Leffe Brune / Brown - Abbaye de Leffe S.A.

jibjib513

Ohio

4.03/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Serving type: Bottle to snifter.

Appearance (4.5): Medium-dark brown, with off-white foam. Nice retention and lacing.

Smell (4.0): Caramel? I don't know.. but there is definitely a sweet smell to it. Maybe even a little spice.

Taste (4.0): Smooth, sweet up front, and some spicieness again, with a little bit of bitterness in the after-taste.

Mouthfeel (4.0): Just right, I think... maybe a little extra carbonation.

Overall (4.0): A solid beer, I'm ready for more!

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 14:05:19 | More by jibjib513

Darkmagus82

Montana

4.25/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into Leffe Chalice

Appearance – The beer pours a deep brown color with a one finger tan head. The head has a very fantastic level of retention slowly fading slowly to give a wonderful level of lacing.

Smell – The smell is big and sweet. The sweet is mainly of cherry and some banana and pineapple. Mixed with the fruity aromas is a good dose of roasted malt, a light nut, as well as notes of a yeasty nature.

Taste – The taste begins on the sweeter side with flavors of cherry and plum mixed with a good brown bread flavor. As the taste advances some yeasty flavors soon come to the tongue and bring with them some flavors of banana and a light spice flavor. More toward the end of the taste, more sweet caramel and dark fruit and bready flavors come to the tongue and mix with a light alcohol flavor to leave a rather dark and sweet but balanced flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the average side with a carbonation level that is just below average. The medium creaminess is good as it keep the beer drinkable as well as compliments well the fruity flavors. The brew however is not so thin that the roasted and yeasty flavors are detracted from. A good solid mouthfeel.

Overall – This is a fantastic brew. It has great dark fruit flavors, a good yeasty and bready taste as well as just the right amount of warming alcohol. Definitely one to have on occasion.

Serving type: bottle

11-30-2012 01:47:13 | More by Darkmagus82

matjack85

Illinois

4.03/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

My sister and her husband served these to us on Thanksgiving day. I had tried the Leffe Blonde before but never the brown, so this was a real treat. 330ml brown bottles with no freshness date.

The beer poured a clear mahogany color with so much head that I had to stop pouring before the glass was half full. Took over 3 minutes before the light brown head receded enough for me to drink it. Lacing was also incredible.

Funky Belgian yeast smell along with roasted malt and caramel.

Funky Belgian yeast flavor that's a bit on the sour side. A touch of vanilla, caramel malt sweetness, some kind of spiciness, and a mild hop bitterness round out the flavors.

Medium bodied with medium carbonation.

Goes down easy and definitely enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2012 10:36:49 | More by matjack85

tone77

Pennsylvania

4.43/5  rDev +16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a brown 11.2 oz. bottle. Has a dark brown color with a 1 inch head. Smell is bursting with spices, and fruits. Taste is delicious. Lots of spice, malts, yeast, fruitiness, complex and flavorful, the glass is becoming empty quickly. Feels full bodied in the mouth and overall is a beer worth seeking out.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 01:33:09 | More by tone77

kojevergas

California

3.13/5  rDev -17.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Served on-draught into a Leffe goblet in Holland. Cost was 4 euro for a 25cl pour. Reviewed from notes taken in June 2011.

A: Pours a two finger head, wonderfully fluffy, of white colour, with delicate smooth cream, of excellent thickness, and featuring good retention for the ABV. Colour is a solid dark brown-black. Nontransparent.

Sm: Hoppy. Cream, a light hint of toffee, and maybe even a hint of vanilla. A very light aroma; I struggle to isolate the notes with me broken nose. All apologies, lads.

T: Cream, light toffee, some nutty notes, well chosen dark malts, and maybe a hint of vanilla. More simple than expected, but certainly balanced. The built feels a bit muted, if not bland, but I like the taste in a general sense. Still, I remember it being better from the bottle.

Mf: Smooth and wet. It should be less so on both counts. Not badly executed, but there's definitely room for improvement.

Dr: Relatively high ABV is well concealed. I was surprised at its price in Holland. Good quality, but there are far better brews in the style.

