I had read about them, went to a bottle shop, “Do you guys have a say-is-on?” He didn’t have a clue what I was talking about. I thought, what kind of a craft beer joint is this? Then he said “You mean say-zon?” I said, "um, probably. "
That was about 3 years ago and now I can make a better say-zon than he sold me LOL
I always thought it was pronounced Leff-ah. I tried to order it in the Netherlands, and girls tending bar laughed at me (good-naturedly). They said it was just Leff.
The abbey of Leffe is located in the French-speaking part of Belgium. French pronunciation is /lef/. Dutch pronunciation (with AB-Inbev headquarters located in Flanders) in Belgium is /lef-ah/. But apparently in the Netherlands they (not sure whether it’s everybody, maybe just beer snobs) pronounce the name the French way, /lef/.
Completely logical, no?
This having been said, I never drink it, and I never pronounce its name except when I talk to foreigners in Belgium who, for some reason I don’t understand, think that Leffe is the creme de la creme of Belgian beers. It isn’t.
In the 2008 BJCP Guidelines it is listed as the #1 world class example. On my tasting exam I gave it a 39 and was more than 6 points higher than the proctors, a Master and a Grand Master. That means either they were way wrong, or the beer is not the best of its class. I’m sticking with the judges were wrong because ignorance is bliss, and I need some bliss in my life.
Having been fortunate enough to pass through Antwerp and Brussels, I agree that there are many Belgian beers better than Leffe. That said, I do like it.
Actually it’s more like /düvl/ with the ‘ü’ being like in German ‘Düsseldorf’ or French ‘mûr’. But you guys aren’t even able to pronounce ‘über’ correctly, so why do I even bother?
This reminds me of many conversations I’ve had with my (Flemish) wife over the years. Something like:
Her: Duvel.
Me: Duvel.
Her: Duvel!
Me: Duvel.
Her: No, Duvel!
Me: That’s what I said. Duvel.
Her: DUVEL!
Me: DUVEL!
