A very sweet beer with just enough carbonation to balance everything perfectly. It is a very full-bodied beer. One might say it has too full a body, as the heaviness of Gouden Carolus offsets the sweetness somewhat. It has a sweet chocolate flavour, along with rice. In the aftertaste, the chocolate persists, along with malt and sugariness. It has a smooth finish to it.
Gouden Carolus also has a smooth texture, which is also chocolatey and malt, as well as slightly musty. Although it has a smooth mouthfeel, it remains an abundantly heavy beer. Appearance-wise, it is a mysteriously dark beer, with a smoot head, containing some bubbles, which soon dissolves to leave thin white layer on the beer. Through this comes a bouquet of chocolate and wood.