Piraat 10.5%

Brewed by Brouwerij Van Steenberge
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Ertvelde, Belgium

Three Cellars Tasting Milwaukee. A very nive easy to drink Belgian. Good blending

33 cl. bottle at a restaurant, served in a (Piraat branded) snifter. Golden color with a thick white head. Very fruity aroma and taste. In fact, I find it to have taste reminiscent of port wine, albeit more malty. Strong yeast also perceptible to the nose. Easy to drink given the very high ABV. A solid beer.

750 ml bottle. Pours a slightly cloudy golden color with a thin white head. The aroma has fruits, spices, mild alcohol and dough. The flavor is a bit underwhelming for such a big beer, there are fruits, spices, dough and some alcohol, The body is light with a creamy, slightly liquorous texture, the carbonation is soft. It’s good, but not enough to make me want to drink this again.

11.2 oz bottle poured into a sniffter. Color is a rich orange with a thin and quickly disappearing white head. Smells distinctly of bread and ripe fruit. Taste is very sweet at first, then followed by almonds and spice. Goes down very warm, alcohol is very present but not overpowering. Above average.

12oz bottle as part of gift pack from LCBO for Christmas 2007. Best before of May 2009. Pours a murky light brown with a fluffy head that recedes quickly to a normal film. Allowed to warm for about a half hour. Strong aroma, but it’s too sweet. First taste is sweet, with a hint of spice as it warmly goes down the throat. Full bodied. The sweetness continues but is reasonably kept in check. Pretty nice, strong stuff.

Piraat 10.5% Yeasty nose right off the bat. Golden color well carbonated a light dusting white head builds up after the pour. The first thing I can taste is the Belgium candy sugar/sweetness. Drinkabilty high, I had no problem finishing a 750 ml on an empty stomach for dinner. Alcohol is hidden, 10.5 % you would think alcohol would hit you in the nose or on the palate but it is hidden, until you try to stand up after you drink a Champaign bottle of it. But then again I drink the hard stuff and if you raise the glass to your face and the fumes don’t burn your eyes the alcohol content isn’t high. I’m not a trained beer evaluator but the years on the stool belly up to the bar has given me some relevance and this is it this beer is just this one dam good beer.

Draft - The beer has an easy settle with a hazy copper look. There is a moderate malt flavor with an increasingly sweet finish. The beer is complex, but smooth enough to drink with gusto. This is especially true considering the ABV.

Awful. Pours clear gold with a fizzy white head. Orange peel, spice, and malt in the aroma. Taste was a metallic straw flavor with some malt and spice. A dirt-like finish. Judging by the other ratings, I may have got a bad one. But the one I got does not make me want to find out for sure.