Belgium
Breendonkdorp
Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat
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The history of Duvel is closely linked to the Duvel Moortgat family brewery. 1871 was the year in which Jan-Leonard Moortgat established the Moortgat brewery in Breendonk as a genuine brewery-farm.
As a descendant of a brewing family from Steenhuffel, brewing was in his blood, and with his entrepreneurial spirit, Jan-Leonard steadily increased his customer numbers.
When he was no longer able to work, he discovered the same passion for brewing in his two sons, Albert and Victor, who were glad to help their father expand the brewery: Albert became the brewer, while Victor took on the responsibility for distributing the beer with a horse and cart.
After the first world war, in 1918, Albert tried brewing a beer based on English ale and went off to Scotland to obtain a sample of the local yeast.
He came up against resistance from the local brewers, who wanted to protect the identity of their product. After a real odyssey around countless breweries, he was able to obtain a jug of yeast that would form the foundation of his success. Right through to today, yeast from the same source is always used.
When the first brew using the new yeast was sampled in Breendonk, it was described somewhat abstractly as "a real devil". From 1923 onwards, this beer was marketed under the name of "Duvel". Sales began slowly (3000 barrels in 1926).
But thanks to the top quality of this unique beer, sales increased year after year. Today, the fourth generation of Moortgats ensures the production of Duvel, currently more than 2.752.000 crates, and its' availability all over the world.
(Info from: Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat, 2002)
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