Saying
$("#leistungen").addClass("brown");
will work on all text inside #leistungen, but not on anchor tags. Anchors have a default style that must be overridden. You are correct in writing
$("#leistungen a").addClass("brown");
Do a test to make sure your Javascript is executing by changing it to
$("#leistungen a").hide();
If it disappears, then you know that your Javascript is working on the correct element. Next, try being more specific with your selector (maybe something else is overriding your change).
$("li#leistungen a").addClass("brown");
If that doesn't work, make sure the javascript has executed and then inspect the element. Does it have the new class? If so, then the problem is with the CSS rather than the Javascript. Check your CSS file surrounding the ".brown" style to look for syntax errors. A missing } from the previous style would do it.
Try using "#4C3F12" instead of the word "brown" as a colour.
.brown {
color: #4C3F12;
}
Let me know if any of these help!