The brewery Moortgat was founded in 1871 by Jan-Leonard Moortgat, who was descended from a family of brewers that lived in Steenhuffel, Belgium. In the 1950s, the third generation of Moortgats took control of the brewery.

 

In the early 1970s, when the company was struggling financially, Moortgat bottled and distributed the Danish beer, Tuborg. The two companies ended this arrangement in the early 1980s, but it did save the brewery who, by then, had managed to also set up massive distribution channels for their flagship beer, Duvel. In June 1999, Duvel Moortgat NV went public on Euronext Brussels.

 

Duvel Moortgat was an original investor in the Brewery Ommegang craft brewery founded in Cooperstown, New York, in the late 1990s. More recently, the Belgian company took over complete control of the brewery and founded a stateside sales organization Duvel USA to handle both Ommegang and Duvel Moortgat brands and others.

 

In 2006, Duvel Moortgat bought fellow Belgian brewery Brasserie d'Achouffe.

 

In 2010, Duvel Moortgat acquired 100 percent of the shares of the De Koninck Brewery. With this acquisition, Duvel Moortgat was able to expand its portfolio of specialty beers.

 

In 2014, Duvel Moortgat acquired Boulevard Brewing Company, which is located in Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. In July 2015, it was announced that Duvel Moortgat would acquire Paso Robles, California craft brewer Firestone Walker Brewing Company.