C+

Serving type: on-tap

11-09-2012 20:17:55 | More by kojevergas

garymuchow

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Enormous head. Brown amber with bronze highlights. Aroma is yeasty spiciness first with pepper and cloves. Soft malt background. Very smooth and relatively flat, especially considering the size of the head. Finish is dry, but not too much and still holds a touch of malty sweetness and soft bitterness with a touch of hop flavor. Nicely done beer and fresh enough that each distinctive ingredient places an apparent role with the yeast, hops and malts all showing forth in quite complementary ways. A little dangerous in how easily is drinks.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2012 03:20:49 | More by garymuchow

TheMultiYeast

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Very dark brown with a big tan head.

Smell is spicy, definitely cloves, light pepper, a little fruit

Similar to nose with lots of spice notes, more sweetness compared to aroma, almost overly sweet, spice dominant.

Decent feel, medium-light body, lacks some carbonation

Pretty good overall..not really a go-to Belgian

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2012 03:02:04 | More by TheMultiYeast

billybob

Massachusetts

3.93/5  rDev +3.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

pours a ruby/brown color with a three finger light tan head that settles to a rocky one finger foam and lots of long lasting sticky lace. a light aroma of sweetness spice and alcohol meets the nose. nice balance of taste between caramel, rock candy, dried plums, spice, and then you start to taste the warming affects of the alcohol also could pick up a hint of chocolate. mouthfeel is smooth with a light carbonation that holds well and didn't go flat. overall it was very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

11-01-2012 16:41:34 | More by billybob

TMoney2591

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -7.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served in a Duvel tulip glass.

Gotta drink something whilst my mind is happily torn asunder by the first season of Adventure Time, right? This stuff pours a dark ruby-brown topped by two fingers of off-cream foam. The nose comprises graham cracker, Belgian yeast, light rye bread, and clove. The taste holds notes of mild cocoa, clove, light brown sugar, banana peel, light Belgian yeast, and light toasted biscuit. The body is a light medium, with a very light moderate carbonation and a slightly grainy feel. Overall, a solid, if somewhat underwhelming, Belgian dark. It won't blow you outta the water, but it'll do for a quick Belgian-y nip.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2012 03:10:53 | More by TMoney2591

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bottle from the LCBO, been hanging around in my basement for a couple years at least... 330ml into a tulip.

Dark brown/burgundy with a few fingers of mocha head. Fairly dense lacing and substantial retention. Nose of dark fruits, mostly grapes, some candi sugar and darker malts, slightly bready. Taste is almost solely grape juice, a bit nutty and some sweeter dark malts. A bit of yeast as well. Mouthfeel is medium light, slightly watery.and carbonation is quite low - slightly drying finish. Nothing wrong with this beer, but it's not too exciting either.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2012 22:52:00 | More by liamt07

Jetulio

Spain

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle of 33 cl poured into a Chalice glass (Leffe glass)

App- dark brown colour with 1 finger beige head . Long lasting head.
S- sweet, caramel
T- roasted malt , then sugar and at the end bitterness appears
M- medium body, low carbonation. Good balance in mouth. No t so long aftertaste as other abbey brunes but the result is very nice.
O- good abbey ale, drinkable and easy to find .

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 18:38:34 | More by Jetulio

DragonsSlippers

5/5  rDev +31.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Dark brown body with hints of deep red. Beige frothy persistent head, started at about 3 fingers and stayed for half of my very long sitting. The other half of the time it was about 1 finger with excellent lacing the whole time. This beer has a lively carbonation.

Sent: Carmel malts

Taste: Carmel malts with a hint of roasted nuts and dark chocolate. Rather sweet, but not overpowering since the finish was slightly bitter. The bittersweet aftertaste lingers.

Mouth feel: Rich yet smooth, medium body.

Overall impression: My favorite beer so far by leaps and bounds. It tastes just as great, if not better, at room temperature as it does when chilled.

Tasted on: 09/14/12

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2012 02:14:37 | More by DragonsSlippers

TheSixthRing

California

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance - Pours a brilliant, dark ruby brown with a light tan, fluffy 3 finger head. Retention is great, resulting in a lace that's thick and somewhat sticky.

