Duvel - Belgian bottle beer

Duvel, from Brouwerij Moortgat, Belgium. Behave yourself you little Devil you... I had intended to be a good lad. Having spent a small fortune on beer stock for Christmas the week before, I made a decision not to buy any more this weekend. No harm in looking though eh? Wandering down my favourite Asda aisle, up among the oddball brews, a red and white box was peering down at me from the shelf edge, "Buy me" I heard it say, "Go on you know you want to". Duvel, it may be called but the beer devil in me was still listening as I turned to leave and it leapt into my trolley. Who was I to argue? £5 ... more

Belgium is famous for making top-of-the-range chocolates, and I love them. But I would walk right past those spectacular pralines every time for their delicious beers. The variety and quality of Belgian beer is astounding, from the Trappist beers right down to the mass produced brews like Stella Artois and Jupiler. Stella is about as poor a beer as you can get in belgium! Somewhere in between those two extremes, but very close to the top of the pile, is DUVEL. After the first world war, in 1918, Albert Moortgat tried brewing a beer based on English ale and went off to Scotland to obtain a ... more

Can you name 3 famous Belgians? Jean Claude Van Damme, Hercule Poirot, Plastic Bertrand? (OK there might be more..) My point is that Belgium has always been a quiet sleepy (I’m not saying boring) kind of country, which traditionally has not excelled in very many cultural areas and achived worldwide praise. However in the fields of food and drink the Belgians do have a place at the top table. Bruxelles is considered by many the gastronomic capital of Europe and has far as beer is concerned Belgium is one of the best producers. Now when I talk of Belgian beer I’m not talking of weak ... more

I hate to admit it but I don’t like to be beaten by conundrums, crosswords or cryptic clues. I will worry over it, sleep on it, get out my reference manuals and trawl the internet. Usually the solution will come in a flash of inspiration and then I’ll start worrying why I worried in the first place. I was down at the local supermarket yesterday getting in the supplies for the new month (both for testing and opinionating purposes). I know I have tended to concentrate on beers from the other side of the Atlantic of late leaving the output from the near continent to other worthy and highly ... more

Duvel - this is a nice beer that doesn't seem to know how to sell itself. If you like Leffe you will like Duvel. It is a similar beer more lagarish but with that Belgian feel. It is for sale in supermarkets but only in 330ml bottles, but only for about about £1.80 and never seems to be on sale. You can buy it in a special pack with a glass which is value for money, but without the glass is just too expensive. The taste is typical belgian and worth buying the odd bottle now and then but unless you are a devoutee it is just too expensive. We have a chance with an election coming soon tell your ... more