The Crazy Brewers

The name comes from a small cycling club where they were at most four members. These were two brothers Herteleer, Dirk Coussée, and Bernard Veranneman. One condition for joining was to complete the annual trip from Roeselare to Cap-Gris-Nez and back by bike in one day. This remarkable tradition is still repeated today, although the Dolle Dravers no longer exist. (In the year 2000, it was the 25th time). In addition to the annual international 'star ride', 'classics' were also raced; this is a bike ride of at least 100 km with three mountains of the first category. The first category mountains include places like Kemmelberg, Rode and Zwarte Berg, Casselberg, Kluisberg, Muur van Geraardsbergen, etc. The Dolle Dravers, at least some of them, have also completed the raid Pyrénéen and the raid Alpin numerous times. When Jo and Kris Herteleer were 18 and 20 years old, they rode from Irun (near Biarritz) over the Pyrenees and the Alps back to Roeselare in three weeks.
The club's location was a small house that used to serve as a pigeon loft, later as a washhouse. Among the many cyclists, there was not only a thorough knowledge of distances and slopes but also of the regional beer culture. In 1980, the Dolle Dravers became the Dolle Brouwers by acquiring an abandoned brewery in Esen near Diksmuide. They would brew 'Oerbier', as they had previously experimented at home in the wash tub, using only natural ingredients and with bottle conditioning. Since 1980, several beers have been added. The production remains stable at around 1000 Hl per year.

Paertje