Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)

330mL bottle from Rumbles. Pours dark brown.black. Fizzy tan head. Aroma has a main aniseed character, some caramel and vanilla and cinnamon showing through. Flavour is full of aniseed, like liquid licorice. Raisiny cinnamon flavours are also strongly present. Finishes dry and coffee like. A well spiced ale, but a bit hash. Not really my thing.

Pours dark brown, close to black, with a tan head. Dark aromas, aniseed. Very bitter flavours. Burnt malt, burnt coffee and spice, but with enough dark chocolate and caramel sweetness to pull it back. Very dense and dark, but warming. Can imagine it would fare better in the Christmas snow than New Zealand’s warm Christmas nights.

I had this on tap at the Hop Cat in Grand Rapids. What a unique beer. No aroma to speak of, thick, frothy, palate not too much unlike milk or egg nog. Spiced but not overpoweringly so with nutmeg, cinnamon and brown sugar overtones. The alchohol is over 10% but I swear, you couldn’t taste any. Different and distict for even a Belgian.

(11/3/08) Bottle sample at a tasting in Pizza Port in Carlsbad (thanks whoever). Dark amber-colored. Heavily spicy aroma with some malt and caramel notes. Sweet flavor with caramel and loads of spices. Medium-bodied.

Bottle - 330ml. Pours a dark brown body with low carbonation and a decent creamy head. Nice malty/hoppy aroma with fruity and brown sugar hints. Taste is very well balanced and carries candy, plummy and dark berries notes. Alcohol is very well hidden. Ends with a long warming finish. Well done!

Bottle shared by someone at Woodshop Quad. Nose of raisins, spice, and yeast. light brown with a medium beige head. Flavor was light peppery spices and caramel.

Sampled at D’s Monroeville. Pours a dark amber with reddish hues. The head is kind of small fizzy and off-white. The aroma is a spicy sour apple with stewed cherry gummy candy. The flavor has a big alcohol character with a ton of brown sugar and old stale dark fruit. Great thick body with a nice warming finish. Solid Christmas beer.

Bottle. Mild fruity and spicy aroma. Deep reddish brown body, light tan head. Flavor is very rich, moderately sweet. All kinds of ripe fruits, yeasty malt, and a lively highly carbonated mouthfeel. Warming alcohol in both the flavor and the finish. All in all, this is a high quality and extremely tasty beer.