Piraat 7
Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.

A wonderful combination of classic Belgian blonde/tripel with all the taste but lower ABV. Nice chance to enjoy a few classic Belgians and remain standing. Great/unique idea. Thanks BVS!

6 oz draft pour at Lures Bar & Grille in Crownsville, MD. Pours a clear yellow color with a small off-white head. Aroma and flavor feature Belgian yeast esters (banana, hint of spice), Belgian candi sugar, and background notes of citrus, dried fruit, and bready malt. Not boozy. Very drinkable. Overall an excellent Belgian tripel (or pale ale, depending on where you look).

 

 

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a medium golden orange with a fine, two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of candi and caramel malt, clove, Belgian yeast, apple and coriander. Flavor is lightly grainy caramel malt, clove and coriander, apple, pear, hints of citrus and red berries; spicy finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess. A pleasant Belgian pale ale that leans to a tripel profile. The base malt and yeast have classic van Steenberge fruit notes, but there is an assertive spiciness that tastes very much like a tripel. I can't find this on the current brewery website, so I don’t know how they characterized it, but whatever the style, it's a fine tasting Belgian ale. Been a while since I've had the heftier Piraat, but this lower ABV one still is full flavored. I'm a fan. Exported in a can, which is a first in my market for this brewery.

 

Poured out of a can into a Piraat tulip of course, good amber hue and crunchy white head. Great balance in both aroma and flavor, with waves of malt and juicy apple, like a Fuji, honeycrisp, gala, or a granny smith pie, which bursts forth on the palette, subsiding into refreshing dry-hop vs lingering fruit balance, and the ester level isn't over the top, sometimes tripels make me wish I was drinking Rum Fire instead. This is a refreshing expression of Piraat, the lower strength is a plus.

Pulling the reign on their normal million-percent strong pale ale, Van Steenberge rolls out a normal strength blonde ale with the same great taste but in more manageable format.

Golden upon its pour, Piraat 7 teems with bubbles and fuels a tall and frothy cap. As the fruity aromatics of citrus, cider, berry and spice fill the nose, its first sip is sweet with honey, light toast, biscuit and a hint of caramelization before the fruitiness arrives. Orange, apple, spiced pear and suggestions of apricot and dates mingle with spicy white pepper, coriander, clove and a hint of cumin before trailing into a mildly herbal finish of tea leaf, hay and grapefruit peel.

It's a wonderful complement to the Piraat series where a couple can be enjoyed without risking facedown in a ditch.

On tap at Yardhouse: poured into goblet but no head, seems flat and cannot rouse any head. Scores reflect the beer as presented but don’t want to complete a full review on a sub-par product. Malty, light sweet, limited esters, and pour mouthfeel without the carbonation.

Draft at PreFunk. Cloudy golden pour with a one finger foamy head. Light, grassy aroma, faint savory notes. Taste is bready, meadow, peppery. Really smooth and enjoyable.

i dont even think i knew this existed, a lower alcohol offering from one of the classic labels, cool! had it on tap, but unfortunately served in a shaker pint, which flatters nothing but especially not a belgian beer, dang! pretty deep golden to light copper color on this, short head in this format, but i bet its far better in another glass, at another bar, or especially from the bottle, hope to find out soon, now that i am aware of this. the aroma is subtle when cold but opens to lightly sweet, floral, and classically belgian esters, toasted coriander seed and honey and clove, but not overly estery, quite subtle, with pleasant malt richness to it, simple and kind of autumnal, but i love belgian beer this time of year. the flavor is a little more opened up and interesting than the smell, but its tight and minimal compared to the best of them, seems not quite watered down but less expressive than expected, coriander and light orange meet an almond note from the grain and a little graham cracker thing, some new penny type minerality to almost metallic character as it warms some, modest sweetness from the grain most of the way, light body for what it is, and still decent carbonation despite lack of head in this instance, late golden raisin type fruitiness, fully complimentary. enjoyable if a little less than fully stellar, i always have such i expectations with this stuff, but the yeast is mellow and good and this scratched the itch well enough. wish folks would pay more attention to glassware. cant wait to try this from the bottle!

Served on tap in a pint glass
Appearance -The beer is served a clear golden color with a one finger head of white foam. The head fades slowly over time, leaving a moderate sum of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.
Smell – The aroma is strong of a biscuit and cracker malt mixed with notes of apricot, apple, peach, and pear. Along with these smells comes notes of a floral notes as well as some smells of yeast and spice of clove and coriander.
Taste – The taste begins with a crisp cracker and biscuit malt flavor mixed with some light notes of yeast and spice of coriander and clove. Along with these tastes comes notes of light fruit with pear and peach as well as some light apple and apricot. At the same time there is a little bit of floral hop as well as some notes of light yeast, with at the end some flavors of a light must and a little bit of funk coming onto the tongue.
Mouthfeel – The body is light and thin with a moderate carbonation level.
Overall – A decent but not memorable triple. Much better ones out there and really not one worth the price point. Better just sticking with the normal Piraat. Much higher quality overall.

 

I had this on draft 6/19/25 @ the Hopleaf.

See-through orange appearance.

HUGE bright white head; a thick curtain of tree-rung lacing remained.

Fresh flowers, well-preserved old book & faint pine notes in the nose.

Smooth, medium mouthfeel.

Flowers & mild vinaigrette flavors up front; soft pine & well preserved old book notes on the finish.

Solid & unique.

Clear shimmering gold with a soft, lightly fuzzy white head that retains well.

The medium body is almost silky, yet roundly crisp, exhibiting light caramel that nears butterscotch but not quite, maybe toffee, balanced by toasted spices that perhaps verge into some wild herb.