Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)

Very dark copper with a thick cloudy light brown head. Aroma of alcohol, warm malt, brown sugar and light Belgian yeast. Sweet flavour almost like a brown sugar liqueur. Alcohol is very present but not overpowering. Flavour is like a marshmallow candy with a trace of Cinnamon.

330ml bottle from Vinmonopolet (Harstad). Nice beige-yellow foam over a hazy, dark orange body. Candy sweet smell dominated by anise. There is also good amounts of anise in flavour. Hints of sweet, ripe citrus fruits remain in the background. A bit port-like impression. Aftertaste of yeast and warming alcohol. Almost full mouthfeel, but gets a bit too sweet and carbonated (13.12.2006).

Cyrup like aroma with hints of complex set of flavours, malts and hints of cinnamon. Nice reddish brown colour, nice small bubble foam cap that vanishes quite shortly. Flavour is sweet smooth full tasting malty with hints of rosted barley and chocolate. Even with overpouring sweetness there are some bitterness (like from juniper) from hops in after taste (but not enough for me to balance the sweet taste). Palate is little viscose and the mouth is covered with strong after taste of malty sweetness and some edge of hops. Overall quite nice stron beer for christmas season. Two 0.75 bottles would be too much but one with traditional Finnish christmas roast ham would do fine.

Full-bodied ale with incedible complexity of tastes. Very fruity aroma loaded with banana notes. Smooth like velvet, very tasty, but not overdone.

Sub par. Poured dark with a nice head. Aroma was sweet and earthy. Flavor very earthy, musty, and dry, not great.

Very rich. Deep flavor. Not spicy like other Christmas beers. But strong malt flavors and high quality Gouden Carolus style.

this was actually kind of good. Here’s the deal: all of these belgian breweries have a christmas beer which is only different in the fact that it is hoppier. they are like that. i remember the good one from this brewery actually beeing good and this being similar, less so, but more hoppy. screw you, i dont have to justify myself to you.

Shared at Coastal Wine Connection’s monthly tasting. Whiskey-colored. Big sugary aroma that almost scared me off. And while that explosive alcoholy-ness floats onto the palate before you actually drink, the actual flavors are surprisingly smooth and evenly malty. Outstanding.