Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Blauw/Blue

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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Wow! Pours a mahogany brown but settles in the glass a blurry black with a dark cherry glow. Immense capping of orangey tinted ivory foam thats very smooth, thick, and fluffy. Sits without moving as it barely reduces itself to take on a thicker, cake batter appearance as the fluffyness dissolves into the foam. Lacing coats the glass in thick moth-holed sheeting all the while that cap hardly diminishes. Aroma is of old, soggy, sugared banana bread thats dark, deep, and dull with slight plum, raisin, fig, and molasses soaking within the deepness. Quite deceptive on the nose as it seems to build while it sits and gets fairly deep and complexly so in that deepness. Nice little noting of spicy orange zest, cinnamon, and cardamom is evident as well. Oh, my what incredible soaking smoothness and softness this stuff creates as it floats across the palate with amazing ease. Mild, dull flavors of dark fruit bread sink in with raisin, plum, dry fig, molasses, and soft citrusy orange notes that tender up a warming sense of spicyness with cardamom, cooked sugar, and raisin skins making for a lengthy finish. Middle has a creamy center of caramel, banana, and dark sugary sweetness. Its ever changing in its profile, sometimes more warming and spicy, other times, super tender and malty with dark dull sugary stuff. Wonderful play on the palate and on the mind. Feel is perfect. Soft, supple, giving, full, smooth, warming, sweet, a little bit spicy, and a whole lot of yum! Amazingly soft texture of sugared bread thats soaked in dark fruityness. There’s even a slight hoppy, vitamin coated, citrus bittering that comes across within certain sips thats very intriguing. The smoothness is incredible; top notch. The warmth will catch ya every time, nearly every sip in fact, which slows it down for enormously fine, big, sippage. Damn fine stuff!

Draft. Beernutz. Hazy brown color. Big creamy head. Medium sweetness, at least. Flavors were raisin, fig, candy, brown sugar. Big time complexity. Really enjoyed this one.

brown, clear, tan foam, soy sauce, cereal, bread, full body, oily feel, average carbonation, long finish, heavy cloying sweetness, medium bitterness,

750 ml bottle courtesy of Jonas (non-RB). 2010 vintage. Pours tiny hazy dark reddish brown with a rather small creamy pale brownish beige head that is rather quick to dissipate while leaving some lacing on the glass. Smell is sweet, malty and spicy with dark sweet bread, rose pepper, prunes, dark sweet cherries, burnt caramel, orange zest, black pepper, wood, alcohol, dark grapes and hints of lemon juice and vanilla. Taste is sweet and malty with dark bread, wood, prunes, orange zest, plums, alcohol, liquorice root, black pepper, dark grapes and hints of toffee, pears and apples. Mouthfeel is sticky sweet, tiny boozy, very tiny tart and medium to full bodied. Finish is sweet an tiny tart with dark bread, apples, pears, toffee and orange zest.

tulip. brown unclear body fluffy head maybe two finger tall. aromas are caramel, ripe pear, piloncillo, berries, and it has alcohol and a sense of char stake. Flavors are strong in sweet and fruits.

Bottle. Cloudy copper pour with off white head. Caramel, raisin, dark berries, cinnamon, brown sugar, flower spice. Better as it opens up. A bit sweet for me but a nice beer

Bottle for Sunday night Game of Thrones viewing. Pours deep amber with finger head of beige fluffy fun. Great nose of candy and soda. Tastes of root beer, caramel, malt, molasses, licorice, and yeast. Really delicious.

Catching up on old reviews - Deep mahogany brown pour with tan head. A sweet aroma of dark fruit, bananas, caramel, cherries. The taste was extremely sweet and even overpowering at first. The warm and farther into the beer I got, the better I could pick out the tastes...malt, brown sugar, various fruits, cinnamon, cloves, molasses, candy. There also was a nice presence of earthy and bready yeast. Fairly moderate body and carbonation. Interesting complex beer, that I enjoyed in a small dose, but I don’t think I could handle the sweetness in more than that.

pours light root beer brown, minimal head compared to the blond, ringed retention, lots of slow-moving CO2 streams. Strong thick and heavy malts on the nose. Drinks with 8/10-level sweetness up front, alcoholic presence is apparent from the start, tastes of heavy malt, brown sugar (demerara/turbinado), figs, scotch, caramel, mild-medium bitter finish. Med-high complexity, med-high depth, good transitions, great carry, okay drinkability (less as the temperature raises). A potent dark beer with lots of flavour but also heavy and hits harder than the blond.

Draft. Pours murky amber-brown with a med-large tan head. Buoquet of dark fruit. Raisin, plum, prune, fig... you name, its in there. Very sweet aroma that matches the nose. Yeast and alcohol as well. Full body, sticky texture, and a very lengthy finish. A little too sweet for my taste, but still a great beer.

Bottle, 2011 vintage. Colour is amber brown with a beige head. Fruity aroma. Taste is fruity with some sourness.