Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Imperial Blond 25.4 oz

Belgian Blond Strong Ale

Brewed by: Het Anker Brewery
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Color: Golden

ABV: 10.0%
Ratebeer.com rating: 95
BeerAdvocate.com rating: 91

Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Keizer Imperial Red (ABV 10.0%) from the Het Anker Brewery is a strong blond ale that was launched in 2008 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their Cuvée van de Keizer Imperial Dark. It contains more types of malt than the Dark, and 3 different herbs are added during the brewing process.

Pours hazy golden orange with a bright white head and effervescent carbonation. Aroma is slightly spicy, with notes of hay, honey, and citrus.

Initial taste is sweet and malty, with mild orange characteristics and a pleasant spiciness/sharpness reminiscent of a tripel, but with a bigger alcohol punch. Moderate hop bitterness and botanical notes of coriander, cardamom, and citrus add complexity.

Brewery Information:

Located in the town of Mechelen in the Flanders region of Belgium, the Het Anker Brewery was founded in 1872 when Louis Van Breedam purchased the site of what had once been a brewery and hospice run by a community of Beguine nuns. He modernized the facility – it became one of the first steam powered breweries of the time – and his heirs would later greatly expand its influence.

By the 1980s, like many family owned breweries of the time, Het Anker found it difficult to compete with large commercial breweries, and entered into partnership deals which never succeeded as intended.

In the late 1990s, Het Anker, helmed by a fifth generation of the Van Breedam family, became independent again, and both focused and diversified its business. Today, the flourishing brewery includes both a restaurant and a hotel while producing a dozen or more ales exported around the world.