When I first heard about beer made my monks, I wondered if such a practice went against that whole Catholic thing. After all, wasn’t alcohol the drink of the devil? Wasn’t making this “evil” liquid some kind of a sin that would eternally damn ones soul to the depths of fire and brimstone? How could such a beverage be made by men of pious worship? But after becoming more intrigued with this notion, I found out that during the early years of Christianity in Europe, various monastic orders created alcoholic beverages (including beer) to sustain themselves gastronomically and financially. In no other beer brewing nation is this found more than in Belgium.
In this European low country, monks used to toil over their brew kettles creating wonderfully hearty and strong beers from ancient brewing recipes handed down over the centuries. There are 6 Belgian Trappist monasteries that brew their ales to this day. However, more so in the modern age, the monastic style of brewing has been emulated by secular brewers in an effort to carry on this tradition. This is the story of one of those beers. The abbey ale known as Leffe Brune.
The Norbertine Abbey Notre-Dame de Leffe is located close to the Belgian town of Dinant, along the river Meuse. Brewing at the abbey supposedly took place around the 13th century up until when the brewery was destroyed during the Napoleonic wars. This abbey had not been making beer for a very long time, and by the middle of the 20th century, it was experiencing financial problems.
The idea for beers with the abbey’s name surfaced in the 1950s when the Abbot met with a local brew master from the nearby St. Guibert brewery. After the Abbot explained the monastery’s financial dilemma, the local suds creator suggested that he make beer for the abbey to be sold under the Leffe name as a commercial venture, and the monks be paid royalties from it’s sale. This is believed to be the first business arrangement between a brewer and a monastery, even though commercial breweries in Belgium had been making beers with religious sounding names for some time.
Since then, Leffe has undergone numerous ownership changes, and is today owned by Interbrew, the large international Belgian beer conglomerate. Interbrew not only produces the Leffe Brune, Blonde, Tripel and Radieuse ales, but also makes the Belgian beers Stella Artois and Hoegaarden. Interbrew also owns the rights to Becks of Germany, Bass of England, and Staropramen of the Czech Republic.
Leffe Brune is an ale that has a deep dark amber to autumnal brown body topped off with a sudsy inch-and-a-half mocha like head that seems to leave a nice ring of foamy residue around the Leffe chalice. Brune has a bit of a desert apple aroma. It is floral and spicy on the nose, with fresh dried fruity citrus scents being present. A deep hearty alcoholic taste that is sweetish and caramel like exists on the taste buds, with suggestions of brown sugar and ever so slight chocolate coming out. Leffe Brune comes off as being semi peppery with regard to its hop varieties, but is dominated by dark malts on the palate, with just the right amount of candy sugar and low-key spice. The aftertaste is light and not too overbearing, with a mild oaky dryness.
Leffe Brune’s alcohol content is 6.5% ABV. There are stronger brews in the Leffe family of abbey ales, but Brune is one that can be consumed in a long drinking session without any adverse repercussions. Leffe Brune is a good beer to have with or after a large meal, or to warm you up on rainy and cold weather days. It is a wonderful Trappist imposter that will leave you very satisfied. If consuming beers like this is a sin, then this beer drinker will be in the confessional on numerous occasions asking for forgiveness. Praise be to Leffe and Interbrew for making such a heavenly beverage. Amen!
