Moortgat Launches Duvel

In 1923, Brouwerij Moortgat in Breendonk began producing the beer that became known as Duvel. Albert and Victor Moortgat had developed the strong, top-fermented beer after World War I, drawing inspiration from British ales and using a yeast culture associated with Scotland. The beer was initially called Victory Ale in reference to the end of the war. According to the brewery’s traditional account, a drinker described the strong beer as “a real devil,” or nen echten duvel in the local dialect, and the name Duvel was adopted. The beer of the 1920s was darker than the exceptionally pale version developed over subsequent decades. Modern Duvel nevertheless grew from this original beer and became highly influential as a model for the strong, dry, highly carbonated ales now commonly described as Belgian golden strong ale.