Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor - Brouwerij Het Anker

rbd13

Rhode Island

4.72/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours a hazy golden with noticable carbonation, foamy white head that leaves a good sticky lacing on the glass.
Sweet slightly hoppy smell with hints of grapefruit, bananas and orange peel.
Flavor is sweet with grapefruit, banana, orange spice, pepper, honey and a nice hoppy finish.
Medium body with healthy carbonation, very refreshing and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2011 23:51:09 | More by rbd13

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

3.55/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Vibrant yellow pour, slightly hazy, big frothy white head full of tiny bubbles. Smell was of dry, belgian yeast, hold the clove and banana.

Taste, mildly hoppy, but light and was shocked to see that this was 8% alcohol, definitely hid that well. The hops seemed more for preservation sake than flavor, as they were barely noticeable. Earthy at times. Mild citrus character in the mouthfeel if you search for it. Can't really distinguish these belgian ipa's from belgian pales and saisons.

Like how it stays so fresh and so clean. Dry at all times. Not bitter.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2011 18:42:48 | More by Beerandraiderfan

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

First had: bottle at Eulogy, Philly, PA

Diverse flavor and enjoyable all the way through. Poured a cloudy, unfiltered yellow, with a nice white head that retained well throughout. Strong yeasty aroma, with citrus and herbs apparent. Similar taste, with heavy bready yeasts, and various bursts of citrus, herbs, cloves, hop bitterness, and just a touch of alcohol. Very complex and nice. Medium mouthfeel, and a very educational drink to the palate.

Serving type: bottle

05-09-2011 13:52:01 | More by Rifugium

zachariaIPA

Ontario (Canada)

4/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

hopsinjoor.

An uncontrollable amount of thick, white resiny head forms even with the most gentle pour. Pours a cloudy gold with nice lacing.

Hops and belgian yeast dominate this aroma and flavor. Spiciness, pepper, banana, the fields of Belgium. Sweet boozy maltiness comes in to balance out the bitterness with each sip. It's bitter, but it's soft. To me, it’s almost like a hoppy saison.

Quite nice to look at, great aroma - a really full-flavored unfiltered Begian delight. Overall, a great feeling 8% ABV whose strong character and complexity would be perfect for food pairing.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2011 22:26:05 | More by zachariaIPA

gfreed

Massachusetts

3.85/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A thing I like about Belgian beer is that in Belgium, "hoppy" doesn't mean the same thing that it often does in America. It means a beer that may be sharp but it's also soft, especially when balanced nicely with a good wad of malt. It doesn't mean you'll be assaulted by a crate of sophomoric brewers with a fixation on arid bottles of grapefruit-juicy beer. Carolus is a good example of Belgium in a bottle: not too squishy, not very sharp but pointy enough to give a decent, refreshing sting. A good, nicely priced bottle of beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2011 01:20:11 | More by gfreed

4.47/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours hazy golden orange with a huge rocky white head.
The nose is full of spicy and earthy European hops hovering over bread, yeast, and saison-like aromas of banana and clove with that distinctive Belgian sour cider note hiding in the background.
On the palette it is soft and powdery with subtle fruit followed by a nice bracing bitter backbone and a clean lingering finish of soft yeast, bitter hops and a pleasant subtle tartness.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 12:01:51 | More by

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: Straw colour and quite cloudy, with a billowing foam head. Foam clinging very well to glass to give some beautiful lacing.

S: Quite complex with a lot going on here. Smell of hops; spices such as cloves and pepper; acidic based fruits such as lemons and hard pears; and sweet smelling yeasty bread malts. Overall great aromas.

T: Like a well orchestrated tug of war between sweet and sour. Earthy hops, a herbal taste of cloves, and tart lemons upfront, with a sweet bready malt finish. Lingering pepper taste leaves a bit of bitterness on the tongue. Alcohol is very well hidden. Very good taste.

M: Light and well carbonated mouthfeel. Appropriate and above average for the style.

