Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor

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

Hazygolden colour with big white head on top. Soft aroma of cake and bread, some yeast and a fine kick of floral hops. Taste is mild, with some touches pepper, yeast and refined hops.

0,33 l bottle
Hazy amber body with a superb foamy white head. Aroma of resiny hop with bready malt and some fruity perfume. Oily texture with a fine malt based flavor, but after a second the hop comes and rules the whole beer with their own resiny and citrussy character. Strong personality.

Sample at Cheeky Monk in Denver. The beer pours golden yellow with a medium thick and fluffy white head that recedes slowly. Aroma of yeast, grassy hops and spice. Medium body with flavors of yeast, melon, sweet malt and hops. The finish is dry with a banana and clove aftertaste. Pretty good overall.

Pours cloudy, bright yellow color with orange highlight and a massive fluffy white head that never dissapears. Citrusy and spicy on the nose. Well-rounded spicy, coriander driven mouthfeel with bready malts and rather aromatic hoppy notes. Lasting hoppy finish, but not as robust as the label promises. Hazy, thick body with perfect, discreet carbonation and well-hidden alcohol level. Amazing belgian strong golden.

Beeradvocate classified this as a Belgian IPA so I’m a little disappointed. It seems like a nice Belgian Golden Ale but a little lacking in flavor. I think I was expecting it to be something it isn’t. It’s not bad for a Belgian Blonde Ale.

Bottle. Nose has a dry, cellary yeast and dry, grassy hop profile - indisputably Belgian. Deep golden pour with a seemingly endless head of cream, minuscule, dense bubbles and froth. Taste is bone dry, a touch of warming alcohol under full pale malts with medium hinterspice. Touch of sourness under the herbal tones, controlled low bitterness, some nice peppery punch and rounding phenols. Very similar to my first homebrewed Belgian IPA, with less caramel and denser. swirling hop complexity, and a bit of brighter citrus spark soaring in the upper reaches of the hop stratosphere. Actually, alcohol is rather hidden for 8%. Very enjoyable, a nice showcase of noble hops in an often overlooked utilization.

33cl bottle at Mallaskukko, Turku. Slghtly hazy golden, huge fluffy white head. Sweet, sugary aroma with exotic fruity hops, fresh pear, little dishwasher. Flavor has candi sugary Tripel feel, with earth and moderate hops, doesn’t show the alcohol. Bitterness nicely cuts the heavy sweetness. OK, I like the hops in this, though still a bit on the mild side.

330 mL into Unibroue tulip. Holy crap this is one of the best looking beers I’ve ever seen. Pours a cloudy light yellow with an towering, pillowy white head that rises six fingers high right out of the glass but doesn’t spill over because it’s so thick- rather it keeps piling on like massive whipped cream on a sundae. Leaves retarded lacing. Aroma is overripe tropical fruits, watermelon, honeydew melon, lemongrass, plus the usuals of candi sugar and yeast. Taste is amazing: lots of bananas, clove, muted herbal hops, orange peel, a bit of potpourri, lemon, and powerful alcohol. Really creamy mouthfeel with a drying, bitter aftertaste. Huge alcohol presence- the 8% feels like 9 or 10. I feel like this is the beer Jesus had at the last supper. It just looks and tastes divine.