Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

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

Bottle vintage 2002 - sampled at the RBESP 2005
Cloudy amber brown, tanned head. Somewhat alcoholic raisin and rum aroma. Bready malt, raisins and brown sugar. Mellow mouthfeel.

Nice head with ok duration. Color is dark brown. Aroma is fruits and spices. Taste is fruits and spices and a bit vinous.

2002 Poured a hazy reddish brown color with no head or lacing. Aroma of apples, plums, cardamom, sweet caramel malt, chocolate, and some alcohol. Sweet malty, and spicy (cinnamon) taste with a dry, earthy finish. Light carbonation, and alcohol was noticed at the end.

Bottle at Københavnske øldage 07. Red brown colour with a beige head. Aroma is alcohol, roasted, caramel. Flavour is dried fruits, alcohol, sweet, roasted, caramel. Very nice beer.

Pours a ruby color with a foamy, tan head. Oh man... the aroma alone... bread, spice and chocolate. The flavor was just fantastic. Nutty and malty off the bat, but rolling in waves are fruit, sugar, chocolate... and then it gets even deeper and darker with hits of tobacco and leather. What the fudge? This was fantastic and would probably blend together some with aging. Killer.

Last HWOH brougth by Willblake cuz he noticed I hadn’t rated it before. Thanks Jon. Pours a deep amber/cloudy brown with small sediment floaties and a good lasting beige head. Aroma is very fruity- apple, other esters, light alcohol, sweet malts, light cardboard oxidation. More cork, stale malts, and cardboard oxidation in the flavor with lots of fruit, sweet malts, hints of chocolate and tobacco. Soy oxidative notes throughout as well. Even with the slight oxidation, this is still really nice overall.

First rating
(75 cl bottle)
Labeled 8.5%.
Wine and sugar, alcohol and raissin, laid down, fresch scent. Copper red color with a tan head. Alcohol, dried fruits, raissin, almonds, sweet taste. Thin mouthfeel and high co2.
5/3/5/2/9=2.4

Rerate
(75 cl bottle from Systembolaget, thanks to deft!)
BB 31/12/2018
2008 vintage
This time labelled 11%
On October 10, 2008
Clear beautiful dark reddish copper color, big lasting tan head. Sweet, slight roasted, lactic, alcohol, spicy scent. Also some milk chocolate. Sweet, lactic, salty, phenolic, licorice, fruity, hard to describe taste. Lots of everything. Warming alcohol feeling, though well hidden alcohol in taste. Aftertaste rather short, a bit sweet. Medium to smooth mouthfeel, low bitterness. Turns shady towards the end of the bottle.
7/5/7/4/14=3.7

The 11% I tried now (Side by side with the red version) was much better than the 8.5% version tried earlier)

2004 botttle. Appearance is a dark burgundy, violet and fuschia colored body, with some dark mahogany and a biig foamy mocha head. Aroma is out of this world. Dark oatmeal stouts, big banana estery foreign stouts, lacto, caramel, toffee, AND DARK CANDI SUGAR. Flavor shows a huge sweetness; cloying, and immensely strong and fatiguing. It’s big, it’s good and it’s too much. So much residual sugar it’s unreal. Sweet to the extreme. It does abate somewaht on the very end, after an hour or so, but it still is a mix of alcohol, strong yeast and boatloads of sugar.