D: Very nice and light, and something that I would be more than willing to have just one of. Across the board this brew stands out.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 03:30:27 | More by Digimaika2

ThatWineGuy

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Batch 1097, BB 17/11/13. Splendid in a Chimay gioblet, the dense, egg white foam head poured three fingers and stayed there, remarkable retention; sat motionless like the surface of the moon. Sticky lace. Prior to opening the bottle, I wondered if it was frozen: the beer is murky, cloudy appearance owing in large part to suspended yeast particles, chunks of yeast at the bottom.

Smell of pear and peach with a dash of pepper and clove. Taste of pitted fruit, unripe peach, sharp with layers of malty sweetness mingled with more sour fruity notes. Hoppy presence with cleansing mouthfeel, alternate sweet and sour with hops added makles for an interesting glass of contrasts. Decent Belgian, always welcome in my home.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2011 02:27:01 | More by ThatWineGuy

mintjellie

Ontario (Canada)

4.45/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Murky golden-orange in colour, the gentlest of pours results in an inches worth of dense white foam on top. Great retention and lots of fine lace. Lots of little white floaties settled on the bottom of the glass. Love the look. An intense floral aroma gives way to baking bread and pepper. Strong lemon & leaf hop flavour and bitterness, malt gives it some mild sweetness (balance!), while the yeast brings a nice peppery flavour, a little bit of peachy fruit, and a hint of clove to the table. Light to medium bodied, with a fair amount of very fine bubbles. Feels light, but velvety and smooth. Lovely.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2011 03:46:33 | More by mintjellie

Roke87

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a snifter at fridge temperature, best before date: 17/11/13

Appearance- Poured a hazy golden straw colour, with a massive four finger head think white head, that slowly dissipates to a one finger head with very good retention, lots of lacing on the glass as well.

Smell- Hops and yeast dominate the nose, a bit of sweet fruitiness comes through, as well as the spice that really dominates the taste.

Taste- Definitely has a hop presence to it, lots of grains and a kind of sweet taste to it as well followed up by a bit of citrus, Lots of spicy notes hit me right away as well.

Mouthfeel- Clean, crisp, easy drinking Belgian, very high carbonation, and for me the spice dominated all the way through from start to finish.

Overall- All in all a very good brew, really hides the higher ABV very well, very sexy looking beer that translates into a very good drinking beer. Would definitely buy this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-15-2011 02:37:40 | More by Roke87

eat

Quebec (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Opaque, hazy peach-coloured body with lots of big chunks of white sediment. Beautiful, rocky bright-white head. Good retention and lacing. Great looking beer, though the dandruff is a bit offputting.

Smells quite a bit like an over-hopped pilsner. Lots of earthy, spicy hops with lager-like grain. Some tropical citrus off in the background along with a touch of soapiness. Clearly-Belgian yeast. Balanced with a little candy malt.

The lager-like graininess and earthy hops are quite prominent in the mouth as well; it really does seem like a Belgian blonde crossed with hoppy pilsner. Lots of Belgian yeast provides some light spices: nutmeg, coriander and maybe a touch of cardamom. The slightest bit of citrus manages to peek out; maybe this would be more noticeable when fresh. Some sweet candy malt mostly balances things out; this is a hop-focused beer, however, as the name would leave you hoping. Alcohol is dangerously absent for it's 8% ABV. The finish leaves some lingering citrus pith.

The feel is unmistakably Belgian in the way that ends up eluding most breweries outside Belgium when attempting the style. Medium body with fairly high carbonation, lending a fuller creamy feel while also accenting the spicy hops.

I've definitely never tried anything like this before. It's pretty good stuff but I don't think I'll be getting it again; Belgian pilsner isn't something I ever find myself craving. Not exactly my thing but definitely worth checking out.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 05:39:53 | More by eat

zaphodchak

Virginia

4.05/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Blonde light body with white head and nice retention and lacing.

