De Struise

De Struise about

De Struise is a Belgian brewery founded by Urbain Cotteau and Philippe Driessens. They both were owners of a ostrich-raising farm and in 2001 they began experimenting with regional beer recipes with the help of local wine-maker Carlo Grootaert. In 2003, they started the brewery in a barn and brewing witbier, without even a name or a label. Their name comes from the Flemish word from ostrich and it was suggested by De Dolle brewers. They then started recreating old recipes from Carlo´s family—the Pannepot beer, which didn´t fit in any existing style. Their commercial success came when they exchanged some bottles with Jeppe Bjergsø, later founder of Evil Twin, who was then in charge of their bottle shop Ølbutikken. After reaching Denmark, Jeppe spreaded the word among Danish Ratebeer community, and De Struisse were soon exporting to Denmark and the US.