sint Jozef brewery was established in the town of Ingelmunster, though the family has a brewery history starting in 1811.
Emile van Honsebrouck was one of 10 children to Amandus van Honsebrouck who set up the original brewery in Werken. He took over running of the family brewery in 1865 when his father suddenly passed away. But his wife did not see eye to eye with her mother-in-law so the couple left the family business to set up their own brewery.
As is the case for most breweries, the business had its ups and downs, but was ultimately successful, with part of the expansion involving buying the Castle of Ingelmunster in 1986. In 1991, they release the first Kasteel beer which is the label the brewery is most known for.
The Filou beer is a relatively recent release in 2014. The brewery wanted to add a refreshing pale beer to the portfolio so Filou was made as a Belgian Tripel with a base of Pils and Munich malts and Kent Golding, Safir and Saaz hops.
It is well balanced with an early sweetness of malt, giving over to the spicy bitterness of the hops. Really easy drinking, the brewers describe this beer as a ‘modern heavy blonde’.