Leffe Brune / Brown
Abbaye de Leffe S.A.

This is a brown beer. It is very dark brown, as a matter of fact. When I look through the glass I can see some brown-purple shades in the clear liquid. But the foam is white, firm and melts in a medium pace.

The smell is very sweet. It reminds me of traditional Swedish non-fermented “small beer”, sweeten with saccharin. I can smell some flavours of pumpernickel bread, and maybe some hints of smoked ham. There is something in the smell that I just have to categorize as “Belgian”.

The taste of this beer follows the same pattern, generally sweet with a touch of dark rye bread. An interesting observation is the total lack of a traditional taste of hops. There sure is some kind of hops in this brew, as a small bitterness appears after several minutes, but when I drink the beer, I cannot find the hopes I am used to from other beers. Neither can I really say that I find much evidence of fermentation in the taste.

The carbon dioxide is a little on the sharp side, but not too sharp.

The aftertaste is dominated by the saccharine sweetness, but after a while, the bitter notes makes the taste more balanced.

 

 

Dark brown to dull and opaque black with a tall tan foam head.

I was expecting this to be more along the line of more painful oud bruins, but this is a clean, non-acidic, really pleasantly malty brown ale while still drinkably fluid & lightly carbonated. It's got mildly leafy, nutty qualities with hints of crabapple and even semisweet maple.

This was probably my favourite beer when I used to sit downstairs in E55 when I was 18 years old, in Melbourne. I hardly drank it since then, until now. Just drank the Leffe blonde, now let's try this.

Looks amazing. Bubbles are fairly small, lots of head, but not a ridiculous head like a Duvel or Orvale ; ) Almost black. Few beers are as beautiful as this.

Similar aromas as the blonde, just a little more caramelly and more bready. I actually prefer the blonde aroma.

Wow. No brune beer from other countries ever seems to get close to a Belgian brune. Even the worst ones. The taste is less complex than the blonde, but is much smoother, and the alcohol is more covertly hidden. It really is a totally different beer and doesn't seem to have much resemblance to the blonde at all, in terms of flavour. I guess clove and chocolate dominate. And there is a courageous bitter kick, that tastes a little skunky and off. But compared with a Marendous brune or most other Belgian ones, it's not even close in terms of smoothness and flavour. Feel has great smoothness but it's also quite a simple mouth feel. Rather a sugary aftertaste, that I wouldn't usually associate with such a dark beer. I actually prefer Guinness to this.

Leffe is great when compared to commercial beer manufacturers. But compared with most Belgian brewers with the excepton of Stella, it's not as good...but it is cheaper. So it deserves some overall marks for this.

Overall I prefer the blonde. It's a little more unique and interesting. This tries to do something that other Belgian beers do better. And because it's pasteurized, it's flavours that mature over time in the bottle, become destroyed. Because Inbev want it to last longer to make more profit. It would be much better unpasteurized ; )

330ml. bottle in Vientiane, Laos. Pours a clear red-brown colour with a light brown head. Aroma of toasted caramel, malt. Taste of malt, caramel, hops, slightly sweet. A pleasant brown abbey dubbel.

3/18/23 Poured from a 330 ml bottle purchased from Washington Beer Store.

Pours a beautiful clear brown with plenty of foam and lacing.

Aroma is metallic, roasty and slight sweet brown sugar walnut. Bready.

Taste irony pumpernickel. Smooth sweet malt. Low carbonation. Smooth dahn the throat.

Overall a very good Belgian dark ale.

Poured a semi-lucid mahogany color from bottle into a standard pint glass with a huge creamy head, plenty of hang time and loads of lacing. Aroma is malty with earthy overtones of raisin & plum. Taste is undeniably yeasty but very well balanced with the malts and has a sweet semi-dry finish. Light to medium in body with very slight carbonation tingle. A very drinkable ale and an excellent introduction to the style.

Poured from a bottle into a chalice.

A: Pours a beautiful mahogany with a heterogenously-bubbled off-white head, settling into a frothy texture with medium lacing.

S: Delicious Belgian yeast dominates. Rich malty character, with golden raisin and apricot. Exquisite honey and esters as it warms up.

T: Malty body with currant and caramel. Alcoholic sweetness present, with a slightly yeastiness. Not as complex as the wonderful head but still delicious. Estery once the sediment goes in—the yeast is doing a lot of heavy lifting here.

M: Light and not super thick, with a liveliness to the carbonation.

Overall: Delicious and satisfying. Wonderful example of how complex a lower alcohol Belgian dark ale can be. Certainly distinct from its blonde cousin and equally enjoyable.

 

 

Poured standard 11.2 oz bottle into tulip glass at home.

Belgian brown. Beautiful three finger head.

Strong phenols coming on stronger than 6.5% ABV would suggest.

Charred fruit. Esters. Aftertaste detracts a few points (or maybe I should say adds them because of originality) - burnt toffee, licorice, dark tobacco.

Hard to imagine pairing this with anything other than dessert.

Something about these pack a headpunch beyond their ABV - ideal for end of the night when you wanna get into the stratosphere.

 

This was one of the first Belgian beers I ever tried and loved it. After trying more Belgian beers over time I finally had the chance to try this again, and I don't like it near as much any more. It is good, but not great. McChouffe is a far better Belgian Brown. This beer has too much of a certain flavor about it (phenol or liquorice?) and needs a more balanced flavor. A little thin as well.

 

 

 

LOOK: Pours a deep mahogany brown with an outstanding tan head that maintains good retention and plenty of side glass lace.
AROMA: Roasted malts and yeast, cloves. Sweet caramel, maple syrup.
TASTE: Cloves linger in the aftertaste. Not a fan of that.
Looking for a malty Brown Ale but the Belgain characteristics were quite prominent, so not what I was hoping for.

Pours a dark mahogany with rich cherry accents, huge 4" fluffy tan head with exceptional retention and lacing. Nose is roasted malt, light smoke, charred wood, a caramel. Taste is interesting with notes of caramel, baking soda, raisin, and a small amount of raw sugar on the finish. Bit of warming alcohol lingers after the finish. Mouthfeel is ultra soft and smooth with only a hint of carbonation. Overall a nice, drinkable beer, though the sugary finish is a little off-putting.