Gouden Carolus Imperial Dark

Gouden Carolus Imperial Dark by Brouwerij Het Anker is being evaluated as a Cat. 26D Belgian Dark Strong Ale, per the 2021 BJCP Guidelines. This is an impressive exercise in hiding high levels of alcohol in a brew! It is an extremely attractive beer that does meet the category in general, and, almost invisibly, delivers quite a punch on the alcohol side.

The aroma is that of sweet brown malt with a touch of cider and metallic twinge in the back. This is all very typical for the style. The character is moderate, but could be more complex as the style guidelines suggest. There isn’t a lot of the typical raisin, plum and stone fruit notes that are typical for the style. The fermentation is, surprisingly, very clean with not a lot of typical Belgian character. This brew has a garnet color with a beautiful cream-colored, small-bubbled stand of head with very impressive retention and lacing and exhibits fantastic clarity.

The brown malt noted in the aroma tends to dominate the flavor as well. It has a rather sweet worty malt character up front, with a touch of apple/cider fermentation notes as typically seen when candi sugar is used in a recipe. In respect to the Belgian notes present, banana dominates the clove, which is quite far in the back. The middle and finish retain their sweetness, with a lingering sweetness throughout the finish and aftertaste. Alcohol is noted, but is hidden extremely well. It is surprising that this brew is pushing 11% ABV. The biggest issue here is that the malt character is quite one-dimensional, being a sweet brown malt with little of the raisin, plum and stone fruit complexities that are expected for the style. The body is medium-full and the carbonation is moderate, but could certainly be higher

This is, overall, quite a nice beverage that is very approachable for those who typically don’t appreciate the complexities of Belgian Trappist-style beers. A bit more of that Belgian character, particularly the clove notes and the dark malt complexities, could help reduce the sweet perception of this brew.