Brouwerij Het Anker Gouden Carolus Cuvée Van De Keizer Blauw (2014) – Belgian Strong Dark Ale at 11% ABV (C$13.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 750 ml, packaged on 19-Jun-2024, acquired 1-Mar-2015, reviewed 20-Jun-2020)
Appearance: clear deep amber with one finger of dense creamy ivory head, excellent retention and heavy tenacious lacing. (5/5) Aroma: roasted malts, stone fruit, caramel, toasted bread, brown sugar. (9/10) Taste: moderate-high sweet, moderate-low bitter. (9/10) Medium slightly slick body, lively carbonation, smooth warming slightly sticky finish. (4/5)
The Great Cellar Drink Down continues. What? I’m in quarantine in a (supposedly) sold house, so I can’t get anything fresh, and who knows how long my collection will go into a storage unit after we pack up here and find a new house – could be months, easily, subjected to wild temperature variations. No, better it end here, with dignity: cue the swelling orchestra.
So this one’s been gathering dust in my cellar for quite a while. I have only the vaguest recall of trying a prior vintage, maybe a 2013, prior to putting this one down, and being quite impressed with it at the time. Mind you, at the time I knew what I was talking about even less than I do now, so take that for what it’s worth. However, this one right now, after more than five years’ cellaring, is certainly pretty darned close to what I described back then, and scores about what I gave it then. Which just goes to show – if you wait long enough, eventually I’m right. (18/20)
9/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
