Gouden Carolus Easter Beer
Brouwerij Het Anker

750 mL bottle into a Westvleteren goblet

2011 batch

First off, this has held up wonderfully over the last decade. I’ve had fresh bottles several times over the years, and this has definitely aged gracefully…all of the nuances are still there.

Dark brown ale, small wispy head. Notes of toffee and raisin in the nose.

Caramelly on the palate, buttery. Suggestions of banana and cherry are noted. Nice oaky finish, light-medium complexion, and with moderate carbonation, clean, short finish.

Dec. 2014: 750 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. BB date 15/02/2013. ABV is 10.5%. Beautiful chestnut colour, huge beige head. Aroma of brown kandij sugar, caramel and spices, including anise. The flavour has the same elements as the aroma. Minimal hops. Skip the anise please, and I might buy the beer again.

Based on a review from 2012. Had this on draft.

A: pours dark red body with small white head with nice retention and lacing
S: sweet, fruity beer; somewhat banana esters and yeasty
T: sweet, banana ester taste with subtle, clovey and yeasty aftertaste
M: medium bodied and pretty smooth; decent overall
D: nice feel and taste combo; nice drinking beer overall

Black licorice jelly beans, an Easter tradition, now in a bottle. Lots of anise and licorice in the aroma and taste, brown/black body with silky, but full, beige head. Sweet malt smell, licorice and ouzo on the finish, some slight alcohol warmth. This a new Easter tradition I could get used to!

 

I found this for around $11 and was pretty pumped to find something from Gouden Carolus I've never tried, as its one of my favorite Belgian breweries. I figured it would be a good holliday Strong Dark to serve for family.

L: pours murky red-brown with very little head whatsoever. very light carbonation. Upon popping the cork there was no audible noise- very strange to see no carbonation for a Belgian beer.

S: Very spicy and malty nose smells delicious and quite spiced. A bit of booze is there too.

T: This one is pure malt and spice, and sooo much anise flavor! that one ingredient really stands out, probably too much, and overwhelms anything else. The malt character is nice but the spice is overwhelming. Alochol is well integrated.

F: slick, oily, light body. The lack of any carbonation makes this seem a bit watered down.

O: Overall this one was disappointing considering the awesome beers I'm accustomed to drinking from the Golden Coin. I'll pass on this in the future. The anise was way to overwhelming. While the Noel also has a good amount, its not completely one dimensional like this beer.

 

 

750 ml bottle. The cork is yanked out with only the tiniest of squeaks. The pour is placid, very nearly still. The beer has to be swished around before the smallest bit of fizz makes itself apparent.

Smells like raisins and caramel and alcoholic. Pretty intense, but also pretty one-note.

Tastes a little smoother than the aroma, but the thin and flat body really weighs things down. Tastes like a solid tripel up front: chocolate, heavy yeast, biscuits, and then it just melts away and comes back with some stale fruit and booze at the end. Uneven and not good.

From the rear label: "16/01/2015 15006 10:40"

Appearance: It has a very murky brown appearance that can't be seen through. There is no head and no foam on the surface at all.

Aroma: I get a clear alcohol aroma and what smells like plums. The aroma is reminiscent of plum dumplings. There is a bit of a sweet smelling molasses scent similar to the scent that hits the nose after opening a bag of brown sugar.

Taste: There is a very rich caramel and toasted bread flavor that comes up at first. It has a bit of a nutty pecan-like flavor.

Mouthfeel: It feels pretty lifeless on the palate. There just isn't enough carbonation to bring this heavy beer to life. The texture is smooth. It's easy to drink as the alcohol is not too strong.

Overall: The bottle I got wasn't very well carbonated and it really hampered the drinking experience and the visual appeal of the beer. That aside, the aroma was great and it worked nicely with the flavor of the beer giving it wonderful notes of sweet caramel and nutty bread. I would probably drink it again but I really would hope that the carbonation would be better on the next bottle. If you are willing to take a chance with the carbonation, or don't mind it, then I would recommend the beer.

I'm generally a fan of the Gouden Carolus beers and this was the first time I spotted their Easter beer. I had to give it a try. I hadn't researched this beer at all so had no idea what to expect. The idea that it was to somehow represent Easter intrigued me.

Minimal head. Light lacing as I drink. Color when held up to a light is a ruby hidden among an autumnal maple leaf. Not much viscosity or carbonation to this beer so it slides down easy and for a 10%+ I hardly noticed - no heat at all.

I don't know if this was the intent but I can see a clear connection to Easter - if you like the black jelly beans. If there were ever a black jelly bean beer, in other words, licorice beer, this is it - the smell and taste. So, if this is your thing you'll love it. If it is possible to be on the fence about black jelly beans I am and the same for this beer.

 

Dark brown and filtered with a moderate amount of bubbles. Has a slight amber tinge. Topped with 4 fingers of brown tinged white head.

Smells of dark fruits, cherries, raisins and plumbs. Brown sugar and caramel.

Tastes of dark fruits, raisins, cherries, and leather. Its quite a sweet beer, very Abbey style dark Belgian ale.

Thick, syrupy body, highly soda like carbonation.

Got this one over two years ago in Chicago at Whole Foods Market. Cellared for 2 years, I drank it in New Hamburg, ON, after being away in Asia. What a return home! Been waiting for this one. Really solid for the style, typical to the brewer its quite sweet, and this one is dark and Belgiany.

 

 

 

As other reviewers have noted, this is full of anise. I don't think it is well-integrated at all. My bottle was almost completely flat too, which is obviously a fault of the particular bottle, but I still wouldn't buy it again.

My favorite reviewers have an unusual spread of opinion on this.
There probably is only one way to narrow that spread: let the ale warm-up in the glass.
The carbonation calms down and the sugar/fruits counteract the strong anise/licorice.
This is one of my favorite makers of Belgian Darks, so I won't be too hard on my rating.
But.... the licorice is too strong for me to go back to this again.
Instead, I recommend their other more commonly available beers.

MJ's "Great Beers of Belgium" lists this without review.