Nose is pungent and acrid, largely of alcohol.

Taste is complex-- sweet and faint citrus offset by faint hops. Similar to a hoppier Lucifer.

Mouthfeel is smooth, not overcarbonated at all, the carbonation there is is fine-grained.

A nice offering, but not the best Gouden Carolus by any means.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2011 03:28:22 | More by zaphodchak

Mit

Ontario (Canada)

4.22/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a-Pours a golden cloudy colour with a very long lasting head.

s-sweet as is normal with the belgians followed by a nice citrus smell from the hops. Very nice.

t-Has the malty belgian flavours with a very nice hoppy edge. Bitter finish which I really liked.

m-Def thicker in keeping with the abv.

o-I'm going back to get more of this stuff. I really liked it.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 23:41:01 | More by Mit

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

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

Gouden Carolus Hopsinjoor is anemically pale but entirely, thoroughly, unshakably hazy - it's an almost outlandish appearance that one would have to see to believe. The near neon yellow beer looks like it's been put on ice for hours, the complexion is so hazy. Unbelievable - just like the giant blobs of lacing that look like impressionist pieces. Only problem is if its head were any taller I'd need a ladder to take my first sip.

By American standards the aroma is very yeasty, but too hoppy; by Belgian standards, the aroma is very hoppy, but only moderately yeasty. Truth is, it's a considerable amount of both for anyone and an unusually large amount of each considering they share the responsibilities. The yeast is red-hot phenol happy. The hops aren't typical U.S. variety, but of an almost green tea/budding flower-like, herbal pungency.

This beer wears the black, yellow and red of Belgium proudly in its taste; flavours of barnyard wheat, bready pale malts and yeasty spices outnumber hops by a ratio of ten to one. The beer may have some pineapple and papaya tastes, but the amount of (very well bubbled) crisp, toasty bread, golden fruits, peppery spicing and alcohol esters is unmistakably, unwaveringly, characteristically Belgian.

I think it's almost too bad that others (note: it was not the brewery) budded the term IPA into this beer's identity. Sure it has pleasantly floral, earthy hop pungency (which is definitively not American C-hop) but otherwise, even for broad stroke purposes, it has none of the characteristics of an IPA (English or American-inspired). It is dry, malty-sweet, full of zestful yeasty phenols and alcohol esters - in other words, textbook Belgian ale.

It's important to understand Hopsinjoor as a homage to American IPAs, not as a carbon-copy. I appreciate the beer a whole lot more having come to peace with that. Let's just call a spade a spade, this isn't something to reach for in the heat of a hop withdrawal - it's something better slowly savored with a fine meal. But under the guise of a strong Belgian pale ale, this is every bit the quality offering you can expect from Het Anker.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2011 23:41:56 | More by biegaman

FeDUBBELFIST

Pennsylvania

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Review from notes taken 8/20/10. $7.50 for a 10.5oz pour served in a tulip.

A: One finger of resilient, bright white, thick and foamy head with good retention. The body is a glowing light yellow-orange color and is 100% opaque. A thin film and collar remain after the head deflates leaving a sporadic smattering of lace. The body of the beer comes clean off the glass, contributing no lacing at all.

S: The nose is exceptional. First impressions are of banana and clove but the bouquet is altogether earthy and estery. Malts lend notes of biscuit and caramel. Four different varieties make up the hop bill, but they are very much in the background. They do however provide a floral quality and enhance the general fruitiness of the nose.

T: Sweet on the front end with just enough bitterness to balance out the palate as it moves towards a slight dryness on the finish. The flavors are intense and there are lots of them. Alcohol is apparent, and even though its only warming, it comes across stronger than the typical 8% brew. Hopsinjoor is different than the BIPAs that I've had recently (mostly poorly executed American examples), so I find it to be more in line with my stylistic expectations. If the sweetness were dialed back a bit, I'd be considering a perfect score for taste.

