Duvel Moortgat N.V.

Aside from water, beer’s chief ingredient, barley is the primary raw material. The barley has to germinate for five days in the maltworks before being dried with hot air. This results in malt. The colour of the malt and consequently, of the beer as well, is determined by the temperature. In the brewing hall we mix the ground malt with the brewing water that is drawn from our own sources. We have four 60m-deep wells. This mixture of water and malt, the mash, is brought to various temperatures in a series of steps. The enzymes that are formed during germination further break down the starch in the malt into fermentable sugars. Through filtration, the solids (draff) are separated from the liquid sugar extract (wort). During the cooking process, we add various types of hops which give the beer its characteristic bitterness and pleasing aromas. For the hops our brewers select only the best aromatic varieties, Saaz-Saaz from the Czech Republic and Styrian Golding from Slovenia. After the hops are removed and the mixture is processed in the whirlpool, it is allowed to cool and the beer extract is pumped into the fermentation vessels.