St. Honoré Lo'is Amber
Huisbrouwerij Old Bailey

Presentation: Once again the uniform lines of the brown brick building that houses the Huisbrouwerij Old Bailey played host to Wakefield CAMRA during our annual Belgium Trip on Sunday 27th April, 2005. Our last visit here was Easter 1999, some 6 years ago. The neat & massive interior remains, as does the beer range, plus one new addition. However, the exceptionally shiny and clean “Home Brewery” looks hardly used these days…sparking continued rumors of contract brewed beers, something we could not confirm - nor deny - despite several discussions with the wait staff.

Working my way up the 6 brews, the third brew I tried was the St. Honoré Lo’is Ambrée.

Appearance: Murky amber with a dirty white head which collapsed quickly once the waitress left the beer. Thin head that still covers but remains thanks to high carbonation levels. A quick swirl keeps the head at a manageable ¼”.

Nose: Amber like with caramel and spicy malts in the back end.

Taste: Soft malts and a hint of caramel. Some butterscotch in the finish and a tight bitterness which lingers. Starts interesting but soon turns one-dimensional and ultimately disappoints.

Mouthfeel: A tad watery, below average at best.

Drinkability: Thin in feel, watery overall with a simply decoded taste profile that had me loosing my concentration early on. Back of the class when it comes to picking this one up for another drink.

Overall: I never tried this one during my first visit, and I’m glad I didn’t. Noting in this Amber would even remotely get to return to it.

Amber colour, with a low head, but quite long.
Nose very caramel, lightly burnt, with a point of very very light floreal.
Taste of honey and caramel, with burnt malt. Sparkly on the tongue.
Malt even in the aftertaste, honey, maybe sweet apple. And then the hop.
Medium body.
A little heavy.