For the sixth beer of Christmas, my true government monopoly gave to me, TWO GIANT BEERS!
I think Het Anker might be my new happy place. A brewery and a distillery and a restaurant AND a hotel! Because, let’s face it, after enjoying what they have to offer you’re going to need a little lie down. I’m not entirely sure if they’ve been going nonstop the whole time, but there has been beer brewed on the location of Het Anker since 1471. So holy shit.
Het Anker means The Anchor in Flemish, established by Flems in Michelen in what is now Belgium (European borders being pretty fluid given how many wars they’ve started). Gouden Carolus is the brand of beer they make, named for Charles the somethingth, Holy Roman Emperor born and raised in Michelen. So holy shit again. The specific beer we’ve got is the Cuvee Van Der Keizer, loosely translated to The Emperor’s Batch. They make two versions, the Blue (blauw) and Red (rood), and we’re looking at the Blauw today. It’s a “dark special ale” brewed with only Belgian hops. There’s other information on the page that I don’t quite understand, like 24 degrees plato, I’m assuming it has something to do with the final wort temperature? Save that for the next post!
One last cool thing, Het Ankor has started brewing whisky, the first of which went into the oak in 2010. They’re looking for 3 years plus a day aging, which means we might see some Belgian whisky within a couple months! Anyway, here’s what we thought:
smell
Dan – copper, bright
Goran – some salt like a pilsner, mild aroma
Simon – chocolate, ginger, bitter, yum
Ryan – baker’s chocolate
Bowick – NOPE.
taste
Dan – copper, wine, mild fruit sweetness, apricot
Goran – port, cherry, little carbonation, hint of rum
Simon – maple syrup, smoke
Ryan – mild, sweet, sugar
Bowick – super sweet, fruity
Gouden Carolus Cuvee Van De Keizer – 11% 750ml – $7.80 – Belgium
Try it? Yes! Buy it? Yes!
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