Gouden Carolus Classic - Brouwerij Het Anker

Intrinsic

Quebec (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Carolus Classic pours a murky brown colour, almost as thick looking as molasses. The head carries over some of this colour, but dissipates very quickly.

By far the best quality of this beer is its smell. The warm aroma of freshly cooked rye bread, dates, and molasses are all present with some subdued spice notes as well.

Wow - totally not expecting that rush of sugar at the end. Normally a sip of beer finished bitter but not in this case. All the smells are noticeable in the taste, but the unbalanced sweetness of this beer means a lower score on this one.

Classic has a nice mouthfeel. Its not at all dry because of the complete lack of hops, but its very creamy. Overall, I don't think I'll be buying this beer again, but I think that's mostly because this style of beer isn't at the top of my list. If you like sweet beers, then this may be your lucky day.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 22:56:49 | More by Intrinsic

Rohkey

Michigan

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%

06-16-2013 21:04:50 | More by Rohkey

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

06-15-2013 18:40:44 | More by TheBeeraholic

TheBeerAlmanac

Kentucky

3.5/5  rDev -14.8%

06-08-2013 15:23:10 | More by TheBeerAlmanac

amstokesdb9

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

06-08-2013 02:29:01 | More by amstokesdb9

ckollias

Maryland

4.64/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Enjoyed this 12oz bottle out of a Beligan Tulip glass.

A: Pours a dark ruby-amber hue with an off-white, 2-finger, frothy head that slowly dissipates leaving a great trail and solid persistent lace.

S: Sweet dark fruity aroma and malt aroma with a toffee background.

T: Similar to the smell there are some dark fruit notes with a smooth toffee and malt flavor that has a bitter ending. Alcohol is present in the end enough to give a slow burn aftertaste.

M: Thick body and medium carbonation.

O: Superb Strong Dark Belgium Brew – one of the best I’ve had.

Serving type: bottle

06-05-2013 02:00:27 | More by ckollias

pkenkman

Estonia

4/5  rDev -2.7%

06-03-2013 21:27:14 | More by pkenkman

Tacoboomerang

Virginia

4/5  rDev -2.7%

05-31-2013 22:41:16 | More by Tacoboomerang

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

05-29-2013 02:08:41 | More by Kmat10

rickyleepotts

Arizona

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4.75

We are back from Seattle, and all I want is a shot of vodka! We drank SO much beer while we were in Seattle. That's OK… that's partly why we went. We started at Pike Brewing Company, then hit up Redhook, Black Raven Brewing Company, and actually reviewed three beers at Elysian Brewing. I thought Pike was my favorite in the area… but now I think Elysian might be my favorite. The management was nice, the bartender was nice, and the beers are incredible. Those three reviews are coming up next!

Today we are back in Belgium for our final beer from Het Anker. At $5.99 a bottle, this better be good. Not sure I have every had a Belgian brown… well, a "Belgian strong dark ale". I have had several of those, but most reports are calling this a brown. I can guarantee you this doesn't taste like an American brown. Think Moose Drool. Excited to review this beer. Let's drink!

In the Glass: I could smell this as I was pouring it, and was getting some pretty intense sweetness. But we will get to that. It looks like a typical brown beer, a brown ale in the glass. It has a nice tan head with some obvious lacing as the beer settles. I already know I am going to want this beer to be bigger than 11.2 ounces. I LOVE a good Belgian dark strong.

Oh, and the bottle says, "BELGIAN BROWN ALE". Are the two connected?

Nose: I could smell this beer as I was pouring it… and it smells much better in the glass. Imagine a thick raisin/fig syrup being poured over your pancakes. That is what I am getting here. Lots of nice sweet notes and I can somewhat smell the alcohol burn that I am sure is present on the palate.

Flavor: Oh. My. God. I could drink a gallon of this. That is amazing!!! It is as sweet as I wanted, and I don't really get that ABV burn that I was expecting. I bet this would age/mellow out nicely. I still think the price point if a bit too high, but maybe that just means we need to travel to Belgium and drink this at the brewery. Sheryl better like this, because that is what beer is supposed to taste like. Holy crap, that's good.

On my second sip, I swished it around in my mouth a little bit. It becomes quite carbonated, but some really nice dried fruit flavors come out; this is where the raisin flavor comes in. Like I said, I wish this was a bigger bottle. My glass is almost empty and I just got started! Too bad I can't afford to buy this on the regular.

Mouthfeel: It is a little thinner than I would like. For a beer like this, I want it to seem like a meal in the glass. I want it to be heavy, thick, and almost creamy. Not a bad mouthfeel, but just not what I was expecting from a beer with this much flavor. I am going to try and let the rest sit there and warm up a little… wish me luck!

