Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

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

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.

on tap at the Red Room in Santa Cruz. Pours very dark brown with a small light beige head. Aromas are very complex and intense with notes of various fruits, most notably raisin and cola, yeast and slight alcohol. Taste is similar and the alcohol is well-masked. Medium-bodied with nice soft carbonation. Definitely one of my favorite beers.

Pours a nice dark cola like color. Has a sweet alcohol soaked prune/raisin and spice aroma. The taste is of brown sugar and boozy run raisin bread, red grape fruit juice. Good body, fizzy carbonation, finishes sticky & syrupy

2006 750 ml bottle. Dark brown pour with small tan head, nice lacing and renewable head with a light swirl of the glass. The nose is complex combines bananas with earthy scents, yeast, bitter chocolate and hints of alcohol. The taste likewise is complex, although it differs slightly from the nose, starts with a bubble gum like sweetness followed closely by hints of toffee, bitter chocolate, banana and a nice alcohol warming. Breathing is a good thing as it only becomes more complex, yet more balanced as it allowed to sit. A great brew for sipping.

Cork smells like a chemical on the fresh pop....medium to dark brown-with reddish hues...medium beige head thats fluffy yet dense....smells like yeast, bananas and malt...lacing very nice..its drippy....the more you swirl, the more the nanas peel, then they offer you some alcohol...nice body, medium nice effervescence...alcohol on the first sip....very dense, very concentrated....sweet alcohol...I wish more of the aroma was present in the the flavor, perhaps some aging would help that...slightly viscous in the mouth