Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

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

Big bottle (2000) from Pelgrims, Aarschot. Arome is of red wine and oak. I would say it’s dark red, not really dark brown. Head dissappears unappealingly fast. Flavor is really sweet, mild, soft. But it still keeps something of that tippically wooden taste of a strong ale. Palate goes from sweet to the bitter wooden finish, not too refined. Overall a very impressive beer!

Dark brown brew with a beige head. Aroma is fantastic of all sorts of fruit, mostly berries, apples and bananas though. Theres also some cocoa, fat maltiness and refreshing yeasty esters. Flavour is similar but a tad too sweet, it is very sweet, very fat with a long vinous finish with very low bitterness. A real monster of a belgian brew.

Bottle 75 cl, jaargang 2009. Pours a dark brown with a small off-white head and a sweet aroma of plums, overripe pears, toffee, molasses and vanilla. The taste is sweet too, with hints of dark fruits, brown sugar, vanilla, alcohol and herbs. The finish is sweet and sour and more bitter in the end. A very nice beer.

(bottle - corked & caged 750 ml) Dark brown color with a fluffy tan head. Aroma is very sweet and malty with lots of raisins, plums, and caramel. Flavor is big and malty at the beginning with lots of sweet fruit and subtle spice notes following it up. Thick and chewy and very smooth.

Original review date 10/8/2008...from corked and caged 750 to Ommegang chalice... Only a subtle "poof" as the cork comes off. Don’t fret, as there’s ample carbonation from the deep bourbon barrel-colored body rising to a 2-finger, ginger-colored bready head that is thick, dense and lumpy. Awesome. Beautiful scent of apple and pear esters are first wave. With warmth, more banana, yeast and malt emerge. Bountiful and beautiful. Silky, sweet, thick malt presence with well-balanced esters of banana, pear and apple. Carbonation blends in Beautiful Chemistry with yeast, copious amounts of malt and mild ginger, clove and cinnamon. Malt and spice emerge even more profoundly with warmth. The power of this offering rests in a full, deep finish. Carbonation provides tingle as a counterweight to cut the fat. Stellar effort. Complex with balance in abundance. This is immense and a pleasure. Sip and savor.

75 cl bottle (2008) Pours dark red/brown with no head at all. Sweet aroma of banana, prunes and caramel. Sweet strong malty taste, spicy, think this beer wants to be a wine.....

Vintage 2006 Appearance: Pours a rootbeer brown with a small foamy white head. Aroma: Large whiffs of bubblegum, banana, vanilla, and spices. Taste: Bubblegum, banana, clove, vanilla, caramel, dark fruits. Mouthfeel: Thick and heavy. Overall: Extra very good.

006 vintage, reviewed in late 07. Lots of expectation here. Got another one or two in the cellar. This one is fresh out of the store. Poured out a deep brown with red hues, small quickly dying tan head with zero retention - maybe a more aggressive pour should have been done? The aroma of sweet spice and caramel hits you quickly, sweet raisin, weak wood, hints of alcohol, faint cinnamon candy, licorice - reminds me of an eisbock. The taste is spicy but very easy drinking, allspice, clove, some alcohol, the spice really comes out as this warms and the caramel character tries to tame it but cannot. Slightly syrupy, nice soft carbonation and some alcohol as I breathe in. Surprisingly mellow young, we will see what this ages. See you in another year or so.