Gouden Carolus Cuvée Van De Keizer Imperial Dark
Brouwerij Het Anker

Poured from a bottle into a snifter. Lightly sweet. Some brown sugar, fruit and berry. Medium body and carbonation. Great beer to step away from stouts and IPA for an evening.

 

Can’t believe I haven’t rated this classic before. I’ve definitely had it in the past but not for years so I picked up a nicely priced (10.99) corked and caged 750, bottled in 2021.

This beer looks phenomenal, with a very dark brown body (approaching black) and a tan head of tightly clustered bubbles that retains strongly and leaves creamy sheeting on the inside of the glass. The smooth fullness of the body, with moderate carbonation, is also a very high point. I was actually surprised at the restrained effervescence as for me it’s dead on and lively without getting too spritzy which I’ve encounter with many other Belgian beers. I actually uncorked this near the sink to be on the safe side but no issues whatsoever there.

Nose is the weaker side of this beer, nothing bad here but simply understated and mild, hints of dark chocolate, bready malt, restrained alcohol, raisin. On the palate the alcohol is again present but contained in a very pleasant way, sweet dark fruit and chocolate predominant, subtler vinous qualities and suggestion of baking spices. Unfolds gradually revealing depths of flavor as it warms.

What a treat. I love to mix it up with an old school European classic now and then and this fit the bill fantastically on a chilly early spring evening.

 

Best beer in the world, and there are so many awesome competitors (thank goodness)

 

Appearance: Served up an opaque, mahogany-toned body dressed with a persistent, lofty, beige head with a lovely-looking sheets of lacing on the way down.

Smell: Spiced plum-infused port with a gooey brown sugar glaze atop a dark pumpernickel breadiness garnished with a sliver of bitter orange.

Taste: Broiled brown sugar and treacle with a dash of chocolate powder - soundly sweet. Dark bready, toasted quality. A hint of vanilla with spicy touches of cinnamon, mace and pepper aided by the firm, mature, guiding hands of the warming alcohol presence. Dark fruitiness accented with some berry notes. Rich, slightly sweet finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-plus body. Medium carbonation. It's just sticky enough and lush enough.

Overall: Hearty, nicely complex; makes for a solid sipper.

750ml bottle into a teku. 2021 release, a year old.

Looks very nice. Almost black body, deep red wine when held up to the light. Decent tan head, replenishes well with each pour. Does shrink to a ring and faint covering, great lacing.

Sweet caramel aroma, lots of dark skinned fruit a touch of alcohol.

On tasting, first off, it's certainly on the sweet side, caramel and boiled candy. However, there are enough nuances to cut through this. Dark skin fruit, warming, and more to come in the finish.

Mouth a little foamy, close to full. Finish very complex. Sweet caramel to be sure, but the warmth, fruit, dryness, even a light bitter touch are all enjoyed.

Overall, a thoughtfully well made beer. Thanks to Het Anker for putting this out every year for us to enjoy.

From the 750ml bottle in a snifter. This awesome brew pours a dark
and muddled brown with ruby highlights and a fantastic head of khaki
foam that settles to a thick ring, thick clumping layer, and sports exceptional
lacing. Nose of date, plum, fig, mulled prune, subtle alcohol ester notes, and
sweet Belgian candy sugars / brown sugar. Flavors hit the mark with plum,
fig, date, stewed prune, cola notes, dark cherry, cranberry, dark sweet bread,
and dark Belgian candy sugars. Nice mouth feel; medium body, medium light
carbonation that is nicely effervescent yet soft, and a sweet yet balanced
finish that is all and all perfect.

Overall----If I had to have just one brew all the time, this one would be in
the running! Exceptional as always!

Cheers

 

 

 

Pours a deep brown with a finger of mocha head. Nose is brown sugar, molasses, alcohol bite, and toasted malt. Taste follows suit with deep undertones of black cherry and prunes. Feel is full and thick. Overall, well above average. Best beer I’ve had in a while.

a: murky, deep dark red/brown/purple mixture. seeing some pale brown when held up to a light. no real head to speak of, though it has a tan film around the edge of the glass; to be expected with the abv i suppose

s: huge aroma on this. fig, plum, raisins, prunes. molasses, brown sugar, leather, and something like a roasted robust woody note. lots of sweet caramel, fruit bread, and candied strawberries. huge malty backbone. fantastic aroma

t: oh my, this follows the nose pretty close. huge caramel and fig upfront. plums, raisins, molasses, brown sugar behind that. big bready backbone. fruit bread, and caramel red apples. a little bit of sweet cherry juice as well. no real alcohol presence, which is impressive given the abv

m: full mouthfeel with strong carbonation

o: absolutely fantastic beer. the rating on here is definitely deserved - this should be a benchmark for the style. so robust and complex, while hiding it's abv. a great beer to share

 

Pours brown with ruby highlights. The foamy tan head diminishes pretty quickly after pouring. Big time nose of raisins and figs. Very smooth on the palate--a nice medium-bodied ale. Told it ages well but couldn't resist this 2021 effort early in 2022. For a younger ale of this type, it was very smooth even without too much additional aging. The flavors are rich and as they are described, primarily dark fruit (plums), caramel and gently roasted malts. A treat worthy of an Emperor.

