Gouden Carolus Indulgence 2025 - Blond Whisky infused
Brouwerij Het Anker in Mechelen, Antwerp, Belgium 🇧🇪
Belgian Style - Blonde / Pale / Amber Series Out of Production|
Score
6.95
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Large bottle. Hazy, bright golden pastel. Nose is honey, spices, lemon and orange. Sweet flavors of whisky, with caramel and vanilla plus peaches, apricot and a spicy, woody finish. Very silky and smooth body. Maybe not worth the asking price but nice.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
The eleventh Indulgence in Anker's ancient Gouden Carolus series, now in the hands of Huyghe, reprises the concept of the original one, which I fondly recall having tasted in 'avant-première' at the Horeca Expo in Ghent at the time, by applying the infusion idea - now being done to death by other brewers in Belgium especially - to the tripel, thus creating a blonde counterpart to the original dark one. Thick and frothy, egg-white, fluffy, medium thick head, slowly breaking in the middle and leaving thick lacing, over an initially clear warm 'old golden' robe with fine sparkling, turning misty later on. Aroma of pan-fried red apple, freshly cut sweet apple peel, apricot, halfripe banana, peppery (but non-peaty) whisky indeed, dried field flowers, chamomile tea, green pear, clove, dry biscuit, white bread and an odd hint of sweet cooked tiger prawns somewhere. Crisp, fruity onset, sweetish with strong apple ester and almost equally strong - but tolerable - banana ester, laced with hints of ripe pear, apricot and pineapple; finely tingling carb, slick yet full mouthfeel. Slight minerality continuing through a very lightly caramelised but clean and smooth white-bready and somewhat honeyish pale malt sweet core - the sweetness of residual sugars remaining relatively restrained, though, certainly not cloying - especially when the whisky comes in, palpable as a prickly, peppery effect on the tongue, warming and boozy and bringing an extra layer of vaguely caramelly sweetishness, even a touch of vanilla. Retronasally - and this must be linked to the whisky, produced by the brewery itself by the way - this weird but not unpleasant touch of cooked freshwater shrimp returns briefly and vaguely. Meanwhile the booze manages to avoid harsh astringency and 'hotness', so even if I would (as always) prefer the much more expensive and time-consuming process of whisky barrel ageing over a simple infusion, it can be stated that in this case, the whole has remained quite drinkable and palatable, even enjoyable. It better be, of course: that 'historical' first, dark version was the very beer that sparked that entire annyoing liquor infusing trend in this country and still does it better than most of its epigones. I would not say that this blonde one equals the original, but it passes, even if it remains to be seen how Huyghe will treat this brand now that they own it - Gouden Carolus having been, during most of its recent history, far superior over anything Huyghe has ever released in the same time frame in my humble opinion...
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6.5 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Medium, if dense white head over finely carbonated darker golden beer, clear. Grainy, boozy, hints at vanilla, even diary, and quite some cocos. But mainly boozy nose. Cocos, especially retronasal. Vanilla, raw alcohol, boozy. Peach. Very sweet in general. Alcoholburn, fiery, and oily-slick. Good carbonation. "Infused" is making it cheap, easy. Barrel lagering gives complexity and depth.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Color:Clear golden, white head. Aroma: Malty, yeasty notes and subtle Whisky notes. Taste: Malty, yeasty and Whisky notes, herbal notes. Mwah. A bit disappointing, was hoping for more.