M: Medium body with a semi slick and oily texture. The carbonation does a fine job cutting through what would be a cloying texture. Any softer though, and the effervescence would seem inadequate. This beer could definitely stand to be more assertive on the tongue.

O: An improved mouthfeel would certainly increase the overall score and I'd venture to say that my opinion would be different if this were the bottled beer. An excellent Belgian IPA nonetheless and I'll be on the lookout for a bottle for comparison.

Serving type: on-tap

03-27-2011 16:47:03 | More by FeDUBBELFIST

ritzkiss

Ontario (Canada)

4.18/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

33cl bottle, best before 2015. Massive, pillowing head out of the bottle, a gentle pour leaves two fingers of head...in the bottle! More in the glass, leaves gobs of lacing on the glass. Hazy light golden, almost pineapple juice like.

Nose is spicy and estery, light citrus and noble hop zing, grainy.

Real zing to this: peppery spice, hint of cloves, banana and grains, lovely hopping (works much better than many American takes on the style), citrus, lemon, grassy, just a hint of tropical fruits (papaya), moderate bitterness with a dry finish. Light sweetness, malt not really playing a major role here. Just a hint of alcohol in the finish. Zippy carbonation, tingles in the mouth.

Really pleasant drinker, well made and the hopping in this is very well integrated while still being dominant - a rarity in the style.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 22:37:28 | More by ritzkiss

WJDobbs321

Massachusetts

4.33/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Summary: I say this every time, I love the uniqueness of beers. I do not penalize beers for not catering to my specific taste. That being said, I give this beer an A-. This is a flavorful light, crisp, citrusy beer with lots of carbonation. Perfect for a springtime BBQ.

The Appearance is very good once the head finally subsided, but that took forever.

The Smell is a little light, but crisp and bright.

The taste has nice hop balanced well with the malt.

The mouth is well carbonated and clean.

Having to deal with the carbonation explosion and the long pour made me grade this beer a little lower than I would like to have. A definite buy when on sale.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2011 01:33:11 | More by WJDobbs321

BBP

Ontario (Canada)

4.1/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A- Looks pretty superb. Tons of head and lace. Was unfiltered and carbonation was quite evident even through the thick banana coloured brew.

S- At first it can smell a little appalling as it smelled a little skunked, but it's really just the combination of aromas that can be picked apart easily with some focus. There's noticable cloves and hop bitterness. A bit herbal and citrusy.

T- Very yeasty. It's like a giant clash between hops and yeast. The hops make a good bitter indent at first but the yeast lasts long after. There's a lot of spiced notes to this. There's some medicinal notes in this as well. The malt adds sweetness but is extremely unintrusive. It does it's thing and then leaves. This is a considerably good example of the style. I found the spiciness to be a little over-pronounced though.

M- Very light body, but fairly full feeling at the same time. Seems to just float. Leaves a slightly dry finish. Carbonation does it's job without sticking out.

D- A solid representation of the style. Sadly the spices seemed to be a little more powerful than usual and made this beer a little more complex than it needed to be.

Drinkability is undeniably impressive. In no way does it feel like I'm drinking an 8% beer. I'm getting through this at a pretty impressive pace and I had to slow down a couple times to have enough of it left to review.

This is a solid brew that I'd never refuse, but I wish it stood out more.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2011 22:12:33 | More by BBP

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330ml Bottle - Thanks Swedes21!

Appearance - Hazy amber colour with a gigantic size frothy/fizzy off-white coloured head. There is an above average amount of carbonation showing and there some great lacing all over the glass. The head was basically fully lasting.

Smell - Breads/grains, lemons, bananas, hops, cloves

Taste & Mouth - There is a lot of carbonation and the beer feel very light and lively on the tongue. I can taste breads and grains mixed with hops and some cloves. There are also notes of some light bananas and also some lemon juice and zest. It finishes with a spicy and hoppy aftertaste.

