Since 1926, Brewing has been both a tradition and an artform in Benifontaine, passed down from generation to generation. Starting life as a family-run microbrewery, Brasserie Castelain has gone from strength to strength thanks to its use of time-honoured artisanal production techniques and its respect for tradition.

Thoroughness, patience, tradition:  key words for Castelain’s bière de garde and saison beers, brewed to recipes which remain unchanged since the brewery’s humble beginnings.

A family story...

Deep in the heart of France’s Artois area, Roland Castelain and his wife took on the old Benifontaine brewery. Their children, Annick and Yves had one passion, to continue their parents’ alchemy of turning water into beer. For them it was entirely natural to want to breathe new life into the work started by previous generations.

Yves Castelain brewed an original Bière de Garde, the famous Ch’ti Blonde, that became renowned for its quality across France’s Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. It was an immediate and unqualified success, becoming one of northern France’s standout products.
This brewing dynasty was also responsible for brewing France’s first organic beer, Jade, which is the living embodiment of the brewery’s commitment to the environment, something it developed over more than 30 years.

In order to produce speciality beers with ever increasing levels of quality, Castelain furnished itself with state-of-the-art bottling equipment, a new tool that allowed their beers to maintain their unarguable quality. Faced with growing success, the brewery also fitted out a new aging cellar, and increased its capacity from 5,000 to 7,500 hectolitres. This installation offered an unparalleled product thanks to a long aging process.

Driven by a thirst for progress, the Castelain brewery extended its range, launching Maltesse, the result of generations of know-how. Later on, the brewery renovated its premises, with a facelift for the fermenting room, in order to meet ever stricter hygiene rules, and to make the job of the brewer easier.

For Brasserie Castelain, ecology is not just a pipedream. For this reason, the brewery acquired a new washer in order to reduce energy and water consumption whilst producing an ever greater quantity of beer – 45,000 hectolitres in 2009.
A genuine response to the beer consumer who cares about sustainable development and a quality product, Derby is testament to the brewery’s dynamism and innovation.