Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

Bottled 2004. Pours a deep red bordering mahogany with tan, airy head. Particles are suspended all throughout the beer and never settle (or move for that matter)! Aromas of sweet candied cherries, vanilla, and a ton more fruit esters. As it warms the nose develops into a more banana, spicy yeast, port barrels, and raisin. Flavor is of cherries , with notes of raisin, port, cardamom, candy sugar, with a peppery banana finish. Great carbonation left over, but much flatter than new. Finish is quite refreshing and dry with a touch of citrus but still has a definite alcohol warmth. Lips and gums are left sticky with vanilla and cherry.

750ml bottle. 2007. Very pleasantly surprised. Plenty of fruity yeast esters on the nose. Banana nut bread comes first to mind. Cherries, wood (cedar?), maple syrup, raisins. There’s just a bit too much fusel alcohol on the nose for it to rate a 9, but I wonder if time will temper that. Pours a rich burgundian shade of brown with a creamy off white head. Maple syrup, raisins, sweet cherry, wood, brown sugar and lots of yeast on the palate. Full bodied with just the right amount of carbonation. Finishes with a tad too much alcohol hotness. This will be magnificent in a few years.

Bottle 2004. Pours a deep ruby, particulate filled elixir, with a pillowy tan head that puffy up and fades out quickly. Candi sweet, estery nose full of candied cherries, banana wood and vanilla with port-like notes and plenty of spice. The flavour is fruity and syrupy sweet with cherries, fig, port, citrus, dried fruits, cardamom , brown sugar and wood. The port flavour in the brew is the most prominent characteristic of the taste. The alcohol presence is very subdued. Finishing, a sticky cherry, vanilla flavour is left on the lips and the aftertaste has great duration. The velvety texture and soft, yet tingly carbonation makes for a perfect palate for this GC. As you drink and it warms, the finish becomes more drying and hoppy, with citrus becoming apart of the profile.

2007 750 ml bottle. As my brother put it "This is some strong stuff! Tastes like wine with carbonation." Lots of carmel and yeast flavors, spicy aroma. Somewhat like a fine port wine, almost forgot I was drinking a beer. Quite the good beer.

75 cL bottle, Kerstbierfestival 2007 in Essen/Belgium. Pours deep amber, clear and with no head. Dried fruit and with a mild yeast note, malty aswell. Winous. Flavour is sweet and with notes of rainsins and other dried fruit goodies, lovely. Nicely lingering into the finish with a sweet caramel malt and fruity note.

750 ml bottle, 2006 vintage, picked this up from the Hop Duvel, Gent, early December had 23-12-07 Poured dark brown with good clarity, wonderful spicy aroma along with some dates, figs cherries and port notes (lovely) Great tasting beer and far exceeded my expectations, this is a sublime beer the taste is very comlex with an absolute absolute myriad of flavours, there is cherries, port, nuts, sticky fruits all throwing themselves forward on a lipsmacking assault on your tastebuds. Some sweetness and alcohol are also present but this is a real sipping beer, such complexity has to be marvelled at flavour packed beer loved it. I reckon this could get even better in another year or two.

2007 Vintage - 750ml botttle - Enjoyed @ the brewery pub in Mechelen. No expectations from this seasonal release, but was very pleasantly surprised. Wonderful nose of licorice, figs, raisins and pepper. Sweet, sticky dark fruit, licorice, caramel, candy sugar, molasses flavors. Very well balanced and should round out even better with a year in the cellar. I look forward to collecting several years for a vertical tasting.

750ml Bottle dated 2007, label isted 10% alc., pours dark brown into a chalice or tulip, initially a off-white and tan head that thins to a ring but always remains, aromas of yeast, dark and toasted malt, dark fruit, brown sugar, fragrances of bread, zuchini bread, faint licorice and sweet raisins, flavor of dark malt, dark candy sweet and bread flavors, fig flavor - reminds me of eating fig newtons as a kid, pepper bite at the finish with alcohol warmth, there is a taste of alcohol in the mouth at first sip even when cold, the alcohol grows as the ale warms, if you like sweet tasting sipping ales you will enjoy this, medium or more mouth feel. Gouden Carolus would make a great dessert sipping ale on a cold evening, maybe aging would remove the sweetness because it is sweet and this gets old on my palate quickly, I may age a bottle to see how changes, for my taste this ale would be better if it was aged and some of the sweetness was replaced with flavor.