De Dolle

Esen, Vlaanderen - Belgium

Louis Nevejan, the founder of the brewery, was a doctor. They recently found archival evidence that the first building dates back to 1835. In the past it was both a brewery and a distillery. The founder died in 1882 and the brewery was sold to Alouis Costenoble. The family brewed for three generations until 1980, when the brewery stopped.

Beer brands include "coq pils oud" and "bruin & cosmos". In Esen, there were six breweries and two distilleries. The current brewer is doing historical research on the breweries in West Flanders since 1900 AD and has received the "Golden Hammer" trophy, a biennial award for historical research on breweries. This was awarded in Bruges on March 27, 2000.