Kris Herteleer, brewer and owner of De Dolle Brouwers in Esen, Belgium spoke with Beer Idiot Dieter Proost on the state of the brewery.
De Dolle is known for its Oerbier, Arabier, Dulle Teve, Stille Nacht, Boskeun and Special Extra Export Stout beers. Herteleer is also the artist behind many of the labels and the iconic yellow blob “Oerbier Man”, a whimsical depiction of a yeast cell.
De Dolle operates out of a building in West Flanders that once housed the Costenoble brewery, dating back to the late 1800s. That brewery had gone under when De Dolle restored the building and began operating in 1980.
The man behind the “the mad brewers”, as the name translates, is also an architect and keen local historian. Herteleer and his brother Jo were pioneers in the 1980s, claiming to be one of the first to start the Belgian revival of artisanal beers, a clawback against the big breweries, namely what is now known as AB InBev, buying up the independents.
