Another one in this series of 'unauthentic' abbey beers by Flo, a Walloon brewery I haven't encountered any beer from in years - frankly I thought they simply did not exist anymore... Steinie bottle from Latems Drankhuys. Thickly foamy, audibly crackling, egg-white, frothy, membrane-lacing, stable head sitting on an initially clear, deep 'metallic' old gold coloured beer with slight pale orangey-apricot tinge and fierce sparkling rushing upwards from the bottom; shifts to a misty, cognac-tinged gold with sediment (but certainly not amber like the description says). Aroma of dried apricot, honeyish but also 'rusty' oxidation, coriander seed, peach jam, ripe banana, sweet orange flesh but in a dried or candied way, nougat, bubblegum, cookie dough, clove or indeed the actually used liquorice somewhere, vague hints of damp earth, 'appeljenever', sugared tea, dried camomile, chicken stock, old cotton cloth and - all the way at the back and remaining very faint - ginger, but in a 'soupy' kind of way, as in carrot soup flavoured with it. Sweet onset, banana ester mingled with cooked pear and peach jam, very spritzy carbonation, 'stinging' with minerally effects, smooth and bit 'fluffy' mouthfeel but with a slight metallic edge; rounded cereally maltiness, in itself relatively neutral but sweetened by a layer of honeyish residual sugars on top, the honey effect - in a bad way - later enhanced by oxidized malts, including these classic chicken stock and rust effects, though not too overwhelmingly so. Spiced finish, the obligatory coriander seed mixed with dried 'dusty' orange peel and lingering liquorice, while the ginger again remains very understated - you'll have to go search for it with a magnifying glass. Some floral hops add late bitterness, but the finish is mostly bittered by insufficiently hidden, 'jenever'-like alcohol, with a wry effect on the root of the tongue, but somewhat more pleasantly warming up the throat. The honeyish effect of the residual sugars remains sweet and dominant till the end, though cleverly avoids becoming annoyingly sticky; meanwhile this metallic touch does not seem to go away either, though it may have something to do wiht the oxidation. Spiced Walloon ale, not a true 'ambrée' simply because it lacks the caramelized and nutty malt effects for that - and if even a Walloon brewery misses the classic 'ambrée' effect, I have very little reason now to change my mind about Flo, which has disappointed me time upon time before, even if that was long ago. The oxidation - clearly I stumbled upon a bottle past its prime - obviously does not help, but I can only judge this very sample, and it does not motivate me to go out and find a fresh one. Drinkable though not too enjoyable in my opinion, and stuck in the same boring mediocrity as other Flo beers I had a long time ago.

33cl bottle from Cora in Brussels. F: big, white, long lasting. C: gold, murky hazy. A: malty, simple sweet fruity, bit honey, yeasty. T: medium to full malty base, honey, fruity, bit yeasty, bready, soft carbonation, nothing special, very average for the style.

Bottle from LDW. Hazy amber colour, white foam. Sweet fruity, yeasty, very estery, alcoholic finish.

Pours unclear amber. Smal, seemingly unstable white head. Smell is sharp, ambermalty ( very malt ) but not as toasty as you'd think. some medium-intense phenolic features. Taste is medium to medium-high bitterness, rather sharp. Some mild DMS notes. Bit malty. Bit phenolic. High carbo. Medium-low body. Not great.

Clear deep golden colour, good frothy off-white head, mostly diminishing, thin layer remains, light lacing. Aroma bready malt, caramel, light fruity, light ginger. Taste light heavy to medium sweet and medium bitter, malty, toffee, light orange, bread, bit alcohol, mild spicy and herbal notes. Malty sweetbitter aftertaste, spicy notes, medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, Not that special but well-made and tasty.