Gouden Carolus Easter Beer

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

December 2014: 750 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. BB date 15/02/2013. ABV is 10.5%. Beautiful chestnut colour, huge beige head. Aroma of brown kandij sugar, caramel and spices, including anise. The flavour has the same elements as the aroma. Minimal hops. Skip the anise please, and I might buy the beer again.

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

Corked & caged 750ml bottle from Total Wine, Gilbert, AZ. Best before 20 Jan 2016 (!?!). Headless pour of clear chestnut, and devoid of carbonation. Inviting aroma, featuring malt, spices, dark fruit (plums and raisins, perhaps), and some booziness. Smooth mouthfeel, solid without being cloying. Sweetish flavour and finish, dark fruits mostly, and the boozy influence was on full display.

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

Pours an opaque chocolate brown with a nice light tan head. Aroma is mainly fruity, banana and pear with a little apple and a hint of cherry plus a malty underpinning. Flavor is more malty, but fruit still dominates, pear and banana and a bit of cherry. Texture is quite fizzy, and leaves a nice fruity finish. Hop to it!

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

A dark ruddy brown colored beer with a big frothy textured off white-beige colored head rising above. There is decent hang time on that head. It settles eventually into a moderate ringlet and light splotches of film. It is in nose and tasting, dark fruit, licorice. A moderate bubbly body.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

Murky brown with a beige head. Aroma is chocolate, toffee, caramel, licorice, honey. Flavor is very sweet with chocolate, honey, molasses, caramel. Aftertaste is very sweet. This borders cloying but doesn’t cross it. Overall nice beer.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

750ml bottle. Pours a dark reddish amber brown with a big fluffy off white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is earthy yeast, some sweet malts and some alcohol with some bubblegum and cola.

The flavor is sweet sugary (molasses) malts and dark fruits that just pop out initially. There's an earthiness from the yeast and some banana and clove notes. The finish has medium dry bitterness with a bit of alcohol. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with soft carbonation.

Overall, an OK Belgian. The flavors didn't work for me, and the alcohol and sweetness was a bit over the top.

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

(2005 vintage) Dark amber/brown colour with decent foamy head. Strong licorace aroma with weak hints of malt. The flavour is made of mainly licorace, but olso some spicy notes can be found. Nice aftertaste of licorace. A bit "sweet and sour" sauce feeling over it. Very nice beer. Hides alcohol very well.

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

Reddish brown clear colour, small beige head. Sweet licorice, spices and chocolate in aroma. Pepper, soft sweet licorce, cardamon and yeast in flavour. Long spicy aftertaste of raisin, licorice and yeast.