Leffe Radieuse

Brewed by InBev Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Leuven, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle. Clear red coloured with a huge off white head. Aroma of fruits and spices with notes of citrus. Sweet flavour of citrus and spices with notes of fruits and yeast.

Something is very wrong - I used to like this beer???? Looks great - deep red colour, excellent head retention. This is the only thing good about this beer. Aroma is bizarre - very yeasty, ginger, lemons, HEAPS of phenols, dirt, chilli - it’s quite objectionable actually. Kind of reminds me of the aroma of the Robinson’s beers from the Gold Coast. Flavour is a bit spicy with loads of alcohol, dirt and onions, and rather bitter. Really, really terrible. Surely something was wrong here - Interbrew makes boring beers, but they are rarely offensive.

Bottle. Pours a reddish amber with a beige head that quickly dissipates to a ring around the top. Aroma not that strong but nice; notes of toffee, honey and berries. These are also the main elements of the flavour with added brown sugar, cherries and a hint of alcohol. Medium bodied with a slick mouthfeel and a little sourness on the finish. More well rounded than I remembered and overall very nice.

UPDATED: JUN 28, 2004 14 June 2004 - Galour fruit aroma, nice complexity and slight alcoholic hint. Low suds, clear red brown colour low head. Complex hop, medium hopping finish, with lingering dryness. Slight fizzy sweet aftertaste.

UPDATED: APR 15, 2003 Light brown colour with beige firm head. Fruity aroma with herbs. Fruity flavor with yeasty tone. Almonds and alcohol. Spicy with firm bitterness. After maturing for two years the aroma has developed a more fruity tone of apples and brown sugar. A bit rubbery with sourish notes. The flavor is malty and fuity with sweetness and nuts. Still only an OK beer.

head: creamy
colour: deep gold/redbrown amber , clear
smell: sweet, alcohol, malts, yeast, licqoury, caramel, kinda spiced, very little bit of dry hops
taste: olive kind of taste in the start , bit peppery , malts malts malts !, bit of that italian coffee bitter , caramel/toffee ,belgian candy sugar deffinitly , licqoury end , followed by a dry taste burst ! , not that bad , not that bad at all ! , but deffiitly better when aged i think !

Tasted 03/05/2005. 330ml bottle (exp. 19/07/06) from New World Metro, Wellington. Pours a beautiful, spiralling, efferevescent and bright, reddish amber. The head is large, off-white, and creamy turning to rocky. Light lacing. Sweet boiled candy and sour fruit are suggested in the nose at first, followed by liqourice and a touch of soap later. Candy, cognac, spices and wood come through in the flavour that is sweet first, followed by a touch of aniseed and a subtle woody, tannic, bitterness. I thought there would be more sour influence in the flavour. Soft, smooth mouthfeel. Palate is warming, with some more spicey woodiness. Very pleasant and much more well balanced than other reviews suggest.

Same bottle as pictured. Poured light red/brown with hints of light fruits and strong belgian yeast notes. Smooth finish.