Gouden Carolus Noël / Christmas - Brouwerij Het Anker

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BA SCORE
89
good
-
570 Ratings

rAvg: 3.98
pDev: 14.82%
Reviews: 427
Hads: 143

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Brewed by:
Brouwerij Het Anker

Belgium

Style | ABV
Belgian Strong Dark Ale | 10.00% ABV

Availability: Winter. bottle (355), on-tap (70), growler (1), cask (1).

Notes:
No notes at this time.

View: Beers (17) | Reviews (9) | Events (0)

Reviews

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Reviews by the Alström Bros:

Jason

Massachusetts

3.25/5 rDev -18.3%

01-12-2013 04:34:15 | More by Jason

Massachusetts

2.5/5 rDev -37.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Review from Inaugural Issue of Beeradvocate Magazine.

Brouwerij Het Anker is supposedly one of the oldest working breweries in Belgium, dating back to the 1300s. Back in 2002, they started brewing Gouden Carlolus Noël after a 38-year hiatus. This dark Winter Ale is brewed with three different hops and six different herbs and spices.

Creamy-looking small-bubbled lace retains well, and the dark brown color displays a glowing clarity. Heavy aroma of dark malts, black pepper, bitter orange peel, earth, faint vanilla, black currants, lavender, a hint of fusel alcohol and other vague spice tones. Smooth and creamy mouth feel off of a full body. Beefy, with a juicy caramel malt splash up front. An alcoholic bite thrashes the taste buds. Spicy, with suggestions of white pepper. The fruity, alcoholic esters drop a tropical bomb. Kiwi, pineapple and papaya come to mind. This has hot fermentation written all over it. Unfortunately, the ﬁ nish and aftertaste is dominated by this hard, lingering alcohol character, and it does not get better as the beer warms up. A mess.

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2008 17:07:55 | More by BeerAdvocate

Todd

Massachusetts

3.28/5 rDev -17.6%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Notes from the 2002 Kerstbierfestival, Essen, Belgium.

Dark brown with a snapping, dissipating head. Big alcohol aroma that's port-like. Some butter, herbal and fruitiness. Semi-prickly start on the palate, smoothing into a big malt character of caramel, toffee and coffee. Notes of grape. Spicy alcohol. Dry, yeasty finish. Warming.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2003 21:52:55 | More by Todd

More User Reviews:

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

3.5/5 rDev -12.1%

05-16-2013 22:13:59 | More by Slatetank

Stugotzo

Florida

4/5 rDev +0.5%

05-12-2013 16:22:05 | More by Stugotzo

WillCarrera

Illinois

3.21/5 rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

750 ml bottle, bottled on 09/08/11, poured into a tulip glass.

A- Pours a slightly weird shade of murky, dark brown, topped with a nice, thick off-white head that leaves good lacing.

S- Interesting aroma, lots of sweet dark malts, fruit, and a lot of christmas-ey spices (clove, nutmeg, allspice).

T- Lots of sweet dark malts, fruit, and some light spiciness, but from the middle through to the finish the flavor is dominated by a huge combination of vinous, anise and boozy flavors. It's simultaneously too sweet and too vinous. Weird. Bad.

M- Medium-bodied, smooth feel, the booziness isn't quite as noticeable here and is only a bit warm.

O- This was pretty bad. The anise, sweetness and vinous flavors are all in the wrong proportions, and produce a beer that doesn't fit together and isn't fun to drink. Pass.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 05:26:47 | More by WillCarrera

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5 rDev +0.5%

04-26-2013 03:57:27 | More by Sparky44

KTCamm

New Jersey

4.13/5 rDev +3.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured from champagne bottle into perfect pint glass.

Pours very dark brown, some maroon hints and a layer of foam. Chocolate cherry nose, and other assorted fruits. Cola too. Sweet belgian candi sugar taste but balanced well. Earthy hop close - not in a bitter sense, but in a flavored one. A bit boozy. Rich.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2013 12:24:24 | More by KTCamm

Sunnanek

Sweden

4/5 rDev +0.5%

04-19-2013 17:53:47 | More by Sunnanek

Murrhey

Montana

3.7/5 rDev -7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 330-ml bottle into a tulip glass in high elevation Libby, Mont. Reviewed live. Expectations are relatively high. Either bottled date or best-by date is Jan. 8, 2012. I really hope it is the former and not the latter. Although with the high ABV, I imagine it wouldn't be ruined by a year anyway. I could be wrong.

A- Three-finger thick, attractive light brown color. Amazingly long retention for the ABV. Thick fluffy core with fairly large bubbles. Lasts about three minutes. Clingy spotty lacing. Murky walnut colored brew with very little clarity.

S- Deep alcohol notes and spicy. Very fragrant and boozy. Nice notes.

T- Boozy and nice even-handled flavors. Spices and yeasts are very present here.

M- Vinous and wet. Sticky remainder on the feel.

O- Booze-bomb and it tastes like it.

Serving type: bottle

04-17-2013 02:50:16 | More by Murrhey

beerthirtysa

Texas

4.44/5 rDev +11.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

a: nice ruby-red color, but almost brunette unless held directly in the light. weak, off-white head with decent, but not thick, lacing.

s: alcohol predominates along with malt overtones. some gentle hops and plenty of dark cheery and blueberry.

t: smooth as silk. sweet, chewy malt with hints of molasses. alcohol noticeable. slightly hoppy finish.

m: a bit oily in consistency but very inoffensive. lusciously rich texture. carbonation effervesces only slightly on the way to the back of the throat.

o: a very pleasant ale that, though high in alcohol content, is extremely drinkable brew. one to enjoy with friends on a cold winter evening.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2013 18:55:48 | More by beerthirtysa

Bromine

Florida

2.75/5 rDev -30.9%

04-11-2013 11:31:54 | More by Bromine

newton99

Belgium

4.55/5 rDev +14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Pouring a very dark brown, black almost, with reddish brown highlights, this beer is capped with a dense, light brown head with excellent retention and very nice lacing. The nose is a spice bomb. A blend of mace, nutmeg and anise, with some eucalyptus, cola, mildly burnt sugar, this is a little too spiced for my liking. The cola notes here bring to mind discount sodas. Alcohol is reasonably well hidden. In addition, there's quite a bit of dark fruit present, with prunes and figs.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 09:45:55 | More by newton99