 

This is my favorite beer of all time!

 

 

2017 edition. From the bottle, it pours a brown color with reddish highlights and a nice light brown head that slowly reduces. Dark fruit, raisins, in the nose. The mouth gets that, along with expected malt flavors and a bready taste. Ages well!

 

 

 

 

Look: It pours dark brown with a tan head. Head retention is medium.

Smell: Malty rich aromas with strong dark fruits. It has caramel notes with plums and dried cherries. There is some spice in support. It also has light perfumy notes in the background as well.

Taste: The malt flavors are highlighted by deep caramel and a bit of bread. There are plums and dried cherries with a bit of a molasses like element to it. There is a bit of spice well in the background.

Feel: It has a medium full body with a dry finish in spite of the initial sweetness.

Overall, for such a strong alcohol beer, the alcohol is pleasant and warming without any harsh alcohols. A good combination of flavors from the malt, hops and yeast.

 

Bottle, RBESG 2005 Grand Tasting. Golden brown colour. Vinous aroma, oaky and sherry notes. Oaky flavour, brandy notes. Quite sweet, but a very good beer.

Blind-tasted except for the beer's name, ABV% and brewery/country, zero reviews below read (yet!)...
L- Beautiful very dark ruby/chestnut-brown. Worth holding up right by a halogen type bulb to see it clearly. On which note it has poured clear, with a 2Cm creamy looking pale-tan head. [ps @+20mins, holds well, forms much lacing on the way down]
S- Very deep rich roasted malts.
[Off-topic: Right at this point I received a text from the NHS inviting me to go for my 1st Covid vaccination this week; hurrah! If this were a monastic beer I might give my thanks to 'Him upstairs' hehe. A few minutes replying to that had had the side benefit of raising the temp a touch from fridge cold :) ]
T- Deep, pungent, notes of deep roast fruit (akin to British Xmas pudding). There are some sweet notes coming in as it warms a touch but capped by a mild ABV% + hoppy-dry lick across the palate into the finish.
F- It is pushing the line between rich (=fine) and sweet (=not fine at all for me) very hard. In fact it crosses it, for me this is beyong rich and into outright sweet. Seems I shouldn't have been distracted, shouldn't have let this warm at all... hehe...
O- It looks and smells great. Unfortunately the outright sweetness here overwhelms just about everything else for me. And it's not like I'm into hop/dry dominated beer at all, this just is sweet. Not one I would drink again even if offered a glass of it; a big shame as I was anticipating that this would be something really impressive. I mean you don't buy 750ml bottles of a new $-beer without high expectations.

--Review/scoring all done, now the reveal, I get to read the bottle lables to see what I missed! -> Nope, no real surprises from the ingredients/description etc.
750ml bottle £9.95 BB: 31/12/2029 Bought from BeautifulBeers/BurySt.Edmunds as part of a large pick-your own consignment to London.
ps Appears to be filtered, zero sediment in glass or bottle.

 

Excellent...2012 vintage in 750ml bottle.

 

 

11.2oz bottle vintage 2018 poured into a tulip glass at just above fridge temp 11% ABV. The beer pours dark chestnut in color with light brown head. The head recedes to an irregular ring and single layer of bubbles. Streaky, but complete lacing. The aroma is mild with malt, candi sugar and dark fruits. The taste is a semisweet mix of dark & rich caramel, malt and dark fruit (raisin, date, plum) before a mild to moderate final bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with average carbonation and a mostly dry finish. Nicely balanced. No sign of the ABV in the taste or aroma. Overall, excellent. Outstanding example of a BSDA.

 

Appearance:
A murky, burnished bronze topped by a fluffy lather of tanned beige.

Bouquet:
A brisk updraft of single malt grain, like the kind they use for whiskey. A cape of molasses blended with brown wheat bread billows from its shoulders, set aloft by a gentle breeze of oaked vanilla. Miles and miles away from this gregarious forefront, the teeniest, tiniest molecule of milk chocolate can be detected by those with a gifted sense of smell.

Feel:
A sumptuous, syrupy full body whose imminent smoothness is given a spark of life by a calm, consistent current of carbonation. Finishes with a cozy, grain alcohol warmth.

Taste:
Here, characteristics of the bouquet are regally magnified on the palate: sugary vanilla and brown wheat with a firm core of oak. Behind the balanced sweetness lies a languid, tingling whiskey heat with candied figs in the aftertaste.

Special notes:
Bottle aged for 3 years

 

 

 

750 ml 2016 bottle. Looks good, smells very rich with hints of fruit, roast and strength. Tremendous dark fruit and dark bready malt flavors blend well with yeast spiciness and abv to create a powerful, sipping, after-dinner beer that is both filling and intoxicating. Very well balanced, but at the top end of my sweetness scale.