Gouden Carolus Van De Keizer Rood

I love the Grand Cru of the Emperor, so when my order from RI fell a bottle short, and my man asked me what I wanted to fill the box with, this one was a no-brainer.



Style – Belgian Strong Pale Ale
ABV – 10%
Brewed In – Mechelen, Belgium
Availability – Seasonal

Gouden Carolus “Cuvee van de Keizer” is brewed once a year from the 24th of February on, the birthday of Charles the Fifth. It is brewed in a limited quantity by the Anker brewery of Mechelen, one of the last remaining classic producers in Belgium. This blond ale of top fermentation illustrates the subtle balance between the different natural ingredients.

-from bottle

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Score - 7/10

Appearance
Pours a clear, light copper. The stark white head is big and fluffy. The retention is astounding and produces heavy lacing.

Smell
The only way I can describe the dominant presence in the aroma is an earthy, grassiness. Also hints of pear and some citrus esters.

Taste
A very sharp bite from the carbonation is the first thing to hit your tongue. This diminishes some as it warms, but is definitely still there. Once you get past the carbonation, there are some floral flavors, along with some banana and lemon. It finishes extremely dry.

Feel
This beer is extremely over-carbonated and coarse. The flavors are pretty nice, but the feel of this beer ruined it for me.

Verdict
This doesn’t hold a candle to the blue label. It vastly improved at around room temp, but was still nothing great. I’d be interested to see if the flavors pulled through as the carbonation subsides with some time in the cellar, but I won’t be buying any more to see.

Nice review Justin.
I recently bought a bottle of the blue label. Besides the ABV being higher for the blue label what is the difference?

MAS_Puros said:

Nice review Justin.
I recently bought a bottle of the blue label. Besides the ABV being higher for the blue label what is the difference?

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The blue label is a strond dark ale, while the red is a strong pale ale. You definitely got the better of the two. The blue label is one of my all time favorites.

Edit: Here's the **LINK** to my blue label review Mike.