Interbrew
Belgium
Sighted at: All over the state
Some beer snobs liken Interbrew to the
mega-breweries of America
like Anheuser-Busch and Miller, but even
though Interbrew is one
of the largest brewing concerns in the world, it
has taken a different
path from the American mega-breweries.
In the United States, Anheuser-Busch
operates a number of breweries
around the country, and each of the breweries
are designed so
they can produce any of the Anheuser-Busch
family of beers. The
location in Tampa could produce Budweiser
on any given day and
then switch over to making Michelob or Busch
Light. The design
is that in any part of the world,
Anheuser-Busch could plop down
a brewery and begin producing their entire line
of beers without
variation from what you would get from the
original brewery in
St. Louis.
Interbrew took a different approach.
Recognizing that each
region of Belgium (and then the world)
produced distinct beers
that required distinct equipment, instead of
creating large corporate
breweries, Interbrew bought out local
breweries which continue
to produce their beers to this day. Some of the
most commonly
recognized Interbrew properties are:
Belle-Vue Lambics
Hoegaarden
Jupiler
Labatt
Leffe
Rolling Rock
Stella Artois
Dos Equis
Tecate
Interbrew's strategy is that beers should
be be produced where
they are consumed. Yes, Rolling Rock in
Europe is made in various
Interbrew facilities in Belgium, but the majority
of the 80 brands
owned by Interbrew are still produced at the
same breweries that
they have historically been produced in.
Leffe Blonde, Brewery St.Guibert,
Mont-St-Guibert, Belgium
(also produced at De Kluis in Hoegaarden,
Belgium).
Though the Abbey at Leffe does not produce
beer anymore, they
have licensed the name and the recipe for
their beers to Interbrew,
a large Belgian brewing concern. The Blonde,
a fantastic beer
when served on tap, unfortunately does not
seem to bottle well.
The Leffe Blonde that I consumed on tap
was a wonderfully yeasty
beer that challenged the palate. However, the
bottle that I sampled
recently was more akin to Stella Artois,
Interbrew's pilsner offering.
The Blonde is just that in appearance: golden
yellow with no hint
of cloudiness that was apparent on the
draught sample that I was
fortunate enough to have. The bottled version
seemed to be lacking
in overall character... no strong malt or yeast
taste and no real
aromatic sense at all. I even allowed the beer
to warm above cellar
temperature to see if that would help, but alas,
it did not.
Before you avoid the Leffe Blonde that you
find in your local
package store, please read on. As you
probably know from my other
reviews, I am extremely critical of beers,
especially Belgian
brews. Even though this review seems
scathing, there are some
factors that need to be considered. First off,
the facility where
I purchased the Leffe is an unknown. It was
my first visit, and
I have no idea how well they store their beers
(by the way, in
Connecticut, I recommend the following
reputable beer shops: Conti's
Liquors, Southington; Crazy Bruces, West
Hartford and Bristol;
Spiritus, Hartford and West Hartford; Maguire's
Wines, Simsbury).
Also, since I have had Leffe Blonde before and
been thoroughly
impressed, this might have just been a poor
sample. The Leffe
that I know and love is a hazy-blonde with a
strong malty sweetness
that changes in your mouth to a sour yeasty
taste... sort of like
a good Sourdough bread... and is worth
searching out. Even this
sample of Leffe Blonde was enjoyable and
worth the $5.00 that
I spent on the 750ml bottle... it just wasn't
nearly good as the
other Belgian beers that I have recently
enjoyed. I hope to re-sample
this beer from another distributor shortly and
will update this
review accordingly.
(Avery Glasser)
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