Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)

Recommended by landlord of Poechenellekelder (Brussels). Great surprise. Complex, delicious spices and a nice long liquorice finish

2007 bottle shared with MmmcKay, jbo, and barrios. Mahogany pour with good tan head. Massively hot nose and flavor. Dark raisin and plum in the aroma. Fruity alcohol and some banana notes in the flavor with anise as it warms. Medium thin body with medium carbonation. Much better as it warms up.

Ve’ che robe, vinosa in un modo un po’ strano, molto piccante con un sentore alcolico pungente che però si risolve in astruse note di anice/solvente/spezie vaghe; liquorosa at best, ma nello stile tutto zoomata tipico di Het Anker avventuroso e un pochino mi disturba, così che la apprezzo di più quando è già in fondo al gargaroz.

330 mL. Pours a deep ruby almost brown with a beautiful two-finger, yellow head that dissipates to a thin layer but leaves some spotty lacing. Powerfully sweet aroma of dark fruits, raisins, plums, Twizzlers red licorice, black cherries. Taste is heavy with a velvety mouthfeel. Up front there is some black cherry soda, brown sugar, and cinnamon moving to some sort of combination between Grand Marnier and Southern Comfort. Spicy alcohol, dark fruits in the finish. This is seriously good. I mean really good.

Dark brown body with a large, persistent head. Sweet candy smell reminiscent of jelly beans. Very malty. Lots of licorice flavor and mouthfeel. Lots of spice...very unique beer. The flavor is odd due to the candy-like overtones, but the palate is very good. I will have to try this one some more.

330mL bottle purchased at Frugal MacDoogal’s in Nashville. Poured a cloudy brown, almost cocacola color, with a thin tan head. The aroma was spicy, with coriander and cinnamon present. The flavor was spicy, but chocolate and caramel dominated.

a very good beer, with a very deep white steam. A bit strong for me,

750mL brown cork finished bottle. 2008. Appearance: Poured into a Duvel goblet. Rich mahogony (reddish brown) color with a thick, fluffy tan head. Nice lacing as it receeds. Nose: Orange peel and a little manure (barn yard) are the first things to hit my nose. Lots of corriander, a little funky wool (horse blanket), and a nice meaty smell. Palate: There’s a sliver of cork in my beer! Ok, now that was unfortunate after all the barnyardy smells to feel something like that in my mouth. Moving on: Big orange peel, corriander, and that meaty/wooly thing. The palate is spicy, like fresh cracked black pepper. Medium-bodied and a little wooly on the texture. Finish is more balanced and everything falls into place. Notes: A little out of balance right now, it might fall together better with some age. The spices are really loud and I can’t hear the beer itself. A decent effort, but I’ll stick with the Cuvee and the Classic.