Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor

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

Pours hazy golden with a nice sized white head. Aroma is light fruits, banana, and spices. Flavor is estery fruity light malts, with flavors of candy sugar and piney, citrus, slightly earthy hops with a slight bitter finish. Good stuff.

330mL bottle from a group order. Pours a hazy straw gold with a huge white foamy head, lots of floaties. The nose on this reminds me a lot of the Margriet from this same brewery. Very lemon-zesty hoppy, pale malts and a hint of candi sugar. Very nice. Flavour is quite sweet upfront, with some assertive hop bitterness following and then a dry yeasty finish. Lingering dryness and yeast in the aftertaste. Nice astringent feel to it from the hops. Sweet fruity esters are tasty, peach, mango, pineapple. Feels strong yet drinkable. The unique combination of hop varieties in this makes for some nice complexity (reminds me a little of Orval’s hops characteristics). The sweetness matches the biting hops very well and I really appreciate the balance.

8/13/09 on tap at papago... hazy maple stained wood color with a soft white head and sticky clingy rings of lacing. there’s something in the nose which reminds me of blanching water that has been used all day and always smells a bit like corn... minerals, spiciness tingles, faint bubblegum, straw, pale malt and its sweetness, florals, yeast and possibly orange. initial pale malt and candi sweetness is cleaned off with a ton of grassy, floral and dry herbal hoppiness. bitter hoppy finish is followed by a yeasty aftertaste. medium bodied, crisp and terribly easy to drink! 8/4/8/4/16/4.0

Poured from a 750ml caged and corked bottle and served in a tulip. This beer poured a cloudy pale golden color with a big, off-white, meringue head. Very slow to settle, leaving behind, thick, bubbly lacing. The was made up of a huge dose of grassy hops, light lemon, citrus, pale malt, and just a bit of graham cracker. The included soft, grassy hops, mellow citrus, a touch of honey, slightly sweet pale malts, and more herbal, earthy hops. Huge hop presence, but not overly bitter. The mouthfeel was full-bodied and lush. Ample carbonation, yet very soft of the tongue. Mostly dry at the finish. Dangerously drinkable! One of the best hoppy Belgians I have tried. The herbal Euro hop profile is a welcome change of pace. Quite tasty!

Thanks to KingG for recommending this brew. Very nice! Pours hazy, straw yellow with a huge white head, great retention, sheet lace. Smells very bready and yeasty with some slight hop aromas as well. Tastes yeasty and bready again but this time with a very nice hop presence. Slightly bitter, slightly sweet. Medium body, super vibrant carbonation.

Cloudy yellow pour with a big foamy head and some particles floating inside it. The aroma already sets the tone: clearly very hoppy and fresh, with some citrus fruit. Taste is nicely bitter and hoppy offset with a soft malty base. Mouthfeel is quite peppery and the alcohol content clearly evident. Excellent hoppy ale, I just wish the alcohol wouldn’t be so in-your-face - which is why this can’t beat the perfectly balanced XX Bitter. A worthy addition to the new trend of hoppy Belgians.

The comments about the head should not be taken lightly. A full three fingers of white rocky foam sits on a light yellow body. Spicy grassy hop aroma. Nice spicy belgian IPA, very grassy with a great malt base. Huge white yeasty floaties at the bottom if you want them.

330 mL into Unibroue tulip. Holy crap this is one of the best looking beers I’ve ever seen. Pours a cloudy light yellow with an towering, pillowy white head that rises six fingers high right out of the glass but doesn’t spill over because it’s so thick- rather it keeps piling on like massive whipped cream on a sundae. Leaves retarded lacing. Aroma is overripe tropical fruits, watermelon, honeydew melon, lemongrass, plus the usuals of candi sugar and yeast. Taste is amazing: lots of bananas, clove, muted herbal hops, orange peel, a bit of potpourri, lemon, and powerful alcohol. Really creamy mouthfeel with a drying, bitter aftertaste. Huge alcohol presence- the 8% feels like 9 or 10. I feel like this is the beer Jesus had at the last supper. It just looks and tastes divine.