Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor

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

Beige-light tan colour. Big head. Lots of cloudiness. Fresh herbal continental hops and dusty Belgian yeast. Dry, fairly bitter flavour. Lots of herbal hoppiness and thick bready pale malts. There are a lot of beers like this, but it is a very solid concept and this one is executed well.

(750ml bottle) Large, fluffy white head atop hazy apple juice body. Aroma is medium sweet, straw/grass, some peach, light honey. Taste is medium sweet, grass/straw, some yeast. Effervescent medium body.

Bottle. Pale blonde, pours an enormous head. Citric hoparoma, chalky and milky. Firm oily citrus hopbitter flavor, lingering on in the almost creamy aftertaste. Delicious!

My Bottom Line:
Beaming herbal hoppiness expands into spicy and citrusy profiles onto the straw-like cereals in this very bitter, virile Belgian hopzilla.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A mountainous head of foam clings to the cloudy blond.
-I have to disagree with part of the commercial description here; the bitterness in the aftertaste is far from "gentle". It is gripping, endless and perhaps disproportionate when compared to the hop presence in the flavor profile.
-Carbonation is frothy and very expansive; it just doesn’t let up even though I always let my glasses breathe for many minutes.
-A bready yeast presence adds complexity to the flavor profile.
-Even though it is 8% abv, it remains very drinkable throughout.
-This cousin of Houblon Chouffe might not have as compelling a recipe, but that’s just me; this remains a wonderfully crafted Belgian Double IPA.

Bottle.

Bottle at home. Yellow with the largest white head, good lacings. Aroma heavy malty (caramel, fruity, pepper), light hoppy. Flavor heavy sweet, light bitter. Almost full body, strong in alcohol.

750 ml bottle. The cork blew up to the ceiling before I had undone the wire completely. No over flow, thankfully. Pours a gargantuan fluffy, very long lasting white head with incredible lacing over a cloudy (bottle conditioned as the cork proved) pale yellow (SRM 4) body.....nose of honey, clove, allspice, barnyard funk,.....tastes initially mild sweet malts, then multiple spices including clove, coriander, allspice, finishing with a sharp, not harsh, hop bitterness which lasts.....mouth feel is fairly light, carbonation rather high. This is almost a Triple with the big wonderful spice, but the hop bitterness "rescues" it from that "fate" and turns it into a Golden Strong. A lovely beer with multiple layers of nose and taste at every turn.

750 ml corked and caged bottle poured a hazy golden yellow with a large lasting white head. Aromas of straw, fruittiness, spice and a hint of vanilla. Palate was light to medium bodied and smooth with a lightly dry finish. Flavors of straw, grapefruit rind, orange zest , light mint and a hint of spice with a smooth lingering lightly bitter finish.

on tap at Hop Leaf. pours hazy glowing orange with creamy white head. wonderful hallertau and saaz aroma, i’m such a sucker for those hops. earthy and spice with some citrus in there too. the hop aroma carries nicely into the flavor with some sweet candy malt coming through, this comes close to an ipa tripel. wonderful beer, perhaps this could be nicer at only 7%abv.