Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor - Brouwerij Het Anker

vikingmike

Ontario (Canada)

4.4/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Appearance: Hazy golden straw, like so many other Belgians. Billowy, cloud-like white head that sticks around forever

Smell: Peppery with some citrus notes. Can detect the hops, in particular the Saaz seem to prevail.

Taste: Deep and complex...a mixture of fruits and hop bitterness. Lingering, bitter aftertaste...in a good way

Mouthfeel: Smooth and rich

Drinkability: My first experience in this style. Not at all what I expected but thoroughly enjoyable nonetheless. Pretty much a perfect juxtaposition of a Belgian strong ale and a "typical" IPA.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2008 11:33:54 | More by vikingmike

Ciocanelu

Romania

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

05-16-2013 20:55:57 | More by Ciocanelu

leftstagebrew

North Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

05-13-2013 17:01:09 | More by leftstagebrew

twenty5

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -1%

05-10-2013 16:05:43 | More by twenty5

Liquoric3

Germany

4/5  rDev -1%

05-10-2013 15:16:21 | More by Liquoric3

GRUUMSH

Belgium

4/5  rDev -1%

05-10-2013 10:16:41 | More by GRUUMSH

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.31/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25

Poured a big head with a cloudy dirty straw colored body.
The aroma is like a candied lemon.
The flavor hits from the beginning with a sharp bitterness the relents to a mild sweetness in the latter part of the profile. The finish is fairly short mild bitterness.
The texture is a bit on the fizzy side with a medium body.
The fizziness with the strong bitter beginning make this an aggressive ale. Enjoyable but be ready for it.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 01:17:14 | More by Fatehunter

Flounder57

Massachusetts

4.03/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

11.2 oz bottle was poured into a tulip at Hops N Scotch in Brookline.

Appearance: This beer poured a crazy two finger billowy head that is for the most part still there. It is a hazy pale yellow with some clarity and bubbles coming up through the glass. Nice lacing on the glass as the beer was drank.

Smell: resiny, grassy, and citrusy hops. Nice bready and pale malts.

Taste: Same as above. Nice tingly hop bitterness and alcohol is a little noticeable.

Mouthfeel: Smooth, tingling, medium bodied, light to medium carbonation, and good.

Overall: Pretty solid Belgian IPA and the alcohol is not even noticeable too. Nice completion of their whole lineup.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 18:55:50 | More by Flounder57

Darkmagus82

Montana

3.89/5  rDev -3.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Poured from bottle into a chalice glass

Appearance – The beer pours a hazed yellow-orange color with a big and billowy white head. The head has a decent level of retention, fading over time to leave a nice level of lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma is sweeter with a fairly strong orange and lighter lemon smell. Notes of grapefruit citrus are also present mixed with some spice like aromas. Other non fruit/sweet aromas of a bready nature as well as a decent yeasty nature are present as well. All these aromas mix with a bit of a grassy and herbal smell creating a rather grassy Belgian triple like aroma.

Taste – The taste begins on the drier side with some malty and bready tastes as well as a decent amount of a citrus like sweetness with the citrus consisting of mainly orange, but also a bit of sour lemon. Upfront there are some hoppy notes of a more grapefruit nature. The hop begins lighter and grows in strength as the taste advances. Soon after the initial taste a stronger yeasty flavor comes to the tongue. With it comes a spice flavor of coriander and clove. Other hop flavor of a more grassy nature start to take over the lighter grapefruit hop flavors that were present upfront. The sweetness dries out more as the taste moves to the end. The taste ends with a very crisp and dry flavor leaving an almost citrus and yeasty champagne brut flavor with a light hop accent like taste to linger on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the brew is on the average side in its creaminess and thickness for a Belgian IPA of its strength with a carbonation level that is possibly a bit above average. Both are nice for drinkability and more citrus flavors of the brew but neither are anything too exceptional for the hoppy flavors of beer. Overall I think they did it right for the style however and overall it is pretty good.

Overall – A pretty decent Belgian IPA that is rather drinkable and enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 01:36:37 | More by Darkmagus82

newton99

Belgium

3.14/5  rDev -22.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

not impressive!
hopppyyy hoppy hoppy hoppy hoppy hoppy hoppy in the nose and in the mouth. blond in colour, white head.
Not so drinkable. Hoppy Hoppyyy

Serving Type bottleee
appearance niceee
smell good hoppy
taste hoppy
mouthfeel hoppy medium body
overall if you like hops!

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 09:51:29 | More by newton99

bashiba

Iowa

3.18/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75

Poured a cloudy dull orange with a light ring of white head.

The smell is very sweet and a bit oxidized with a ton of belgian candy sugar.

The flavor is a bit more balanced than the nose. A big sweet belgian candy flavor starts out strong with a floral and slightly mint hop flavor quickly comes through evening it out nicely. Still has some stale oxidized quality coming through, in theory this should be a fresh bottle having just come from a new supplies, but it has an oldish taste to it.

The mouthfeel is light and a bit dry.

A pretty mediocre beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2013 20:32:51 | More by bashiba

BoRaeCho

California

3/5  rDev -25.7%

03-19-2013 10:44:00 | More by BoRaeCho

NandoPereira

Brazil

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

03-01-2013 03:03:09 | More by NandoPereira

KingSlayer

Mexico

3.5/5  rDev -13.4%

02-28-2013 18:55:44 | More by KingSlayer

eduardolinhalis

Switzerland

4.24/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml bottle served in a pint glass.

