LEFF
LEFFE, A TRADITION
BREWING SINCE 1240
Our history finds its origins in Notre-Dame de Leffe, an abbey of Premonstratensian canons, founded in 1152. The Norbertines, like the monks, live in community and according to certain rules. However, canons have a very open worldview and enjoy engaging with the people around them. Thus, since the founding of the abbey, the Norbertines have been known to pay particular attention to welcoming guests and pilgrims.
For the many pilgrims who passed through the abbey, the door was always open... but that's not all.
From 1240, canons brewed beer in Leffe. Guests and passers-by were able to quench their thirst with a healthy and refreshing drink. Indeed, it was a difficult period: the numerous epidemics which ravaged European territory at that time made the water undrinkable. Fortunately, an ideal solution emerged: beer brewing. During the brewing process, the boiling temperature killed the microbes, making the beer safe for consumption. The quality of the water has improved over the centuries, but beer brewing has remained, even among the Norbertins of Leffe.
After the events of the French Revolution, religious life was briefly interrupted. This was also the case for Leffe Abbey, which was destroyed several times at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1902, the abbey was temporarily returned to the hands of Norbertine canons from France. They rebuilt the church and the abbey. In 1929, Tongerlo Abbey was destroyed by fire, following which the Kempen clergy were housed in Leffe Abbey. After Tongerlo Abbey was rebuilt, it was decided that some of the canons would reside permanently in Leffe.
In 1952, Father-Abbot Nys and brewer Albert Lootvoet decided to revive the abbey's brewing tradition. Over the years, a wide range of Leffe beers have emerged and been served to beer lovers.