Leffe Rituel
Abbaye de Leffe S.A.

2026-04-23
330ml bottle in a branded glass at Maison Leffe in Dinant. Bottle is dated 06/06/27. Review entered from notes.

Pours dark gold, approaching amber, with a big thick head and tons of carbonation. Smell is bread, yeast, grain husk. Hint of Belgian banana, maybe clove. Taste is quite boozy, far from sweet. Strong earthy bitter, banana comes through more strongly in the aftertaste. Mouthfeel is dangerously light and dry. Nice beer. Amped up, cleaned up version of the blonde, maybe.

Abbaye de Leffe S.A. "Leffe Rituel 9˚"
75 cl brown glass bottle coded "Best before: 17/01/2027 32 2 01:56"
€4.99 @ Eurospar, Ravenna, IT

Look: A clear amber body (fingerprint through the glass clarity) is capped by a thumb's width of white foam. The head retention is excellent and the lacing is better than average.
Aroma: Malty and sweetly bready with a lot of clove, some caramel, a touch of vanilla, and some mild banana.
Taste: As the aroma suggests, it's sweet and malty with some caramelish malt, lots of yeasty clove, banana, and vanilla, and a hint of spiciness that may be from the alcohol rather than the yeast. The alcohol clearly has a presence but it may be partially obscured by the sugariness I find that OK as it's a strong beer at 9%, and I'd be surprised, and perhaps disappointed, if it wasn't there. Beyond that there's also a fairly strong note of fallen or bruised apple, and a pinch of some background spiciness that's kind of like mace or allspice. It's not that bitter but nor does it need to be as the alcohol is helping to keep everything dry. Having said that, if you're having multiple glasses and the beer has been allowed to warm it may head towards becoming a bit cloying.
Feel: Full-medium in body and crisp but then gently smooth and creamy across the palate once warmed.
Overall: It's quite charming as it is, although I find it a little on the sweeter side of things. It also lacks a little bit of complexity in comparison to some of the other beers in its category but at the same time its price point balances that as in "you get what you pay for."
Review #9,346

 

 

ottle 0.75L.
Clear amber body with an average, frothy, off-white head, mostly lasting with some lacing.
Moderate hoppy (orange) and malty (grains) aroma with notes of fruits (peach?), alcohol and spices.
Moderate sweet and light-to-moderate bitter and acidic flavour.
Medium body with watery-to-oily texture; average carbonation; moderate alcoholic warming in the finish.

 

Bought from UtoBeer in London's Borough Market (the best source of Belgians I've found in Britain.)
Two comments on Rituel.

First... When I drank Leffe BSPA 9, I suggested they use less brewers' sugar and slightly more hops. Not sure if they heard me correct; but Rituel 9 has probably slightly less sugar, but too many hops. Not that Leffe compensated wrong (or didn't listen to me which is OK), but my comment more is that one rarely gets what one wants.

Second... I read through the last five Poo-bah reviews and only one mentioned the alcohol is evident. To me, the high ABV is obvious and should be concealed more... or not brewed again. The in-my-face ABV undermines the effort put into the rest of the brew. I think it is good that Leffe's macro owner lets Leffe experiment, but ABV thrills should not taste cheap. And I'm not sure Leffe's monastic founders would approve of this tripel.

Deep golden color, big off-white head. The aroma of yeast, caramel malt, honey. Sweet malty taste with notes of caramel and yeast. Full body, medium carbonation. Caramel and bitterness in aftertaste.

 

Canned in a tallboy crafty craft can and purchased from Chorlton Epicurean
Pours a clear golden body with huge white head
Aroma is sweet malty sweety malt
Flavour is Belgian candy

 

25 cl (9 oz.) bottle, chilled, poured into a taster’s snifter in Toulouse, France. Best by 3/25/25, making this 7 1/2 months in bottle. 9%.
Generous foam above pure copper colored brew, slow recession. Decent lacing.
Aroma is clove, vanilla, banana, with hops making a lively appearance.
Taste is spicy, fine bitterness, well balanced, countered with a touch of sweetness. The finish is loooong and residual spice lingers until the next sip.
Feel is medium, and it’s properly carbonated.
Overall, respect! Fine European Strong Ale.,.

 

My friend Paul Vaughan's (RIP) favorite beer. Pours a clear reddish amber color with an off-white head that lasts a bit. Scent is alcohol and roasted malts with hop notes. Taste follows nose overall. Decent brew.

 

Poured from the 330ml bottle into a wine glass. The beer is a hazy orange colour with an off-white head. Smell was slightly spicy and herbal with hints of bread and yeast. Taste was bread with an alcohol burn, finishing with yeast and a hint of honey, cinnamon, and sugar. I wasn't a huge fan of this. Moderately better than a euro strong ale.

 

330 ml bottle, from Det Bette Ølhus, Aalbæk. ABV is 9.0%. Clear deep golden colour, large white head. Strong sweetish aroma of Belgian ale yeast, white kandij sugar syrup and alcohol. The flavour is moderately sweet (but not as sweet as the aroma made me fear) with spicy notes, also white kandij sugar and herbal hops, the alcohol is evident.

De Hot. En copa Grimbergen. Jugando a
Tsique. Azucaradaa pero no tanto como la recordaba, resultando la experiencia bastante placentera de principio a fin. No obstante, tampoco aporta nada que justifique el mayor abv frente a una leffe blonde nornal