Gouden Carolus Classic

33cl. bottle at home: Ok, confused... its says unfiltered and bottle-conditioned, yet the bottle has absolutely no sediment on the bottom and the beer is gorgeously clear! Rich brilliant deep red/garnet color with an almost perfect creamy tan head, if only it could stick around a bit longer. Powerful aromas of dark rich fruits in sweet delcious cake... I suppose we would call that fruitcake. Plums, raisin, dried berries mixed with winter spices and light-molasses or treacle. Just a bit of dark Havana rum soaked deeply into the fruitcake. Quite sweet taste with black grapes and mixed dark fruit infused tea leading way to an almost lactose sugar quality. Just as it crosses the "too-sweet" threshold it pulls back into deep malt, dark caramel and burnt sugar. Finally reaching into light coffee and a slight herbal yeast. Considering it’s upfront sweetness, it dries out enough in the end to not be sticky sweet. Halfway down the glass and that upfront sweetness does start to fade (or you get used to it) and the beer benefits from that. Alcohol fades in and out through burnt sugars.

Pours a dense, dark amber color. Smooth, full mouthfeel, nice rich malty flavor. slightly sweet flavor balance. Slight estery note and alcohol character.

Boutelle ka piwa- Bottle at Chaucer’s. Poured a deep chestnut topped with a frothy, long lived mocha froth. Roasty, coffee, toasty nose with an interesting integration of dark fruit and banana and a touch of spice. Sweet, dark fruit up front, with toffee, roasty flavours and bananas with moderate spicing. Creamy and drinkable as hell. I went to Chaucer’s and ordered what they had....boy am I glad I did.

small bottle. aroma was a bit subdued, perhaps bc it was too cold. Looks real great. dark and clear. Flavor is fantastic. quite sweet, but lots of interesting stuff going on underneath. alc. burns you in the aftertaste - sweeet. good mouthfeel, almost perfect for the style imo. perhaps i should’ve rated it higher than this. but somehow overall it’s "only" a 16.

Bottle 0,33ltr: Dark brown/reddish ale from this great brewery with well balanced swwet from chocolate, caramel and other sweetness.

RE-RATE: Bottle (330ml). Poured dark ruby brown with a large, dense, frothy, tanned head which lasted well. Aroma was of ripe banana’s with chocolate custard, yeasty malts, toffee, dates, sultana’s, vanilla and a hint of alcohol. Flavor was of toasted toffee malts with creamy/milky chocolate, caramelized dates, mild banana/clove-like notes, hints of licorice and a warming peppery finish. Medium to full bodied with medium carbonation, a dry/creamy mouthfeel, syrupy texture and a good finish.

Bottle in antwerp ... Deep bron ... yeasty light roast malt ... belgian yeast... dark vine fruit caramael and plums.

Another beautifully complex masterpiece. Buckets and boxes of candied fruit and a few minor vinous notes to follow the pride. Pours a beautiful thick brown like apple cider. No yeast what so ever in this one, almost like an extremely toned down sour ale. I loved it, and at a mere five bucks a 1pt 9oz bottle, I’ll be picking this on up regularly, along with anything else I see from Het Ankler. I am so impressed with their beers I wondered how I haven’t had more--so many more--before.