Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Rood/Red

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

from Au Grain d’Orge - pours a cloudy blond colour under a huge and bright white foam; superb lacing; estery and fruity aroma with notes of pears, pineapples and spices; very sweet and with a solid malt backbone, lively palate and with a subtle but high carbonation ; long fruity finish with tons of residual sugars and lingering spicy notes

񢉘) Decent sized off-white head of fine bubles in my Chimay chalice. Very good carbonation keeps a thin sheen of foam on the surface. Wonderful fruity aroma with some pears, apples and white grapes along with some light yeast and a hint of funkiness. Color is a hazy orange. Fizzy in the mouth and pretty damn HOT! Alcohol kicks in immediately and warms the head. Light fruit with some sticky malts, floral hops, herbal notes and some grains. Flavor become more citrusy as it warms. Unfortunately the alcohol does detract from the flavor a bit. Finishes a bit bitter and dry with lingering alcohol. This brew needs a bit more body to offset the big alcohol kick. I would venture that it may even be more than 10%. Still a good brew though and may get better with age. Sort of reminds me of a Unibroue 11.

750 ml. bottle. Vintage 2008. Pours a exuberant, fluffy, tiny bubbled, white head, over a clear pale yellow (SRM 5)....nose is very fruity with pineapple, pear, apple, banana/bubblegum, tiny bit of barnyard at the end.....taste is a spicy, peppery fruit basket, with pineapple, apple dominating early, turning later towards peppery tones, finishing with mild bitterness.....mouth feel is medium to light, carbonation high, This meets the style of a Golden Strong almost perfectly, and I find it quite delicious. It is loaded with phenols and esters, seems sweet, ends dry, thanks to alcohol and carbonation. This is a wonderful creation.

This corked and caged bottled brew from a bottle shop poured a medium sized head of foamy finely sized white colored bubbles that were mostly diminishing and left behind a yellow colored body and a fair lacing. The aroma was floral and malty. The crisp and clean mouth feel was tingly at the start and at the finish. The flavor contained notes of malt hops and floral. A decent one that I would consider buying again.

2008 bottle. Pours a very sparkling clear, gold color with a bit of sediment and a massive, brilliant white, fluffy, rocky head which settles eventually to a lasting, creamy layer with Belgian lace. Nose is certainly unique; full of spicy alcohol, very peppery, vanilla and bubblegum, floral bouquet, certainly honey and light candi sugar, faint pear, and yeast is cobwebs and lightly estery. The flavor is like a kick to the mouth with so many things going on; the sweet notes still dominate with more vanilla and cotton candy, maybe some anise emerging later, light pear bringing a light tartness, some fresh herb notes (thyme?), cobweb yeast, and spicy pepper underlying, but only warming in the belly. Palate is a bit sharp but interesting with a medium body, lively carbonation, slight warming noticed after the finish, almost refreshing, lightly sticky, and somehow creamy too. Finishes with a short flavor progression but a fairly long finish with notes of citric tartness, bubble gum, anise, and pepper. This is one of the most interesting BSGA’s I have tried; a completely unpredictable palate, truly unique, and anise??? All in all, maybe not the most well put together beer but the interesting factor too much for me to overlook. Way too drinkable for the ABV, despite the sharpness in the palate. The easter beers this brewery has produced are nothing like this beer, nothing. For some reason, this is not the type of beer I usually like in this style but something was just right.

Slightly bitter at first then sweetness appears. My initial thought was that I wouldn’t find this as nice as anticipated but as the sweetness kicked in i soon changed my mind. Quite delicate for a strong ale it was very easy to drink. Lasing sweet mouthfeel.Very nice.

750 ml 2008 bottle from Imbibe Wine, Bakersfield. Lightly hazy gold with a medium off white head. Nose of banana, bubblegum, a light clove note, and yeast. Flavor is banana, light alcohol, light sweetness, and caramel. Nice combo of esters.

Jaargan 2008

8/13/2009: Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer (Red)... Aroma: Spicy perfume, slightly metallic and acetone-like. Appearance: Pale, hazy gold; big off-white head that fades away quickly. Flavor: Spicy and moderately sweet with some interesting hard lemon and spicy blend; white grape; something slighty fruity with a slight sherry edge to it; alcohol burn definitely flares up when warmer. Palate: Light and prickly palate. Overall: High alcohol, mildly sweet, slightly spicy... Kind of like a malt liquor, but slightly better!

1 pt 9.4 fl. oz. corked and caged bottle (10% Alc/Vol.) shared by Tmoney99. Thanks Tom! Rating #196 for this beer.