Duvel is one of Belgium’s most iconic beers. It is the beer all Belgian Strong Golden Ales are compared to, and it’s the beer they all want to be. And somehow, I’ve never had this beer in the packs before, which is brilliant news for all of our current members as we right this wrong.
The beer was originally brewed after the end of the First World War and was originally called Victory Ale. As the story goes, a few years after its introduction a local shoe maker (and avid drinker) described the beer as ‘nen echten duvel’ which translates from Flemish as ‘a real devil’, and the name was changed to Duvel.
Interestingly, the brewing process for a batch of Duvel takes around 90 days from start to finish. There are several steps in the process that take the temperature of the beer up and down with lots of conditioning time. Easy to find this info if you are interested in it.
The beer is made from Pilsner malt as well as highly fermentable liquid dextrose, two noble hops in Saaz-Saaz and Styrian Goldings and the beer is fermented with the original yeast that was brought from Scotland by Albert Moortgat.
Very light in colour with a perfect white head, crisp malt body with hints of orange and grapefruit, some prickly spicing from the yeast and very little hint of that ABV. The beer is very dry on the finish with a lingering bitterness.
Did you know? It is said that the original version of Victory Ale was most likely a much darker beer, more like a Scotch Ale!
The newest beer from farmhouse masters Blaugies is Blonde de Blaugies
by Brouwerij Hoegaarden (AB-InBev)
A classic Belgian Strong Golden Ale from the Hoegaarden brewery
by Brasserie d'Achouffe (Brouwerij Duvel Moortgat)
The iconic strong golden ale that is La Chouffe
The 'Devil's' little brother, made to the same recipe but without secondary fermentation in the bottle
A Belgian classic - Duvel - with a current hop-driven twist
The classical Belgian Strong Blond Ale, jazzed up with an extra hop that changes each year
The 2015 special edition Duvel Tripel Hop features the Equinox hop
The 2016 version of Duvel's Tripel Hop, featuring an experimental hop from the Yakima Valley
This is now the permanent feature in the Duvel range, with the Citra version being voted the favourite of all the Duvel Tripel Hop varieties
The 'other' Duvel Tripel Hop in the range shows of Cashmere hops
The favourite of the Duvel Tripel Hop series is the Citra hop version
A big Belgian Tripel from one of Belgium's big family brewer groups in Duvel-Moortgat
A typically taste Belgian Dubbel or Brune/Bruin with a sweet fruity and malty body, balanced by an earthy, spicy and slightly citrus hop bite