Smell - Notes of banana, but predominately sweet, caramelized sugar.

Taste - Follows the nose. Very sweet caramelized brown sugar, with back notes of banana. Not a whole lot changes from start to finish. Maybe a touch more banana shines through on the back end.

Mouthfeel - Light to medium body. Soft carbonation. Smooth. Entirely drinkable.

Overall - Pretty good Belgian brown, though a bit too sweet, IMO, to be considered elite. Still, I'm enjoying it well enough, and I wouldn't be unopposed to buying it again if it were on sale.

Serving type: bottle

09-29-2012 02:50:43 | More by TheSixthRing

NicoDuval

Pennsylvania

3.63/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5

A- dark brown, keeps a good 3 cm of head for quite a while.

S-Malt and sweet caramel

T- REALLY SWEET. Caramel and malt. Little bit of hops on the end.

F- Very smooth with just a bit of carbonation for fizz.

O- I can see a lot of people really liking this beer. If you like very sweet, malty caramel, then it is for you. For me, the sweetness is a little too overpowering. I probably won't drink it again, but will recommend to friends .

Serving type: bottle

09-19-2012 23:12:20 | More by NicoDuval

TCMike

Minnesota

3.98/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a mahogany color, and produced a big 3 finger beige head. Long lasting head, with lacing.
The aroma was of malt, Belgian yeast, caramel.
The taste is the same,but with lingering bread taste. No real hop presence. Medium mouth-feel, medium carbonation. Good tasting...nothing extreme, just easy drinking.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 22:21:09 | More by TCMike

Kremlock

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

A: Dark ruby in colour with a brown cream head. Head poured was about 1 inch and then fell to a consistent thin layer. Head coats the glass as you consume it. Beer is clear

S: A caramel/roasty smell is present with alcohol in the back ground. The caramel smell carries the roast but dominates it in a pleasant way.

T: Deep caramel flavour with little sweetness left over. bitterness is well balanced and the warmth of the alcohol is present only in the end but is pleasant. Notes of vanilla and toffee are present

M: Carbonation is dead on. Good clean tast, crisp carbonation, dry finish.

O: This beer is a go to Abbey beer. This Brown is great with rich red meats and can handle spicy foods.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2012 19:09:50 | More by Kremlock

chickenflea

Florida

3.78/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a bottle on my brother's recommendation. Poured a deep chestnut color with a very tall rocky head. Fruity aroma with some yeast and vanilla cookie. Taste unmistakably chocolate and lightly cherry. Small bit or a roasty finish. Smooth texture. Very lightly carbonated. A nice beer. Very smooth and mellow compared to most American brown ales.

Serving type: bottle

09-13-2012 23:32:49 | More by chickenflea

Kromes

Georgia

3.85/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A clear dark brown color with a huge shaving cream tan colored head. Sheets of lacing all down the glass.

Toasted malt, banana, clove aromas.

A nice sweet toasted malt flavor that blends with a touch of clove and fig with some other fruity esters in the background. A rather large candi sugar flavor and sweetness is also present.

Medium body with higher carbonation and a sweet finish.

A good Belgian ale. Would go well with a meal or dessert, but drinking by itself may get a bit overwhelming from the large amount of sweetness.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2012 01:31:52 | More by Kromes

KTCamm

New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a twelve ounce bottle into a pint glass.

Pours very dark brown with full inch and white puffy foam. Laces and sticks. Dark roasted brown. Nutty. Some yeast. Caramel taste that evolves into a chewy tasty bitter. Rich taste, flavorful. Full mouthfeel. Pretty good brown.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2012 15:12:53 | More by KTCamm

MaximalC

Illinois

3.98/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a handsome fig color with a decent amount of khaki foam. The aroma is citric and slightly boozey, with perhaps a hint of Belgian spices. The flavor is pretty mild for a Belgian ale, but pleasant, with a gentle malt backbone that is equal parts roast and caramel. Some hop bitterness is present, but only enough to lend balance. As with the nose, whatever spices are present are modest. The bitterness lingers just a bit in the finish, but not excessively so. A fairly ample, but thin, layer of lacing envelopes the glass as the beer recedes, lending a handsome appearance. The malt character begins to assert itself more as the beer warms, and this is hardly a bad thing, as I felt the mouthfeel was just a tad thin initially. Overall, this is a very balanced and well-rounded Belgian dark ale from Leffe (I'd go so far as to say I prefer it to their blonde, which I also enjoy).

