Gouden Carolus Classic

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

Little bottle. Pours fairly dark, kind of a mahogany and a decent head even in a Trappist glass. The aroma is sweet, malty, with light esters. Subtle hints of clove, coriander, banana, chocolate pudding are all hinted. It’s a soft, rounded aroma with little to no sharpness or bitterness. The flavor is much the same with a sweet, malty back bone highlighted by yeasty notes. The only suggestion of dryness is faint in the finish, this is definitely a juicy brew. Along with the spicy esters I get delicate hints of fruits: pears, grapes. This is a very well executed Belgian brew.

I will definitely have to give this another go. I wanted to give it higher reviews but in the end I didn’t feel it was justified. A cloudy light brown color with an aroma of caramelized sugar and malts. Flavors were sweet with caramel, molasses and brown sugar. Finish was a little harsh. Good, but I will see if these ratings hold up with another bottle.

Brown coloured, nice lasting head. Complex aroma and flavour, malts, raisins, molasses, vanila and dried fruit, quite sweet. Very nice Belgian strong ale.

11.2oz bottle from Total Wine (Tampa, FL). Pours a dark brown to black with a massive tan foamy head. Good retention and glass lacing. Aroma is sweet and malty with notes of dark ripe fruit, caramel, yeast, bread, spice, and maybe just faint hints of juniper, oak and pine. Flavor is much like the aroma with sweet and malty notes with rich caramel, toffee and dark ripe fruit. Generally full-bodied with a long sweet and malty finish. Nice ale.

12 oz bottle.dark brown with small tan lacing. nose is very sweet-sugary malt, raisin, date, spices, alcohol. flavor is similar to nose with a hot alcohol burn that does not take over the palate by any means but shows its presence. a very nice belgian strong.

0.33l bottle from a shop here in Split
Lovely dark brown colour with a thick, persistent spongy beige head. A pleasant sweetish nose that comes somewhere in between banana and bubblegum with heavier malty notes, spices, orange and a bit of cocoa. Not all that unlike my memory of Jacobite (albeit a bit milder). The taste is, well, classy. Lovely fruitiness, candified orange, notes of chocolate and weak hints of nougat, some weak roastiness and acidity. Warming in the finish. Another great Het Anker beer.

750ml bottle-Pours a deep red mahogany with a nice two finger off white head. It has an aroma of belgian yeast, malts, caramel, sweetness, and a faint tartness. Taste is of malt and yeast along with caramel and raisins on this full bodied brew. Very smooth overall a nice tasting Belgian.

No head at all, an older sample from Stuffed Sandwich. truly a beer that ages gracefully! Sweetness, malty, but really tastes more like a Red wine, dark red fruits, plain and simple. Delicious!