Sunday, December 23, 2012

Gouden Carolus Noel: Review


Het Anker
Mechelen, Belgium
11.2oz bottle
$19.99 four pack
10.5% abv

Appearance: Brown body with a light tan head

Aroma: black licorice, sweet fancy raisin, coffee,

Flavors: the black licorice stands out to me … reminds me of Smith Brothers Licorice Cough Drops, then the coffee hits the palate and then hints of sweet fancy raisin, fig, and a touch of chocolate.  I do not notice the alcohol.

Mouthfeel: low carbonation, very light bitter note hits the mid palate if you are paying attention, black licorice and a light roasted coffee with milk lingers on the aftertaste.  Body weight seems to be medium-full.  That 10.5% abv does not even seem to be a factor so, watch out.   

My Strength Rating: 6 – just making it into the medium-full range. 

To the Point: I have never had this beer before and when I took a quick sniff and a sip … I thought what did I waste my money on … this is just plain old sweet, sweet and sweet … well … it also has some weird flavor.  Then I said, I need to review this … let’s do it and get it over with.  After thinking about what I smelled and what I was actually tasting I then started to like this Ale.  After all … I love black licorice (the good stuff) this is not your cheap sweet Swizzler type licorice.   Not for everybody but, if you think about what you are drinking and understand … then you may like it … if you like licorice. 

This was an interesting tasting for I went from hating it from the first sip to thinking about it and trying to understand it and eventually liking it (maybe really liking it).

On beer advocate it scored a 90 with 419 reviews.  I would have guessed it to be in the 70’s.  I don’t know if I am ready to say it is exceptional nor am I going to say it is average.  


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