Gouden Carolus Noël (Christmas)

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

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

send corrections   |   shelftag   |   edit barcodes   |   add pic

Bottle. Dark brown color with a medium sized tan head. Very complex and sweet. Malts, candie sugar, liqourice, caramel and various spices.

The aroma is sweet and fruity with notes of caramel, cloves, and dates. The color is dark brown and it has a beutiful though disappearing beige head. The flavor is very complex - malt sweet with notes of fruits, cloves and dates. A great Christmas brew.

(Bottle 75 cl) Vintage 2003. Pours a hazy orangey brown with a tall, dense beige head leaving laces. Extremely complex aroma - roasted malt, prunes, raisins in rum. Full, rich and sweet body with roasted malt, again raisins in rum and soft accents of port. Some licorice and other chrismasy spices as well. A well balanced and beautifully complex beer. 241206

75 cL bottle. Pours deeply amber with creamy light brown head. Smell is dry and liquorice with spice elements. Taste is very dry with dominating liquorice notes, hops, malts, a bit of yeast and some caramel but with complete absence of sweetness. Alcohol is hidden deeply beneath. I miss the sweetness to give a perfect balance.

Tapped. Hazy brown colour, big foamy beige head. Strong caramel and licorace in aroma along with hints of alcohol. Stinging very sweet flavour of plum, fruit and alcohol.

Bottled. Dark amber. Intense and complex nose; esters, port, dried fruit and banana. Reasonably dry and malty with lightly bitter finish. An excellent ale full of character!

Bottled. 2003-vintage : Dark brown coloured with a beige head. Aroma of caramel, dried fruits and spices. Flavour of caramel, dried fruits and butterscotsch with roasted notes : 9-4-9-4-18. Tasted the 2005-edition afterwards : Dark brown coloured with a beige head. Aroma of anise, dried fruits and spices. Flavour of dried fruits, anise and spices : 8-4-8-4-16.

Bottle. Sweet, spicy, anisy aroma. Dark chestnut colour, small light-brown head. Flavour is sweet, spicy, anisy, cough-syrup-like. Very complex.

UPDATED: JUL 21, 2004 2004-06-04, Keg, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Dark amber color, ruby; creamy head. Can really smell all the 5 spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, …). Malty, velvety, spicy: wonderful Xmas treat!

2004-02-22, Bottle, 7-4-8-4-15=38
Dark amber color; creamy head. Aroma dominated by the caramel, with a light feeling of ammonia. Quite sweet, and a lot of caramel, a quite good Christmas beer, but missing some complexity. Thanks Jens (Ungstrup) for this bottle.

UPDATED: FEB 25, 2012
Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 31, 2003
Mode: Bottle Conditioned
Source: Whole Foods Market, DC
Vintage: 2003
Appearance: muddy brown, easily excitable thin tan head
Aroma: big complex malt aroma with lots of candy sweetness, licorice, ripe fruit, and a hint of spices showing up in a mild alcohol fume
Flavor: rich malt flavor with lots of complex character including chocolate, plums, and raisons, no bitterness but well balanced to keep it from being too sweet, a fine way to end the year

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: May 15, 2007
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2003
Score: 5.0 to 4.8
Appearance: specks of drippy lace
Aroma: such wonder ripe fruit aroma and light spices like rum soaked fruit cake
Flavor: rich flavor with caramel, chocolate, and lots of ripe fruit, tons of complex flavor, light balancing bitterness, sweetness has dried a bit but still incredably big and rich, the yeast shot adds a bready character and enrichens the chocolate but detracts from the fruit

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 25, 2008
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2003
Aroma: rich sweet fruity aroma, lots of ripe plum, brown sugar sweetness
Flavor: rich and fruity flavor, light spicyness, brown sugar sweetness, deep rich fruits
Overall: a few years of age does this beer proud

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 31, 2009
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2003
Aroma: continues to be the best plum pudding aroma, rich ripe fruits, caramel candy and vanilla sweetness, light spices
Flavor: rich caramel malt flavor, lots of ripe fruits, brown sugar sweetness, nice spicyness, sweet caramel and vanilla, the yeast shot adds an extra dimension of richness

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: February 07, 2012
Mode: bottle
Source: cellar stock
Vintage: 2003
Aroma: sweet rum raison aroma, Christmas candy, spices
Flavor: sweet candied fruit flavor, spices, dark fruits
Overall: stands the test of time, as wonderful as ever

Aroma: 10/10; Appearance: 9/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 19/20
Rating: 4.7/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 18, 2005
Mode: Bottle Conditioned
Source: Whole Foods Market, DC
Vintage: 2005
Appearance: dark with ruby edges, big everlasting tan head with renewable lace
Aroma: strong rich spicy fig aroma with a bit of sweetness like a Christmas figgy pudding, traces of hot pepper and cinamon in the aroma
Body: nice carbonation fizz with a creamy body
Flavor: lots of rich spicy fruity flavor, wonderful dark brown sugar candy sweetness, rich ripe fruit, chocolate and carmel

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 9/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 19/20
Rating: 4.7/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 08, 2006
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Vintage: 2006
rich ripe fruit aroma shows up at the very beginning, touch of nice cherry,

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 16, 2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2007
rich and fruity rum pudding

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 25, 2007
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Vintage: 2007
Score: 4.8 to 4.7
lots of licorice in the aroma and flavor, brown sugar sweetness, lots of ripe fruit, light bitterness detracts from the ripe fruit rather than balances it,

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 9/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 9/10; Overall: 19/20
Rating: 4.7/5.0
Drinkability: 10/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: November 30, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: muddy dark brown, creamy beige head, heavy drippy lace
Aroma: sweet plum aroma, touch of chocolate, nice spicyness
Body: big fruity sweet body
Flavor: sweet dark plum and gram cracker flavor, touch of brown sugar sweetness
Overall: sweet and fruity, nice and spicy

Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: ***+ /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 22, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2008
Appearance: clear dark ruby red, lasting beige head, lots of lace
Aroma: big rich sweet spiced plum aroma, sweet licorice
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of fruity character, candied fruit with a liquor center, nice spicyness, figgy pudding in a glass, touch of licorice
Overall: much more richness and depth than the draft I had here a couple of weeks ago

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: January 10, 2009
Mode: draft
Source: brick store
Vintage: 2008
Aroma: licorice is coming on strong in the aroma today
Flavor: licorice is also dominant in the flavor as well
Overall: a wide array of complex flavors that vary from one visit to the next

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.4/5.0
Drinkability: 9/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 04, 2009
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2009
Appearance: muddy dark brown, creamy beige head, drippy lace
Aroma: sweet plum and licorice aroma, touch of chocolate, nice spicyness
Flavor: sweet dark plum and licorice flavor, lots of dark fruits, light spicyness, sweet caramel candy

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **** /4

Name: Gouden Carolus Noel
Date: December 30, 2010
Mode: Draft
Source: Brick Store Pub
Vintage: 2010
Appearance: opaque dark brown, creamy tan head, streaks of drippy lace
Aroma: huge sweet and fruity aroma, candy sweetness
Flavor: sweet fruity flavor, lots of dark fruits, pears and apricots, touch of plum, hint of spicy phenols
Overall: fruitcake (the good kind) in a glass

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 8/10; Flavor: 9/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 18/20
Rating: 4.3/5.0
Drinkability: 8/10
Score: **** /4