Following our trip to Bruges Liz had clearly listened to my statement of '2016 will be about strong bottles beers as opposed to pints'. The box, subtly labelled 'beer' brought a huge smile to my face. Inside I found two chalices, a general Leffe chalice ... and a special Leffe Royale chalice. Surrounding these glasses I found a variety of different bottles of Leffe...oh how spoilt I am.
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| Who knew there was so much to Leffe? |
As you probably already know, in the UK Leffe consists of Ruby, Blonde, Brun (my favourite) and sometimes Nectar. Even if you visit a specialist beer shop I have never really seen any different variations, I suppose that is down to the fact that Leffe is mass produced and widely available therefore it is not classed as 'craft'
and not stocked in specialist stores.
Honestly, I thought that the Leffe range only consisted of the above, so imagine the look on my face when I discovered a variety of very strong Belgian beers!
I have decided to split this blog into two parts, as to me these are 'special' beers in my bar and I really do not want to rush into finishing them...unless another box from Belgian Beer Factory arrives on my Birthday!So let us begin, I started with the festive offering (yes I know it is February but I made sure I tried this over the Christmas period). The Leffe Noel (6.6%) was a ruby to brown colour when poured, it really did look the part in the chalice. On first taste I had a strong hit of caramel, it is almost a sweeter version of the Brun. As far as being 'festive' goes I have to say I do prefer the Delirium Noel. However the Leffe Noel does still have a great flavour which is not overpowered by the strength of it. I would certainly buy this again as a treat away from the Brun! Better than a lot of Xmas beers on offer, but the best can be found here!
As one of my Leffe chalices was branded as 'Royale' I decided to pick out the bottle of Royale 7.5% as the next beer to test in my little Leffe adventure. The Leffe Royale is brewed with three different hops, upon pouring the beer it smells and visually looks similar to the Blonde...I suppose the clue is in the name on the bottle 'Blonde Superior'. The Royale has less of a floral taste than the Blonde and the strength of the beer gives you a really warming aftertaste. This really is a special beer, it is not something that you could have a session on however if you just wanted to relax in front of a log burner on a sunday evening then this is the beer for you. I really can not wait to pick up another couple of bottles of Royale!!!! |
| What do I try next? |
Now to two of the Leffe beers available in most supermarkets.
Surely the Blonde is the most famous beer from the Leffe Brewery. Many years ago when I was a typical Carling drinker I remember buying Leffe for the first time, embarrass to admit this but the first time I bought it was to take to a German Christmas Market themed house party...I was shamed when I realised it was Belgian not German! The blonde is a very easy drinking beer, with quite the floral smell and taste. After drinking the Royale I do not think I will ever be able to enjoy this as much as I once did :-(
Leffe Brun! My 'go to' Belgian beer of choice when I want to enjoy a dark strong beer on a budget (2x 750ml bottles for £5 in Morrisons at times). I generally pick this beer if I am in the mood for a dark beer, but not quite in the mood for a Riggwelter or bottle of Old Peculier. For a dark beer the Brun has quite a lot of fruit notes alongside the caramel/coffee flavours. What else can I say, I love the Brun.
After writing this blog I can still see two familiar bottles, the Nectar and the Ruby, they are hidden behind a couple of other 'special' Leffe's...in a few weeks once I have savoured these beers I will share what is in the bar, and whether they are worth paying a premium to purchase them online from Belgium.
-Sam
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