Gouden Carolus is a Belgium brewery that I am not familiar with, and can only find mention to other seasonal beers they make. With all the time spent of labels I am going to start getting better pictures of the more choice labels.
This beer smells like caramel and sweet malt, with a hint of fruit and hops. The color is a dark brown, but clear enough to see through. The head poured very thick, but has subsided to just enough to cover the top of the beer. The foam has good retention and is sticking to the side of the glass.
The taste is really different, lots of malts and sweetness, and almost a maple syrup flavor. The beer also has a good hop side to the flavor with some with some fruit taste. The fruit and the sweetness blend well with lots of dried fruit flavors raises and plums. The beer has a thick mouthfeel, that mixed with the syrup flavors comes across a bit too sweet. I think there
I think is this is great Christmas / Seasonal beer, but I don't think I would want one any other time of year. This is far too sweet and syrupy for a beer any other time.
3 comments:
I absolutely love the Gouden Carolus line because they include anise seed in the brewing, which gives a licorice hint in the finish. It is more pronounced in the Noel and the Grand Cru than in the 1471, but it is a signature of all the Gouden Carolus line.
Is there any information on the 3 hops and 6 herbs and spices that are used in this beer. It may not have been as startling of an experience if I knew what was in there before hand.
BTW, I've also reviewed this beer:
Gouden Carolus Noël 2008 Review @ Beer 47
I assume they're proprietary, but anise and cloves may be decent bets.
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