Piraat Beer (Van Steenberge Brewery) By @SpectreUK

I love the old swashbuckling movies with pirates and other films like Robin Hood. My favourite pirate movie of all time is Burt Lancaster's 'The Crimson Pirate'. Although the romance of swashbuckling pirates was and still is far from the truth of what piracy is all about, it's still fun to watch movies such as this that don't take themselves too seriously. It's the movie of my choice to watch tonight for the umpteenth time, and what better to go with it than this Belgian Piraat strong ale.

Produced by the Van Steenberge Brewery, Piraat is a 10.5% in volume top fermented and bottle conditioned ale. Triple hopped for bags of flavour and having four different types of hops added in the brewing for extra fruity bitterness, Piraat also boasts sweet flavours of honey and a little bread.

On pouring this clear deep golden Piraat ale, I could almost hear the clinking of Pieces of Eight dropped into a Dead Man's Chest. Piraat was a frothy headed ale with a heavy olde world aroma to it, full of bite and fruity flavours. It's almost the smell of a fruity strong brandy you may find on a olde tall ship. There could be apple and pear, and the grape flavour of wine mixed in, spices of cloves, and with the sweetness of honey malt towards the back of the aroma.

Piraat was a taste sensation. Like the Black Spot this ale was thick enough that I felt myself chewing through my first mouthful. Piraat swabbed the decks with it's fruity blast of bitterness, followed by its heavy alcoholic slash of a cutlass. That alcoholic twist of a knife in someone's back heralded sweet liquor honey and spices of cloves as the ship sailed quietly into the harbour at Nassau, for a night in the bars and betting, wine, beer and mischief. Arrr… it's the Piraat life for me.