Grembergen is a village in the Belgian province of East Flanders. The village covers ten square kilometers and is home to just over 7,000 people. Village life is tranquil and offers residents a high quality of life with sporting events, clubs, church festivals, concerts and a picturesque landscape. Grembergen even used to have its own brewery - a tradition that was revived almost 15 years ago.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Anne-Coleta Waumann decided to convert the old oil mill in Grembergen into a brewery. The brewery was run by her sons and flourished until the copper kettles were confiscated during the First World War to be used to make ammunition. This put a temporary end to the brewing operation. After the war, new kettles were acquired and brewing continued, but the same thing happened in the Second World War and the brewery closed its doors. Vincent Dilewyns followed in the Waumann family's footsteps almost 55 years later. The dental technician had always had a passion for brewing and ran a small home brewery in his own four walls, where he produced beer for family and friends. Coming from a family with a brewing background, he was so drawn to hops, malt and yeast that he attended courses, organized equipment, procured raw materials and brewed his very first beer, the Vicaris Tripel, on December 11, 1999. He worked on his recipes for a while and soon achieved a standard of quality and taste that impressed everyone.
His brewing project, which was actually only intended for private use, really took off when the Grembergen local history society became aware of his brews. Word of Vincent's brewing skills had spread in the village and people wanted to serve Vicaris at an exhibition on Grembergen's brewing history. Vincent seized the opportunity and organized a brewing license. The exhibition was a great success and all the remaining crates were sold afterwards. One of these crates ended up at the Zythos beer association by chance and led to the Dilewyns receiving an invitation to the Zythos beer festival. Vincent's brews took the audience by storm and were immediately awarded a prize. In 2010, the family decided to take the plunge and open their own brewery. Today, Vincent is at the helm of the company together with his daughter Claire and his range of various Vicaris beers has multiplied. The brews reflect the Belgian brewing tradition wonderfully and show that with passion and perseverance you can achieve a lot.
