Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer Rood/Red

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

December 2014: 750 ml corked & caged bottle, vintage 2012, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 10%. Golden colour, huge white head. Sweetish and sugary aroma, with notes of ripe yellow fruits (esp. plums), flowers, white kandij sugar syrup and malts. Medium sweet flavour with the same elements as in the aroma, also mild spicy notes. Pleasant enough to drink.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

C: cloudy gold, generous frothy white head
A: bready malt, citrus, yeast, candy sugar
P: medium bodied, over carbonated
F: grass, yeast, candy sugar, bitter hops
O: very good, but not as good as the red

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

750ml bottle
10.0% ABV
Best Before: December 31, 2021
LCBO # 255 (Milton, Ontario, Canada – Main / Bronte)
January 25, 2019
$9.95
The beer pours a highly effervescent medium gold colour with a huge bubbly white head which lasts a long while (20+ minutes). The aroma is Belgian yeast, grains, candy sugar, and lemony citrus notes. The mouthfeel is full bodied with average carbonation, despite the constant stream of bubbles in the Spencer Trappist glass. The flavours are very similar to the aroma. A nice Belgian Strong Ale with notes of grains, some honey, some , a little spiciness, and it warms the belly nicely, and since it is -10 outside, that’s not a bad thing.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

Celebrating review 2300 tonight, and also advancing to #15 in top reviewers. Really love their Blauw version, so been pumped to try this for a while. Pours a slightly hazy golden colour with a white head, good retention and lacing. Aromas of Belgian Ale yeast well-blended with the grassy hops giving hints of mints and lemon. A lot of the same for the taste, again, very well-balanced. Alcohol very well-hidden. A beautiful blond version of the Blauw !

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2008 Version. Golden pour, short head, light lacing. Belgian yeasts, honeysuckle, spices, ample earthy hops, spicy bitter linger, a bit of boozy heat. Still maintaining even though it's a 2008.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

(2009 vintage)Golden peach body with haze, zero cap was produce on pour. There is a very strange bleachy yeast aroma the aroma comes across very mild. But wait there are massive chunks and sludge at the bottom of bottle let’s see if thing improve when adding them to my glass….. plop plop, spludge!!!!!!! Goes the chunky sludge into my glass. Beer is much hazier now and a head has even been produced! Aroma also much better a yum yeasty spice with hints of banana and lemony hops……………Massive wheat malt flavor!!! Brew is sweet and yummy. I swear the lemon has turned into cherry in my mind but without changing flavor’s if you get what I mean. Flowery perfume is wafting from the glass the longer I let it sit. CLOVES!!!!!! Alcohol hidden nicely. Good brew, not great, just good.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 10

Bottle: Poured a bright yellow color ale with a nice big pure white foamy head with great retention and some good lacing. Aroma of apricot and peach ester is just incredible and must admit that not many brewery can get this much from their yeast. Taste is very smooth with no signs of alcohol and fruity esters are very well balanced with some sweet Belgian malt. Light floral hops are also noticeable. Body is quite full with great carbonation and no alcohol was discernable. Another winner from a top Belgian brewery that I have some a tendency to forget about.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

2008 Bottling; Sampled December 2008
A soft pour produces a voluminous, initially three-finger thick, that quickly grows to five fingers (including a finger and a half above the rim of my 25cl tulip glass) and rolls over the sides of the glass a bit before I can suck off some of the pillow-like, tightly beaded, pale, tan tinged head. Of course lots of lacing accompanies a slow falling of the head as well. The beer is a brilliantly clear, bright gold color that wonderfully shows an excited, bountiful carbonation of streaming bubbles. The aroma is also quite expressive with a vibrant spicy fruitiness to it that is noticeable as I pour. Aromas of ripe melon, honeysuckle, pear, some Macintosh apple and star fruit are supported by spice notes of phenolic clove, sweet ginger, an herbal pepper note and a touch of lemon grass. There is a nice pale malt character here that accentuates a touch of wildflower honey, some grassy grain notes and a nice finish of crushed whole grain crackers.

This beer tastes somewhat sweet, but still manages to finish with a dry effect. Spicy, estery, higher alcohols, a soft, clean hop bitterness and a lingering phenolic spice character help to dry the finish out. Substantial notes of clove (especially towards the lingering finish), lemon zest, a touch of cardamom, some white pepper and perhaps a touch of sweet ginger round out the spice flavors. This gets quite phenolic in the finish and the alcohol accentuates this quite a bit. Up front the esters produce fruit notes of pear, honeydew melon, citrus honey, golden raisin (this can almost have a desert wine sort of note to it at times), . The beer is definitely light for a beer of this strength, though the piquancy of the phenolics and alcohol keep this from being quaffable (which, ultimately is a good thing).

On my second pour, I still end up with a voluminous head that threatens to over flow the sides of my glass. Repeated gulps of foamy, pear-scented cotton candy like, head finally has the head settled in. If this wasn’t so phenolic in the finish it would be a phenomenal beer. This is a fairly minor flaw, but it is the last thing one notices after each sip. All in all this is a very tasty beer that is quite enjoyable; visually this beer is stunning, it is exactly what I could ask for in a pale, strong, Belgian beer.

Purchased: Liquor Max, Loveland CO

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Bottle from SL. Pour was golden highly sparkly, big huge head, good lacing. Upon opening the wire cage, the cork went flying out and rocketing toward the ceiling of bfeld's house, yikes! Loud pop, big scare, no Al-Quida, though, phew! The aroma was white grapes, candy, apples, some yeast. The flavor followed, rich candy sweet white grapes and apples (in a great way), the deceiving impression of plums, but this thing was too pale for such a thing? Dunno, it retained the plum-iness of the standard kaizer somehow. The mouthfeel was sweet and full, but it stayed clear of stick with high carbonation and some yeasty dryness.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

pours with a big fancy duvel brother head ... light pepper-ness, day old lemon peel, and some honey in the nose ... not bad stuff, light honey and celar sweetness ... needs to be less sweet, the pepper needs to be less ... a nice brew, but will be in the shadow or his big blue sibling .. abv is wildly masked...2008...