If you asked your average craft beer drinker what their first Belgian beer was, I reckon Leffe Blond would be the most common answer. But after talking with lots of our members, it seems a bunch of you have not yet tried this beer.
Yes, it is owned by AB-InBev – the largest beer company in the world. And yes, that means it is a mass-produced commercial beer. But it really isn’t a bad beer, and the fact it is distributed by AB-InBev means you can find it virtually anywhere.
Leffe has a history dating back as far as 1152 in the Norbertine abbey of Notre-Dame de Leffe, but the brewing of beer didn’t start until 1240. Then followed much change over the centuries, through wars and revolutions until we get to 1952 when Father Abbot Nys decided to revive the brewing traditions of the abbey, and the Leffe beers were once again brought to market.
It is a glowing golden colour with a thick white foam. A sweet aroma of bready malt and fruit with a strong hint of banana from the yeast.
To taste it is reasonably sweet early on, with the bready malt and some yellow stone fruit. Banana is heavy from the yeast, which also adds a pleasant spiciness to the beer. It is quite full and rich in mouthfeel though not so much that it is cloying. Finishing much drier than it starts, with a nice lingering bitterness.