Gouden Carolus Classic

Brewed by Brouwerij Het Anker
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Mechelen, Belgium

Bottle via trade with HogTownHarry. Hazy reddish-brown with a good sized off-white head. Very nice aroma - warm, rich and sweet, with notes of malt, dried fruit and dark sugar. Smooth, full mouthfeel. Big flavour of fruity malt, a bit of chocolate, some spicy yeast, and a slightly boozy finish. Lovely!

Bottle. Very dark brown body with a big beige head and moderate lacing. Rich sweet fruity malt aroma, raisins, figs. Flavour is similarly sweet with deliciously rounded fruitiness (more ambiguous dark fruit) light notes of dark sugars. Alcohol starts out warming but subtle, becomes just a touch more noticeable as it warms up. Smooth medium to full bodied palate. I almost didn’t open this tonight and am quite glad I did now. Very nice.

Bottle, 330ml @ Rustico in Alexandria VA. Pours dark amber with a brown half finger tan head. Nose is malty sweet and robust. Taste is sweet malty, syrupy thick and really damn tasty, another great Gouden.

1/18/05. 330ml. Hazy amber brown with short lasting rocky brown head. Smokey, malty aroma. Sweet smokey malty with some alcohol present. A little too viscous.

Pours a very deep and dark amber with a slight bit of cloud on it. Big head of course. Some lacing too. On the nose it is mildly sweet. The flavor is excellent. I would describe it as mature instead of mild. Kind of hearty on the start with a smooth fruit start, and then later you get a bit of the 8% alcohol, and then on the end you get a roasted flavor. Complex, but smooth, and not over-pronounced as a whole. Definitely worth going back to. I’d love to get some more of these and lay them down for a while.

What a great beer. Pours a deep burnt toffee colour, with minimal offwhite foam which dissipates fairly quickly. Aroma is of dark fruit and caramel. Quite intense. The flavour is rich and complex and earthy. Plums and dates are present, along with the caramel promised by the aroma, and a warming alcohol note. There’s a light bitterness present which offsets the sweetness well, and leaves a great "just one more sip" impression. Delicious.

Bu au Festival Bière et Saveur 07 (bouteille). Rousse noisette, petit collet. Arome de caramel et de mélasse malté doux, un peu épicé. Goût de scotch malté, des notes d’épices et de cassonades, un peu réchauffant.

Date: 07/14/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Capitol Ale House, Richmond

clear dark red, whispy off white head, touch of lace, huge sweet ripe fruit aroma with strong figs and dates, sweet chocolate malt flavor well blended with great fruity character, light bitterness in the finish adds just the right amount of bitterness
-------- /> Date: 07/29/2006
Mode: bottle

big sweet ripe dark fruit aroma, huge rich fruit flavor, lots of ripe plum, nice sweetness, very much the sweet fruit but not the chocolate of the draft version,
-------- /> Date: 01/26/2007
Mode: draft
Source: brick store

solid lace, much more like the bottle with lots of rich ripe fruit and only a touch of the chocolate

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **4