Het verhaal van de Grimbergenabdij
Sinds 1128 werd de abdij van Grimbergen driemaal verwoest door brand tijdens oorlogen, en telkens weer heropgebouwd door de paters.
Since 1128, Grimbergen Abbey has been destroyed three times by fire during wars, and has been rebuilt each time by the monks.
The phoenix symbolizes this inspiring legacy and the almost nine centuries of brewing knowledge of Grimbergen.
In 1128, the lords of Grimbergen asked Norbert of Xanten, founder of the Premonstratensian order, to build an abbey and he granted their wish.
Shortly afterwards, in the same year, the monks of Grimbergen Abbey started brewing a regional beer.
In 1142 kwamen de heren van Grimbergen in opstand tegen de hertog van Brabant. Dit was het begin van de Oorlog van Grimbergen.
De abdij werd volledig verwoest, maar werd in de jaren na de oorlog steen voor steen heropgebouwd.
In 1566 the abbey was destroyed for the second time during the Wars of Religion. The fathers fled to Brussels and were only able to return 30 years later to rebuild the community.
In 1629 the abbey was refounded in Grimbergen.
From that moment on, the fathers and the community decided to include the phoenix in their coat of arms as a symbol of rebirth, in addition to the motto "ardet nec consumitur", which means "burned but not destroyed" (but can also have other translations).
Encouraged by the phoenix, the fathers ensured that the beer of Grimbergen started flowing again.
But a new danger lurked: in the 18th century, during the French Revolution, all goods were sold in churches and monasteries.
In 1798 the fathers had to leave again and the abbey and its brewery were destroyed for a third time.
The return of brewing at Grimbergen Abbey in 2021 is, as it were, a fourth resurrection and forms a special chapter in our history.
Brewing new limited edition beers within the walls of the abbey for the first time in more than 200 years is a great achievement for the fathers, for the Grimbergen community and for all those who love Grimbergen beer.
