De Dolle Brouwers

In Esen, De Dolle Brouwers emerged from a handful of cycling friends and an empty brewery, turning home experiments into one of West Flanders’ distinctive modern brewing stories. The brewery’s identity is rooted in place: an old brewing site, natural ingredients, bottle conditioning, and a name inherited from the friends’ cycling club. Its first beer, Oerbier, appeared in 1980, marking the beginning of the brewery under its present name. From cycling club to brewery The name De Dolle Brouwers grew from the cycling club De Dolle Dravers, whose members included brothers Herteleer, Dirk Coussée, and Bernard Veranneman. In 1980, they took over an empty brewery in Esen near Diksmuide and began brewing Oerbier, following earlier household-scale experiments made with natural ingredients and secondary fermentation in the bottle. An older brewing site in Esen The brewery occupies a site whose brewing history reaches back to 1835, when doctor Louis Nevejan founded a brewery that later included a distillery. The premises subsequently became associated with the Costenoble family before De Dolle Brouwers took them over. Today, the Esen location remains central to the brewery’s story and visitor experience. A glass that preserves the beginning A De Dolle Brouwers Oerbier tasting glass recorded by The Belgian Beer Glass Museum places the brewery in Esen and carries the marking “Anno 1980.” The glass also preserves the concise motto “Nat en Straf,” while its modest, stemmed form reflects its use for tasting beer at the brewery. A modern Esen brewery built on an old site, where cycling camaraderie became naturally conditioned Belgian beer. Esen, near Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium 1980 1835: Doctor Louis Nevejan founded the brewery in Esen. 1882: Alois Costenoble acquired the brewery, beginning its long association with the Costenoble family. 1980: The founders took over the empty brewery, adopted the name De Dolle Brouwers, and brewed Oerbier as their first beer.