Duvel Moortgat

Duvel Moortgat began as a small farm brewery in Breendonk in 1871 and grew into one of Belgium’s best-known family brewing groups. Its heritage is especially distinctive for the way one brewery’s experiments with British ale, Scottish yeast, bottle conditioning and a purpose-built tulip glass helped shape the identity of Duvel and the modern Belgian specialty-beer experience. A family brewery from Breendonk Jan-Leonard Moortgat and his wife founded the Moortgat farm brewery in 1871. Their top-fermented beers found an audience first in Puurs and the surrounding area, then in Brussels. Around 1900, their sons Albert and Victor joined the business: Albert brewed while Victor delivered beer to Brussels by horse and dray. The brewery remains associated with the Moortgat family and is now led by its fourth generation. From British inspiration to Duvel After Belgian brewers encountered English ales during and after the First World War, Albert Moortgat set out to make a beer in that spirit. He obtained a yeast strain from a Scottish brewery, and the family continued refining the recipe. The beer was first called Victory Ale in 1918; it entered production under the name Duvel in 1923. Beer and glass as one tradition Duvel Moortgat’s heritage includes a close relationship between brewing and serving. In the late 1960s, the brewery introduced a tulip-shaped Duvel glass designed to hold a full 33-cl bottle while concentrating aroma and helping retain carbonation and foam. The brewery’s original Duvel is bottle-refermented and matured for an extended period, giving the beer its characteristic effervescence and bottle-conditioned identity. A family brewery whose defining tradition links British-inspired brewing, Scottish yeast, bottle conditioning and the iconic tulip glass. Breendonk, Flanders, Belgium 1871 1871: Jan-Leonard Moortgat and his wife founded the Moortgat farm brewery in Breendonk. 1900: Albert and Victor Moortgat joined the brewery, with Albert brewing and Victor handling deliveries to Brussels. 1918: The new beer developed from British-ale inspiration was initially named Victory Ale. 1923: Production of the beer under the name Duvel began. 1960: The Duvel tulip glass was introduced in the late 1960s as a purpose-designed vessel for the beer.