Piraat Belgian IPA

Style: Belgian India Pale Ale

ABV:  10.5%

Brewery: Brouwerij Van Steenberge

Bottle: 11.2oz

Price: $7? Can’t remember.

Appearance

Dark and hazy golden honey colored. Nice big white head sits on top, waits around for awhile, then dissipates.

Smell

Pears, honey, some yeast and some booze.  Reminiscent of a heavy ale or other Strong American Ale. Definitely some farmhouse lemon scents. Not at all a big hoppy nose.

Taste

Big mouth, a little boozy, definitely yeasty, and some apparent citrus.  Tastes aged.  Yeah, it’s bitter, but my guess it’s not from the traditional IPA method.  Booziness disappears and it just goes down smoothly.  Definite Belgian Saison funkiness to it, but this is more crisp.  Fruits are prevalent.

Decent carbonation and mouthfeel.  Nothing out of the ordinary for either criteria.

Overall

I hadn’t had Piraat before (gasp!) and yeah, it lived up to the hype for me. That’s a damn fine beer that I’d describe as somewhere between a traditional Belgian IPA and something like an Urthel Samaranthe quad.  I really like this beer and could drink it all day.

I’d be interested to see what a few months does to it.  My guess is year would be too much, but I’m going to stash a couple and pull them out mid-summer. I’ll report back then.