Gouden Carolus Classic

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

Brown, with a tan head. Aroma is malt, raisins, alochol, and lesser amounts of chocolate and caramel. Flavor is very sweet, with malt, raisins, caramel, toffee, and some spice. Nice, but very sweet.

Deep brown color with some orange and yellow hues showing through, something like light ancake syrup. Head is medium thick and khaki color. Smell is delicious, if only all beers could smell this delightful: brown sugar, dark & candied fruits, and a spicy hop bite. Taste isstong and interesting: grapes, raisins, prunes up front with sugar, heavy malt and slight hopping. Lucious aftertaste, coating and sweet. Strong beer. Sampled from a 12oz bottle purchased at Whole Foods in Vienna, VA.

330ml bottle yields a cloudy, dark copper colored ale with a large tan head. This ale left some excellent lacing. Aroma is caramel, molasses and hint of alcohol. The initial palate is quite sweet, giving way to fruity esters of overripe banana, raisin and, perhaps, port wine. Full bodied and smooth, this ale has a long-lasting, moderately hopped finish and warm alcohol coda.

Pour is a deep dark brown with a smallish tan head, Arom is full of brown sugar, molasses and alcohol. Flavor is much of the same but even better. Toffee,dark fruits sugar and nutmeg all come to mind. Alcohol is there at the end but does not overpower.

Rich brown, tan head with very nice lacing. Nose is plum, raisin, caramel, tons of other dark fruits, yeast, honey, sweet heaven. Flavor is yeast, toffee, caramel, tobacco and dark fruits, rich malt. A bit of hoppiness comes out in the finish, along with more yeast and a very rich fruit pit flavor. Body is stunning - very soft, turning to ultra light bubbliness when it hits my tongue. Just wow.

(Bottled, 0.75l) Quite clear, dark amber color with a small head. Sweetish, malty, slightly alcoholic, candy aroma. Sweet, syrupy-malty, vanilla, pear, candy-toffee flavor, with anise and berry hints, plus some acidity. Black pepper in the aftertaste. Alcohol is very well hidden in the flavor. Smooth, syrupy, slightly ashy palate with a bit foamy carbonation. A nice and balanced brew. Much easier to drink, than the Xmas version, and not nearly as anisey. (1984 vintage, sampled 3/2006, 7.6% ABV) A thick, extremely malty-syrupy, sweet plum/raisin soup. Some vinous character, too. Definitely not dried out.

Best before 07/12/06. Dark brown beer with a ruby tint. Nice sweet fruity and malty aroma, plum/prune, caramel/toffee apple, black pepper and cardamon. Full bodies, malty sweetness, plummy with heavy notes of bread and toast. Lingering yeasty spice, a bit of wheaty tartness and some other fruity acidity. Nice complexity. Tap at Mugs Ale House. I wanted to re-rate this with a few more years on it, so here it is. Deep brown with a ruby tint. Nose is peppery and lightly alcoholic over sweet slightly oxidized malts. Sherryish and pruney with sweet dried fruit in back. Plums and raisins on the nose. The flavour is still very sweet with brown sugar and dried fruits. Slightly alcoholic which helps cut the sweetness, but it’s still too sweet and chewy. I thought that some age would have dried this out, but it doesn’t seem to have done that. It has added some nice sherry character to the sweet maltiness. I don’t think it’s going to improve with any more age on it though.

As its name supposes the Carolus Classic is indeed a true archetype of the dark Belgian ales. Its mesmerizing lateritious hue is subtly clouded and rises to an oat-colored creamy head, exemplary of the style. An overwhelming fragrance of bananas emerges initially and follows in a suite of dried pears, raisins and figs. The warm, vinous touch offers a definite density to the nose, one supported by the indubitable scent of walnuts, pepper and the candy-like aroma of artificial cherries. Fruits are equally pronounced in the flavor, particularly in the recurrent vehemence of dried bananas, followed by plums and cherries again. The sweet, sticky almost syrupy texture contributes a certain weight to the dark malt background of coffee, roasted chocolate and caramel weaving an immaculate framework for the assertive nutmeg and anise tonalities. Alcohol is certainly present but does not burn, and for a turophile like myself gives the apropos strength to perfectly match a Chabichou or a similarly soft goat cheese. The aftertaste leads to a beautiful evolution starting with coffee and marrons glacés that finishes with the lingering piquant of licorice.