Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)

NorCal December ’07 - An absolute pleasure of a beer to drink. Like Scaldis Noel, this beer is best savored during the later fall/winter months when it’s cold outside and you need some warmth inside. Aroma is brown sugar, caramel, green apples, bubblegum, and a touch floral. Mouthfel has a little harshness to it but gets better after a bit of breathing. Appearance is carmelized brown color, nice fluffy head with fantastic lacing. Flavors that dance on your tongue are brown sugar, caramel, ginger, dark fruits, licorice and alcohol. A slow, soft burn as the beer travels down your throat. A fantastic finish to a fantastic beer. Glad I have half a case of this.

Bottle; poured a reddish brown color with medium to large off white head. Aroma was of caramel, brown sugar, dark fruit and spice. Flavor was very similar. Malt dominated as expected. Brown sugar and chocolate malt presence was very tasty. Alcohol was well hidden. Dark fruits and spice were only secondary notes, but worked well. Moederately sweet. Very tasty brew.

Pours a nice dark ruby brown with dense but small off-white head. Nose is serious licorice, mild fruitiness and pine. More licorice on the palate, which is quite smooth and thick without being overwhelming, but some nice cherry and dark fruits, maple syrup, and a solid menthol hop bitterness follow up. Alcohol is pretty present throughout. A nice, if unusual, take on the winter brew.

Bottle, 75cl. The beer pours clear dark brown with a lightbrown head. Aroma is with caramel, malts and some spices. The flavor is very close to the aroma. The mouthfeel is rich and spiced, and has a great aftertaste. Overall one of the best seasonal beers on the market.

750mL Bottle: Dark brown to black body w/ a huge light brown sugar head. Has some blood red in the body when the light catches it just right. Real sweet sugar, licorice & sweet malts in the aroma. All alcohol here, perhaps it needs some aging (one would think I’d learned my lesson w/ the Grand Cru). Perhaps this simply isn’t a style of beer that I enjoy. Maybe I’ll buy another one to age...probably not though.

(Bottle thanks larsniclas and rlgk) Pours deep reddish brown. The aroma is desert wine like with tones of sugar, light wood, sweet dark fruits but also lighter fruit tones of grapes, citrus/oranges, bananas, green apples, unripe pears, nectar and a light floral overtone. Malty tones of caramel and toffee. Some marzipan sweetness is also present. Hints of dark bread and liquorice. The flavour is nicely grapey vinous with some fruity tones of apples and pears. Too sweet finish with a lingering sugariness. Spicy and creamy yeast and malt mouthfeel. Alight sourish touch of dark berries is also notable. Medium to full bodied.

The pour is splendid a dark brown, with a large off white head and great lacing. The nose is that of dark fruit, rum, malt and caramel. The flavor is pleasantly sweet up front followed with nice touches of dark fruit and vinous characteristics, not to mention just the right warming effect. Another great seasonal, can’t wait to age some and try this one again.

Very nice... Interesting aromas of spice and earth, malt and caramel. The flavor is full of prune, banana, spice, malt, and alcohol. The blend is very nice, and has given me interest in aging a bottle for next year.