De Nachtraafbrouwers

Client Brewer in Diksmuide, West Flanders, Belgium 🇧🇪

Established in 2016

Contact
Vlaslaan 15, Diksmuide, 8600, Belgium
Description
Het biermerk Nachtraaf werd eind 2016 opgericht in Diksmuide en bracht aanvankelijk 3 variaties: een Dubbel-Bruin van 7°, een Tripel-Blond van 9° en een Quadrupel-Donker van 10°. Het zijn allen heldere bieren van hoge gisting met hergisting in de fles.
Half augustus 2018 kwam een vierde telg op de markt: de Speciale-Amber, een dorstlessend terrasbier van 6°.

Behalve de sterke nadruk op de hoge kwaliteit van de producten, besteedt Nachtraaf van meetaf aan veel aandacht aan de beleving rond de bieren.
Zo verbouwde Nachtraaf een oud caravannetje tot “de Nachtravan”, een rijdende bar in foodtruck-stijl; is er groeiende aandacht voor 'foodpairing', en wordt de link met muziek gelegd tijdens de Nachtraaf Roots&Bluesrally in Gistel.

Deze inzet werd in februari 2019 bekroond toen De Nachtraafbrouwers op het Internationaal Bierfestival in Wieze de Innovation Award mocht ontvangen uit handen van de bekende zythologe Kristel Logie.

Hoewel de bieren van Nachtraaf momenteel op vandaag niet fysiek binnen de stadsgrenzen worden gebrouwen, is er sprake van een Diksmuids biermerk. De maatschappelijke zetel van de Nachtraafbrouwers bevindt zich immers in de stad, waar ook de smaken en het concept werden uitgedacht. De distributie gebeurt vanuit een bedrijfsgebouw op het Diksmuidse industriegebied van Kaaskerke.

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7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

330ml bottle @ the Nachtraaf pop-up, Diksmuide, prior to watching Snot at 4ad. Pours a hazed reddish amber, large beige head. Aroma presents a recognisable fruity oud bruin sweetness, flavour profile adds a pleasant sour balsamic bite with myriad wild elements in the background, though don't appear to surge forward like the oud bruin greats. Soft grainy malt undercurrent. Overall, balanced, drinkable with a nice style character.

Tried from Bottle on 08 Aug 2025 at 11:05


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8.4
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

330ml bottle @ Nachtraaf pop-up shop, Diksmuide before watching Snot at 4ad. Pours a golden amber, good off-white head. Robust hoppy piney nose. Excellent resinous west coast IPA character.. best old school IPA I've had in a while!

Tried from Bottle on 08 Aug 2025 at 10:55


7.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7

Bottle picked up from Dranken Vandewoude Veurne, Belgium. Shared the beer with Jonas and Ursula at home Friday 16th May 2025, listening to Stars of the Lid - And Their Refinement of the Decline. Pours mid, dark brown, good charity, typically Belgian, soft mouthfeel, spicy and whilst a little sweet (compared to previous beers from Schneeeule & Kykao) liked it.

Tried from Bottle on 16 May 2025 at 21:40


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Big bottle, thanks Fin & Loz! Bright ruby red Brown, offwhite head. Dusty roast, wooden, licorice , nice dry Belgian yeast, medium full roast, bready, quite chewy dry bread mouthfeel, foamy in the back.Licorice root, honey, dark sugar, cedar wood finish, quite nice balance.

Tried from Bottle on 16 May 2025 at 20:48


7
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Bottle. Dark deep red. Malt, raisins. Odd front heavy, then smooth long creamy. Boozy creamy raisins. Wood earthy. Warm. Not bad.

Tried from Bottle on 16 May 2025 at 20:19


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7.3
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

330ml bottle @ 't Hof Van Rhile whilst admiring the cows which helped make the two excellent ice creams I had on-site. Pours a misty yellow with voluminous white head. Aroma is gently creamy, light vanilla brioche and creamy tangents. Continues to taste, a moderate triple character, hides the strength quite well. Not bad.

Tried from Bottle on 09 Apr 2025 at 07:25


4.4
Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 4 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5

A clear deep golden beer with a white lacing. Aroma of citra, caramel, sweet malt. Taste of sweet pale malt, citrus, tea.

Tried from Bottle on 12 Mar 2025 at 14:15


4.4
Appearance - 5 | Aroma - 4 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 4

Getreidiger, süß hellmalziger Beginn, trocken hopfig, knackig bitter. Die brotige Süße stört etwas, die Bitterkeit bleibt intensiv, mittellanger Abgang. Naja... 8/6/8/6/7/6

Tried from Bottle on 08 Mar 2025 at 12:52


7.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Nachtraafbrouwers connecting with the style most associated with their region (the southern part of historical Flanders): a Flemish red, something I would never have expected from them. Bottle from Dranken Vanquathem in Zedelgem. Very thick and foamy, pale yellow-beige, even-bubbled, moussey, busily cobweb-lacing, pillowy head towering over a clear, warm mahogany brown beer with deep amber glow, misty with sediment. Aroma of young balsamic vinegar, forest fruit yoghurt, fresh blueberries, lavender, soap, red wine vinegar, elderberries, milk gone sour, goat cheese, brambleberry juice, freshly cut cucumber, green apple, caramel candy. Rounded, fruity yet sleek onset, passionfruit, blackberries and green apple, tart with a sweet core (dates), medium carbonated; smooth, bit vinous mouthfeel. Slick caramelly malt core, slightly biscuity as well, sweet with that yoghurty lactic sourness piercing through all the way, carrying the sour berry and green apple effects onwards but failing to unfold the complexity needed for this demanding style; the sourness even remains a bit on the sharp side, with notes of balsamico and redcurrant, but there is clearly a lot of candi-sugary, candied-cherry-like sweetness has been added as well, sticking to the teeth. No woodiness here, instead the tartness, fruity as it is, becomes almost cherry Coke-like in the end, as it clings to that sweetness more intimately; hops are very subtle even though they deposit a leafy end bitterishness, and so a commercial forest fruit yoghurt feel is what I am left with. The sweetness is equally strong here as the sourness - both too outspoken for this style, which is all about patience, delicacy and refinement. Bearing earlier encounters with these guys' beers in mind, I was already suspicious when I unexpectedly stumbled upon this bottle, and my gut feeling proves me right: this is way too sleek, clean and mass-oriented to add anything significant to the precious 'oud bruin' heritage. Basically an overly sweet and overly clean dubbel unsubtly soured with whatever they threw in to make it sour - I am guessing industrial lactic acid, not unlike that Zulte in its final phase of life, a beer still resounding in the memories of older Belgian beer lovers (and in my case, not very cheerfully so). This whole Oud Bruin lacks the careful barrel ageing, blending and maturing required for the style, which confirms my opinion that these Nachtraafbrouwers, whichever way they produce their beer, are up to no good: so far all of the beers I had from them were implausibly sleek, 'easy', industrial and, frankly, completely redundant. This one is no exception and an insult to the families who have been creating 'real' Flemish red for generations. No more Nachtraafbrouwers for me.

Tried on 27 Mar 2024 at 15:03


7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Bottle 33cl. @home poured into a tumbler. Clear medium amber colour, good moussy off-white head, good retention, light lacing. Restrained aroma, roasted malt, caramel, dark dried fruits, some apple peel. Smooth taste, medium sweet, slightly bitter, roast, malty, caramel, light fruity notes. Medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, smooth sweetbitter aftertaste, sugary and light spicy notes, lacks some depth but otherwise very nice.

Tried from Bottle from Finest Belgian Beers on 19 Feb 2024 at 19:05