Leffe Brune

Brewed by InBev Belgium
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Leuven, Belgium

Bottle at Kerttu, Turku. Dark ruby, nearly black, frothy staying beige head. Mild molassy aroma, hint metal and cocoa. Very simple flavor, roasty molasses, hint of licorice, sweetness, reminds me a bit of the cheaper Baltic porter, noticable alcohol in the finish along with some syrupy cocoa and light herbs. Smooth, quite full palate. Mostly roasted sugar, very simple, the absolute contrast to Fantome in the Belgian scene.

The beer was average. The aroma is sweet but it is not too noticable. The beer has a nice dark rosted malt flavor. Not a bad beer, but as a belgiun abbey style I was disappointed.

Bottle, 33cl. Pours a brown beer with an offwhite head. The aroma is malts with notes of canesugar, spices, dried fruits and esters. The flavor is sweet with slight bitterness and notes of esters. The palate is slightly bitter. Overall a good beer.

This certainly exceeded my expectations! Pours a dark brown with a small head. The aroma is sweet and fruity with lots of cherries and pear character. The flavor is sweet bordering on cloying but it’s tasty qualities redeem this one no doubt. There is some cotton candy and pears, lots and lots of pears.

Bottle from Systembolaget. Brown with red highlights, clear and brilliant. No aroma except roasted malts (or barley) and thin flavor. The taste lingers and it’s difficult to say if it’s the yeast, the roasted malt (or barley) or the hops that create a bit bitter spicy ending. Not a great beer, not a bad beer.

Draft. Pours a clear chestnut brown hue with a foamy tan head that settles in to a thin film. A sudsy wash dries to minimal, spotty lacing. The aroma shows malty notes of brown sugar, cola, prunes, and fig. Yeasty, toasted bread notes emerge, followed by just a hint of fruity tartness. Flavors follow suit, again centered big brown sugar malt and dark fruit, with a very light tart, yeasty twinge. Medium-plus on the tongue, with a smooth, velvety consistency, it finishes just a hint of drying alcohol. Good, solid brew.

Appearance: Hazy brown Aroma: Initially this was a bit metallic, which disappeared as it warmed a bit. Once at a suitable temperature the aromas came out to reveal cocoa, coke, vanilla, and perhaps baking spice. Flavor: The initial flavors of soft caramel, roasted chocolate, and slight vegetable notes turned to cocoa, slightly dilute chocolate liquor with a long roasted nutty chocolate finish with a nutmeg-like spice. Comment: Light-medium body but packs more flavor than it’s weight would suggest. It definitely needs to be allowed to warm up a bit when taken out of the fridge.

Really pretty pour. Love the brews with a bit of bright red showing through a dark beer. Dense, creamy head, too. Dark malts, dark fruits, brown sugar, and a bit of apple cider on the nose, but the tartness offered by the cider is pounded to the background by the overwhelming sweetness of the rest of the notes. The cider notes comes through a bit more in the flavor, but this is really like a weaker, sweeter, not-nearly-as-refined version of an Abt. Not even up to a good abbey brown’s level. Nothing really bad about it, but there’s definitely a reason it’s the cheapest Belgian on the taplist.