Overall - This beer was very well balanced and probably the best Belgian IPA I've ever had. The alcohol was well hidden and the drinkability was through the roof. This is a fantastic beer that is a must try; I'll be sure to stock up on it.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2011 14:32:12 | More by spinrsx

mfgeorge

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -25.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours cloudy straw with a highly carbonated, fine bubbled head. Grassy hops on the nose. A bit of citrus as well. Taste was high on the hops, but not super hoppy at all. Very grassy. I found the high carbonation took away from being able to savour the hop flavours. A bit of acidicness to it as well. Overall I was underwhelmed.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 20:31:23 | More by mfgeorge

allergictomacros

Ontario (Canada)

4.08/5  rDev +1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Cloudy yellow with a huge billowy white meringue head. Pour this one slowly!

S - Nose is lemon/orange/citrus/yeasy belgianness, spicy coriander and a hint of booze.

T/M - Dryish with a big, up-front bitterness. Light, citrusy fruit, earthtones and deep bitter finish. Breadiness sinks in later on to finish the finish.

D - Very drinkable - maybe a bit too much!

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 00:46:28 | More by allergictomacros

JohnnyBarman

Ontario (Canada)

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

Single bottle from the LCBO spring release. Was very happy with Carolus's other two Ontario releases, so I was looking forward to this.

Poured into a Chimay goblet. Ridiculous foam on this fellow, a good inch and a half. Made for some great photos, but damn it took forever to settle. Great retention, lots of lacing. A light peachy-golden hue, opaque, with wisps of sediment collecting at the base of the glass.

Nose is yeast, spice, peach, lemon, herbal hops.

A nice Belgian ale, tart and spicy, good yeast character. Wheat husks and fruit open things off, while the hops provided a nice dry tang to the finish. Reminded me of grapefruit juice a little bit. Alcohol kicks in just as the flavor leaves the tongue.

Thick, creamy, strong carbonation at first, but settles down.

Pretty fine brew. Alcohol crept up on me though. Will pick up another bottle or two for the cellar.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 04:20:21 | More by JohnnyBarman

phishgator

Florida

3.4/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from a 750ML into a Golden Draak tulip glass. Large foamy head, not tight bubbles but rother large ones. The color is slightly hazy and bright golden. The carbonation is steady and medium. Teh aroma is of grassy, earthy hops; the European varities are what you smell and taste. The flavor to me is a little too much on the grassy side. The hops dominate the flavor throughout, a little bit of bandaide taste comes to mind. The spicy hops have no malt to give a counter balance. Unlike an American IPA this Belgian version does not coat your mouth with hop oils. Better in theory, IMO.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2011 13:24:16 | More by phishgator

Ralphus

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Its a nice looking beer. I like the cloudy yellow base color and the big white head fits perfectly into my Duvel snifter. Some lacing down the side of the glass and a small blanket of foam remains.

The smell is a light mix of apple, bananas and floral belgian yeast. No complaints here.

The taste has is fairly simple.. a small amount of sweet malts, belgian yeast and then a quick bitter dryness sums things up. There is some hop complexity if you let it swish around on your palate though. Its good and the alcohol is well hidden.

Mouthfeel is dry with aggressive carbonation.

Drinkability is just above average. It goes down quickly but you might not be reach for another immediately.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 23:36:51 | More by Ralphus

smcolw

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

HUGE head. I poured less than 4 ounces in a 24 oz glass and the head nearly overflowed! It is nearly pure white and settles very slowly, leaving some spotty lace on the glass. The broth is cloudy and deep golden color.

Sour, Belgian yeast smell is the first thing I notice. Next I detect a fresh floral hop presence. A little bit citrusy, lemon to be exact.

The flavor starts with a surprising malt base that I didn't detect in the smell. The yeast is subdued until the swallow, but the hop is intense--very bitter with lots of grapefruit. Mild sourness in the aftertaste. Superb complexity...lots of variation in the flavors. The body is typical for the style while the carbonation is mildly prickly.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 21:17:10 | More by smcolw