Aftertaste: Eat a piece of raisin bread… that somewhat dry fruity finish that you get from the raisins is what I am getting here. I doubt they do, but you could fool me if they use raisins in the brewing process. More dirty fig like flavors. I bet this would be a GREAT food beer, too. Man, this aftertaste is just hanging on there with every sip. Yummy!

We didn't try any Belgian beers in Seattle… well, the Monk's Uncle at Pike. That is one of my favorite beers they make. We did go back to drink a bottle of Old Bawdy, their barleywine and we noticed a barrel aged beer on tap called Entire. It was SO good. At $8 a glass, it better be. We did see a cool Belgian place called the Stumbling Monk, but their beer list wasn't that impressive and it was overpriced. I thin my favorite beer bar was the Uber Tavern. It was pretty much in the ghetto, but had an incredible beer selection.

Anyway, the Gouden Carolus Classic is a GREAT way to end our line of beers from Het Anker. Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 22:24:52 | More by rickyleepotts

Mantooth

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -8.8%

05-24-2013 00:09:28 | More by Mantooth

johntfox

Florida

4/5  rDev -2.7%

05-21-2013 18:21:30 | More by johntfox

Sludgeman

District of Columbia

4/5  rDev -2.7%

05-19-2013 23:45:55 | More by Sludgeman

BeerPunk1312

New York

2.25/5  rDev -45.3%

05-19-2013 03:13:00 | More by BeerPunk1312

Hermthegerm

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

05-13-2013 00:09:07 | More by Hermthegerm

BeerForMuscle

New Jersey

4/5  rDev -2.7%

05-12-2013 20:09:42 | More by BeerForMuscle

Stugotzo

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

05-12-2013 15:57:38 | More by Stugotzo

GRUUMSH

Belgium

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%

05-10-2013 10:17:41 | More by GRUUMSH

CaptCleveland

Ohio

3.41/5  rDev -17%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

330cl bottle purchase for 2.42 Euro at G20 Supermarches in Paris (their "supermarket").
Best by date 1/17/16.
Sticker on the bottle boasts the "Worlds Best Dark" award at the World Beer Awards.

Clear, dark amber elixir poured into snifter. Thick, off-white head, settles to thin rim with plenty of lacing.

Huge biscuit malt predominates, caramel, subtle spice.

Malt bomb, some caramel, sugar, alcohol. Dark fruit at the end--prunes.

Medium body, highly carbonated.

Hits the mark for its style, but within that category is above average.

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2013 17:19:17 | More by CaptCleveland

lostrikis

Spain

4/5  rDev -2.7%

04-29-2013 20:02:19 | More by lostrikis

Jason1337

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -20.9%

04-24-2013 15:51:58 | More by Jason1337

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -2.7%

04-20-2013 00:53:50 | More by hotsudge

Danobold

Texas

4/5  rDev -2.7%

04-16-2013 03:39:46 | More by Danobold

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.61/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from bottle into a chalice glass

Appearance – The beer pours a dark brown color with a one finger cream colored head that fades relatively quickly. Upon fading, over about a one minute time period, a lighter level of lace is left on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is a mix of a lightly roasted and bready malt as well as aromas of sweet sugary and darker fruit smell. The heaviest of the malt is a roasted barley malt but there are notes of chocolate and coffee mixed within as well. The sugary smells are mainly of a caramel nature and are mixed with fruit aromas of a raisin, prune and fig. Rounding out all these are aromas of some alcohol as well as some spicy smells and a bit of an earthy hop smell.

Taste – The taste begins sweet with flavors of a caramel and a whole lot of dark fruits. The dark fruits are mainly of a prune flavor but have some hints of a raisin and fig flavors mixed within. There are flavors of a roasted malt breadines upfront as well, which ends up fading ever so slightly as the flavor advances. As the breadines fades, a coffee and chocolate taste begin taking its place. While the flavor advances further, so too comes some of the spice flavors that were detected in the nose (nutmeg and cinnamon). A rather decent potent rum flavor as well as a bit of a woody and earthy flavor then come to the tongue more at the end where it melds well with the prune and darker chocolate and coffee flavors to leave an odd warming flavor to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel- The beer is on the medium side in terms of its thickness and creaminess with a carbonation level that is on the average side. A little lighter of a body may actually have suited the odd mix of fruity flavor and darker flavors better due to the complementation of the fruit and drinkability and lessening of the chocolate and coffee flavors.

Overall – The chocolate and coffee flavors were a little odd in this brew and took away from the nice blend of fruit, malt and rum tastes. Not bad, but not the best Belgian strong dark out there

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 00:58:34 | More by Darkmagus82

Janeinma

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -8.8%

04-12-2013 00:33:19 | More by Janeinma