Leffe
For some time now, Belgian beers have been an integral part of the shelves of well-stocked drinks retailers. Even before the rise of craft beer, Belgium had become a popular export country for beer specialties. With breweries like the former Leffe monastery brewery, that's no wonder!
Panacea beer
The origins of the Leffe Brewery date back to 1240, when the monks of the Notre-Dame de Leffe Abbey decided to brew beer for health reasons. Due to its location, the monastery was always a popular destination for pilgrims. Visitors were always welcome to the monks, but in times of plague and cholera they also posed a significant health risk for the abbey and its visitors. Beer served people as a strengthening drink and was also a safe food because the water was boiled in the brewing process. Germs contained in the water were reliably killed and you could drink without hesitation without catching any diseases in your already weakened state. The plague was eventually overcome, but people continued to enjoy Leffe's good beer. But when the love of beer took over at some point and the parishioners in the surrounding towns preferred a beer to the prayer book on Sundays, the abbot had to speak out and restore order. Trials and confusion in politics led to the monastery being closed and only reopened in 1929 by Abbot Nys and Albert Lootvoet. Fortunately, the monks' old recipes were carefully preserved and could be used again for beers like Leffe Blonde when it reopened.
Committed to tradition
Even after the horrors of the French Revolution, things were not calm and quiet at the Leffe Brewery. Numerous changes in management caused non-stop tension and turmoil. Nevertheless, the brewers proudly stuck to the centuries-old traditions and recipes. Leffe is still one of the traditional, handcrafted beers that Belgium is so well known for. Even if not every bottle is actually brewed in Belgium anymore, you can still be sure of the excellent quality and good taste of Leffe beers. With beers like Brune or their winter beer, Leffe doesn't always comply with the purity law, but that's no longer the only unique selling point when it comes to good beer.
Leffe – brewing tradition since 1240!
