Hoegaarden

The modern brewery was revived in 1966 by Pierre Celis, a local milkman who had worked at the last Hoegaarden brewery before its closure in 1957. Celis built a new operation called De Kluis and rebuilt the Belgian witbier style from near-extinction. The brand is now owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewing group, and is sold in more than 70 countries.

Hoegaarden is produced as an unfiltered, naturally cloudy witbier, with orange peel and coriander seeds from Curaçao forming the flavour backbone alongside hops: ingredients that trace back to the monks who first developed the recipe in the village. The brand's hexagonal glass, designed to minimise hand contact and keep the beer cold for longer, has become as recognisable as the beer itself.

The AF range launched in 2011, placing Hoegaarden among the earlier mainstream European wheat beer brands to enter the category. Production involves dealcoholisation: the beers are brewed at full strength and the alcohol removed afterwards. AB InBev has invested directly in dealcoholisation technology at its Belgian breweries to support and expand the range. Hoegaarden's AF lineup covers the witbier style at 0.0%, giving sober-curious drinkers access to the naturally cloudy appearance and citrus-spice character of the original.

Distribution is broad, with AB InBev's global retail footprint placing the range in mainstream supermarkets and specialist retailers across multiple continents. The AF range is compact relative to the scale of the parent brand, with the core witbier style doing the majority of the commercial work.