Gouden Carolus Cuvee van de Kaiser Blau

Here's a classic Belgian ale I've got on tap for the first time in several years, and which I wrote about for the first time way back in August of 2004. It's the Blue (Blau) version of the Cuvee van de Kaiser, aka Grand Cru of the Emperor, from the Het Anker Brewery, of Mechelen, Belgium. 11% ABV.

Ignore the stuff about corks, etcetera. The rest transfers well.
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Pop! Goes the cork...pours a dark, plummy, raisinish color, with a small-to-nonexistent head, poof!, she's gone....

Aroma is a heady blend of dark fruits, the aforementioned and more, cherries, etc., and a rich, sweet, molasses-like component that soon blends together to provide a brandyish feel. Dark and mysterious, urging me to finally put lips to cup.

Huge mouthfeel, lush and delicious, and...hooo! It's happening, that uncommon feel from an ale that washes a sort of wonderfulness all throughout the senses, lays waste to the skeptical mindset, the analytical eye, and provides nothing but pleasure...whoa...sweetness resides in every sip, but never cloys, malt is large, and the texture is so rich and warm, the ABV appearing in full force, that the flavor never leaves the mouth.

Oh, wow, this is good. goodness upon goodness, tasty to the max...I haven't said yum yet, but it'll come in handy here!