Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

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

Vintage 2006. 750 ml bottle. Okay, so I probably shouldn’t have had this with Thai food. I thought it would provide a fruity sweet balance to my spicy meal. Did I burn my taste buds? Was I lost in a flood of robust flavor and spice from the dish? Yes. I was. So I stopped drinking the beer, had some water, and finished my meal. 750 ml is a lot beer so I had a good amount left for a fair tasting. Upon pouring the head suprised me. At first nothing. Hmmm. Then, from the depths, like a great beast surfacing for the kill...here came the head. Tan and full and quite yummy looking. Then it went away. Aroma is is like bread pudding. Rich bread pudding. Flavor is of the darker fruits with sugar and alcohol. Robust and rich. This beer is a chewer. Quite good.

750ml bottle. 2005. Aroma: Very rich. Bread dough, molasses, raisins and plums. Some light spice as it warms. Appearance: Deep brown in color with mahogany highlights. Head was medium khaki in color, full and creamy. Great retention and lacing. Flavor: Rich maltiness with notes of bread dough, caramel and molasses, vanilla, dried cherries and raisins. Some light smoke and spice. Alcohol is soft and pleasant. Medium dry finish. Palate: Medium bodied. Medium-high carbonation. Light alcohol warming in back of mouth. Overall: Exceptional. Well crafted and packed with flavor, but never a chore to drink.

very aromatic when you open the bottle! malty, but sweet, like caramel with some fruitiness. Perfect head on the beer, great flavour! You don’t even notice the 11% ABV....

Pours a nice tan rocky head and exudes a caramel and dark raisin, plum aroma. Great aroma, but I get a little carbonation up my nose when I inhale too deeply. Actually, tonight, i have found that problem in all of the large brews; whether that means that the beers should be aged much longer and allowed to lose some modicum of carbonation, or whether that is how they are supposed to be drunk, I am not sure. I do know that it slightly detracts from the beer. Otherwise, I think this is a super-sweet, fruity, not overly complex, but good beer. Very palatable and decent. I am glad I tried it, but this would be something I would age for about 10 years to get some of that oxidized flavor and hope that the sweetness levels out into more balance. Next to westy 12, 8, Bernardus 12 and the 60th anniv. Bernardus, this is above average for the style, but pales in comparison. Not a fair rating in terms of what it is drunk next to, but overall I believe this to be a fair interpretation of a decent beer.

750 mL bottle. 2006 Vintage.
Pours a dark ruby reddish-brown with a light brown head. Aromas of caramelized raisins, cherries, licorice, and alcohol. A lot of the same flavors with a touch of smoke and heavier on the cherry. Full body with lots of carbonaton. Semi sweet finish. This is pretty damn yummy.

750 mL bottle. Hazy chestnut brown with a fluffy light tan head. Aroma of sweet caramel, malt, fruity notes including banana and Belgian yeast. Rich thick creamy palate. Initial taste of over-ripe green apple transitioning to a caramel flavor and finishing with a very pleasant vanilla taste. Excellent.

The bottle was two years old. It had an aroma of figs, but also a sweetness and alcohol. In the flavor there is figs, alcohol, malt and some other fruit. It’s nice and creamy.

On tap at O’briens. Pours an amber brownish with a thin creamy tan head. Aroma of vanilla, sweet malt, and candied fruit. Tastes of sweet malt, vanilla, and alcohol. Very nice.