Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Rood/Red

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

Appearance: Pours a clear, blonde body with a very tall, very white head. Smell: Sweet-smelling, phenolic, a bit boozy, and simply chock full of rich fruitiness. Plenty of spice and fresh herbs as well. Pinch of yeast. Taste: Sweet, sugary maltiness mixed with a herbal gentian taste, star anise, dried orange peel, and heavy-handed dose of pepper and spices. Fairly phenolic throughout. Fruity flavors of white grapes, peaches, green apples, and under-ripe plums. Minor hint of vanilla upon warming. Oh, and a big wallop of booze near the end. Candi sugar taste perks up now and again. Finishes dry and warming with a lingering mingling of perfumy, grapefruity components. Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Well carbonated. Drinkability: It’s certainly not subtle, as there’s tons going on here. A bit alcoholic initially, but once it starts coursing through your system you learn to live with it, even enjoy it, and focus on the expressive fruit character and punchy phenols. Still though, I’d stick with the blue, babies!

Clear light amber with rising bubbles and a frothy white head. Big yeasty, earthy belgian spice aromas. medium body with a frothy mouthfeel. Nice fruity sweet, yeasty estery flavors of peaches, mangos, and earthy papaya flesh is nicely complex. The 10% is well hidden here. Very good.

750 ml. Clear golden with a creamy, enduring head. Beautiful frosting left on the glass. Aromas of peach bubblegum, caramel, apple, and citrus peel. Flavor starts with a sweet malty blend of the same, then turns to a spicy-resin and citrus peel flavor that balances well. The finish is dry and a bit harsh with booze and the bitter peel-spice-resin combo. Light body is too fizzy for me and very dry.

Bottle from SL. Pour was golden highly sparkly, big huge head, good lacing. Upon opening the wire cage, the cork went flying out and rocketing toward the ceiling of bfeld’s house, yikes! Loud pop, big scare, no Al-Quida, though, phew! The aroma was white grapes, candy, apples, some yeast. The flavor followed, rich candy sweet white grapes and apples (in a great way), the deceiving impression of plums, but this thing was too pale for such a thing? Dunno, it retained the plum-iness of the standard kaizer somehow. The mouthfeel was sweet and full, but it stayed clear of stick with high carbonation and some yeasty dryness.

Pours a light golden honey color, and is hugely carbonated. Aroma of sweet, overripe fruits, yeast and alcohol. The intense carbonation manages to cleanse your mouth of the (otherwise overly) sweet flavor, which includes apples and apricots. Sweet, very dry with a good tang. Very good.

very softy hazed but almost transparent dark yellow with what starts as a large white topping but which settles thin, whispy white. Sweet, old citrus, hay-like nose with a distant gingerbread/anise touch. More sweet old-citrus flavors with boozy, grassy, almost off-putting/malt-liqour like characterstics...the sweet carries the flavors throughout...hay, citrus, and booze. everywhere. Big heavy, thick, sweet body...bloating...

Big puffy head, slight over-foam but not too bad. Nose yeasty, lots of perfume and some breadiness. The alcohol is very strong in this one, easily the most boozy Gouden Carolus I’ve had, rather overpowering at first. After my palate adjusted, become more drinkable, fruity and a bit crisp. Has some odd bitterness notes to it like orange peels mixed with anise or something, doesn’t fit the beer well. Really overpoweringly strong, killed off any subtleness I might have been looking for.

750ml bottle. Incredibly clean pour with huge pillow head that quickly disappeared. white grapes, yeast, hop and candi sugar on nose. very sqeet with huge, sprite carbonation, which is a nice, necc. balance. drying aftertaste but still moist.