Gouden Carolus Classic

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

Tasted late at night during the World Cup at the Delirium café, Brussels whilst the music thumped and the swaggering Italian horde around me cheered and olé’ed their teams latest victory. Into it’s own chalice from the bottle. Slight haze shadowed the lights beaming through it’s deep tawny copper body. Head was magnificently rocky, tannish, an inch thick and steadfast, lacing intricately down the glass as it went. From there on the notes got vague so I’ll rely on memory!?!
Huge malty aroma, bursting with savoury fruits, dusty hops, blended spices and rich liqueur. Big and aggressive start in the mouth. Spiced up and flowing with complex malts, burnt and savoury fruits and light little flushes of dessert wine in the back. Alcohol is well masked but does add into giving it a nice long, malty and warming swallow. Light prickle of carbonation before it settles in smooth across the palate. Quite nice overall. Wished I had of taken more notes. Another classic from Het Anker. One to try again. (33cL, BB 12/12/06)

YEHAA 400 :-D Pours a dark red amber with an off-white dimminishing head. Moderate sweetness with some bitterness. Aromas of caramel, fruits, yeast (light) and port. Full creamy body with a soft caarbonation. Slightly bitter finish with some alchohol notes.

Bottle.Dark brown with a offwhite froth. Licorice, spices, caramel aroma. Delicious and balanced licorice caramel flavours, semidry throughout. Good mouthfeel, full body. A Belgian classic that never disappoints.

330ml bottle. Hazy brown hue with defined ruby highlights. Thick, creamy off-white head. Sweet smokey nose. Strong caramel and toffee aromas. Hints of cooked sugar and cinnamon spices. Apparent alcohol nose. Full bodied with a smooth malty sweetness. Toffee notes with a warming alcohol note. Burnt sugar sweetness. Cocoa. Slight citrus lemony yeast note. Long and sticky, but on a lighter note. These guys make fantastic beers!

Brown bottle, 33 cl, best before 4.09.09; eye: ruby, nice creamy coffee-color head, clear, light effervescence, nice creamy lacing; nose: alcohol, concentrated caramel syrup, banana, concentrated fruits; mouth: velvety despite the powerful tastes, alcohol, syrupy, caramelized malt, almost hidden banana, hint of grainy hops, finale in alcohol entetwined with caramel and a hint of alcohol that comes back as pepper, full body, creamy and really slighlty grainy texture, lightly astringent, mildly sweet, really light hoppiness, medium carbonation; overall: quite good FRANÇAIS Bouteille brune, 33 cl, meilleure avant 04.09.09; oeil : rubis, belle mousse crémeuse, claire, légère effervescence, belle dentelle crémeuse; nez : alcool, sirop caramélisé concentré, banane, fruits concentrés; bouche : velouté malgré des saveurs puissantes, alcool, sirupeux, malt caramélisé, présence subtile de banane, léger houblon granuleux, finale en alcool entremêlée de caramel avec une touche d’alcool qui revient sous forme poivre, corsée, texture crémeuse et très légèrement granuleuse, légère astringence, moyennement sucrée, très léger houblon, carbonatation moyenne; en résumé : pas mal bon

330. Pours an opaque dark brown with a thick, moussy, dark tan head. Ultra-buttery, butterscotchy nose, tons of caramel. Super-candy-bar-like. Booze and dark fruit there as well without a doubt. Nice medium body, a little creamy, very soothing and almost quenching. Liquer-like. Complex fruit, candy, and booze mid-palate, same as the nose. Airy butterscotch finish. All the butter/butterscotch business does not seem like diacetyl, though it might well be--whatever it is, it feels appropriate enough to the drink.

From my fall 2006 notebook. Dark brown body with a sweet malty nose. Faint off-white/light brown head. Sweet malty body with balancing hops.

Dark drown with a big head. Very nice wine like aroma. Typical taste for the style.