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2012 00:42:54 | More by MaximalC

LXIXME

New Mexico

3.98/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A real big light brown head slowly falls into a nice lacing above a clear burnt red colored beer.

A well balanced aroma consisting of light yeast, caramel malts, and dark fruits.

Light caramel malts, light yeast, dark dried fruits, hints of coffee blend well in a dry tasting (almost like a wine) beer.

An almost parching dry aftertaste on this medium bodied beer.

A pretty decent tasting brown, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would have.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2012 23:37:09 | More by LXIXME

duracell

Quebec (Canada)

3.2/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

330mL on draft in a goblet at the Brussel airport.

A - Dark brown color with red hues. The rocky head has a good retention and leaves a beautiful lacing on the glass. One of the most beautiful beers on draft I have ever seen. 5/5

S - Typical smell from a belgian brew with a domination of esters. Yeasty, toasted with some dark fruits notes and aromas of nuts and caramel. The whole blend is somehow fresh (hop contributes?). 4/5

T - Tast is mild in comparison with the smell. Yeast is well present upfront, then the taste develops notes of dark fruit and raw sugar but flovors stay too discrete in my opinion and lack some spiciness. 3/5

M - With a rather light body making this beer quite watery, the mouthfeel is very disappointing. Other than that, hop is present at then end with a relatively strong bitterness. 2/5

O - I big disappointement for me in terms of flavors and mouthfeel. I'll try it from a bottle to compare... Worth a try though. 3/5

Serving type: on-tap

07-28-2012 22:28:00 | More by duracell

casualfan

New York

3.68/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this for the first time last night, having had the Leffe Blonde on numerous occasions. I was pleasantly surprised by the taste, considering it was reasonably priced for a Belgian at $10.00 for a 6 pack. Although I do not believe it is bottle-conditioned, the level of carbonation was a reasonable facsimile of bottle- conditioning. It had some of the the Belgian "funk" that I so dearly love, yet was more sessionable than many Belgians at 6.5% abv.

Perhaps the best way to sum it up is to say it seemed like a Belgian beer reproduced for the masses. I don't mean that as a slam, as I enjoyed it and will certainly buy it again. In fact, I think it serves as a better "all nighter" than the higher abv Belgian classics (my beloved Maredsous Tripel for example...) that I enjoy so much. It is worth a try as long as you don't go in expecting Chimay.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2012 13:51:03 | More by casualfan

brewskifan55

Mississippi

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bought at the neighborhood store in London for a pound,39. ($2.29) Poured into a glass at my hotel room in London.

A: Very brown with a one finger fluffy tan head that stays. Great lacing.

S: coriander, Belgian funk, biscuits, malts.

T: Dark, rich, delicious. Belgian funk comes riding in. Chocolate. Smokey with a smooth coffee finish. Like Leffe Blonde with some heft.

M: Medium, creamy carbonation.

O: Very enjoyable. Would drink again. The Leffe brewery does ale right.

Serving type: bottle

07-25-2012 16:50:58 | More by brewskifan55

Glibber

Idaho

3.58/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dark Coffee color with an ample mocha head that clings to the tulip glass. Smells of wheat, straw, and biscuit. This dark beer has quite a bit of carbination, and a roasted malt flavoring with some coffee bitterness. The alcohol warming with carbination makes it easy to drink, but I cannot pick out any fruit or sweetness that I had read about.
To bring a Belgian beer to Idaho for under $1.50 for a 11.2oz bottle I shouldn't have been expecting a complex beer, and it is not one- but is adequate.

Serving type: on-tap

07-15-2012 02:12:24 | More by Glibber