Brouwerij Moortgat Duvel (Belgium)

The Data

Country Belgium

Style Belgian Style Golden Ale

Retail Price 11.99

ABV 8.5%

Score 5 Stars

In the Glass

Appearance

Bright, pale golden-yellow color with a thick, creamy white head.

Aromatics

The aromatics are incredibly perfumed with sweet, robust malt and complex hop notes offering floral and citrus notes with subtle hints of earth and herbs.

Flavor

The palate echoes the nose delivering a rich and complex malt-driven entry that transitions to a fruity yet dry and refreshing bitter accent on the finish.

Intensity & Texture

Full-bodied with a perfect balance of malt, bitterness, and acidity.

Cool Factor

Duvel is without a doubt one of the world's greatest beers both today and throughout history. It doesn't get any cooler than this.

Value Grade

Selling at around $11 for a 750ml bottle Duvel is a tremendous bargain as this classic gem is priced on-par with many so-called craft beers that pale by comparison.

Analysis

The classic Duvel Belgian Strong Golden Ale is among the world’s elite beers. Duvel gets its iconic golden color from barely germinated for five days in the malt house and slowly kilned to create the complex flavors and color. Duvel obtains its typical bitterness by adding various varieties of aromatic Slovenian and Czech hops (Saaz-Saaz & Styrian Golding). It ferments for the first time in tanks with its original yeast strain selected by Albert Moortgat himself in the 1920’s from a Scottish brewery. After maturing in storage tanks in which the beer is cooled down to -2°C, prior to bottling. Wit the addition of extra sugars and yeast, the beer ferments again in the bottle in warm cellars (24°C) for two weeks. The beer is then moved to cold cellars, where it continues to mature and stabilize for a further six weeks. The result is simply sublime.

How to Enjoy

Serve chilled, ideally in the great Duvel tulip-shaped beer glass created in the 1960s. Never drink it from the bottle!