A: Pours a very cloudy pale yellow forming a huge white aired and fluffy head. Huge retention. Its foam looks whipped cream, leaving tons of lacings around. Beautiful. Reminds me Duvel in this aspect

S: Very citrus. Orange and lemons. Sweet grains, grassy hops and Belgian yeasts. An authentic Belgian IPA

T: Slightly sweet malts upfront. Strong notes of oranges, orange zest, lemon, grassy hops and Belgian yeasts. A bit bready and earthy too. In overall a dry taste and a stingy but not very strong hoppy bitterness

M: Medium body. Good carbonation. Malty, citrus and hoppy bitter aftertaste

O: Very drinkable. Authentic Belgian IPA. Recommended

Serving type: bottle

02-24-2013 19:22:09 | More by eduardolinhalis

Steamer

Missouri

3.5/5  rDev -13.4%

02-23-2013 02:00:01 | More by Steamer

GeneralDow

Oregon

4.75/5  rDev +17.6%

02-20-2013 08:24:48 | More by GeneralDow

Filosoof

Netherlands

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A heavy nice round hop style. Okay, but nothing much to mention - I thought last year. Now I look better and see the quality.

L: looks great; nice pearls in a big, lasting head. Color: like a German whitebeer.
S: strong whitebeer? round hoppy smell; smells like a heavy pilsener, orange,
T: nice harmonic taste, with a nice hop character, but not too much as some other hop beers. Small white pepper. Bitter, dry end.
M: a champion!

Very good combined with French cheese (Calvados Brie). Both cheese and beer lose a bit of theit bitterness if combined.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2013 18:12:16 | More by Filosoof

Nutwood

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +11.4%

02-14-2013 21:35:29 | More by Nutwood

rickyleepotts

Arizona

4.55/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Everything I have had from this brewing company is amazing. William, the beer manager at Total Wine & More in Scottsdale is obsessed with Belgian beers. He prefers the Belgian dark strong ales, but this one is an IPA. This is a newer brew, as well. By the way, their Easter beer is AMAZING! Oh, and their Christmas might be even better than that.

The last few Belgian pale and India pale ales I have had did not impress me. The hop profile is usually much lower, and being a hop head I love a hoppy bitter beer. So I am going in expecting the hop profile to be much lower than what I have come to expect from the expected American styles. The price, however, makes me think this is a really good offering. Makes me want to go back to Belgium! Let's drink.

In the Glass: I could smell this as I was pouring, but it didn't smell like hops. Not the kind of hoppy aroma I expected, anyway. Maybe I need to lower my expectations when we drink a Belgian IPA. In the glass it is LOADED with bubbles and has a ridiculous head. This is a fresh bottle, too. Grabbed this theater night at Total Wine & More. It has a nice golden straw color, and is somewhat cloudy when I try to look through it. I wonder if the aroma is more pronounced in the glass.

Nose: Imagine taking an orange and a lemon, smashing them together, and fermenting their juices. That is what this smells like. Yeah, it has some hop aromas in there… but mostly I am getting citrus. It is also ice cold, but for an IPA like this, I would prefer to drink them a little bit colder.

Flavor: There aren't as many bubbles as I expected on the tongue, and the flavor is very similar to the aroma. That is rare for most beers. I am a big fan of the flavor, and while it is not all that hoppy, this is a beer that I could easily drink six of and not even know it. You never taste the 8% ABV, either. This is a very nice flavor for a beer trying to compere with the American styles.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is actually quite nice. It's not thick, but it has a nice pillowy thing going on. As you swallow some of the bubbles really start to come forward, but you never feel like this is a carbonated beer. Not what I expected from the initial pour. Oh, and let me mention this… the glass still has a thin layer of lace all around it. No matter where I look, the suds are hanging on. That is a good sign.

Aftertaste: The aftertaste is where the hops really come forward. It's not all that bitter, but what bitterness is there hang on and gets more pronounced as you swallow. I actually like the aftertaste so much, I don't want to take another drink! But I will, because the flavor here is good. When we were in Belgium, I had a couple of beers from Het Anker. Our next trip will be during Belgian Beer Weekend, and we will just chug beers like this. We have an extra week of vacation this year… maybe we will go to Belgium!

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 20:46:43 | More by rickyleepotts

DmanGTR

New York

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

02-02-2013 23:07:35 | More by DmanGTR

mick303

Ontario (Canada)

4.23/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

330 mL bottle with freshness date. Poured a monster head of white pillowy foam, really solid retention. Colour is a slightly hazy straw golden colour. Excellent retention, lacing and film.

Smell has very floral hops, violets (lavender?), also a chewy malt undertone, caramel malt. A hint of barnyard muskiness coming though. Opens up really nicely, quite fragrant.

Taste has fair bit of hops, but not so much bitter as really fresh and juicy. Grapefruit, apple, citrus notes all combined with a mild minerally Belgian funk. Some mild acidity and yeast gives way to a more malty caramel mild woodiness. Malt provides some definite caramel and toffee sweetness. Finish is quite dry, bubbly and a bit grassy. A bit of lingering malt and yeast. Really rich, tasty and the flavours work really well together.

Mouthfeel is moderate, I had completely forgotten this is 8% as it is so remarkably drinkable and light. Carbonation is moderate, altogether pretty smooth, a bit malty on the palate, but comes across really nicely and refreshingly.

Definitely one of the better beers Ive had recently. A really solid take on the BIPA style with plenty of juicey hops, pretty mild bitterness, and a nice overall feel to it. Really tasty. Try it out.

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2013 20:53:02 | More by mick303

uturn

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

01-16-2013 02:26:34 | More by uturn

grahamboudreaux

Tennessee

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%

12-21-2012 06:28:58 | More by grahamboudreaux

Treb0R

Oregon

3.75/5  rDev -7.2%

12-13-2012 17:26:33 | More by Treb0R