Day 51, 2.20.11., Piraat Ale

Here's a weird little beer: Piraat Ale.  With a name like that, I thought this was going to be a bad joke of a beer from some bad joke of a domestic brewery.  No Sir, this beer Sir, is Belgian Sir.

It's an amber/red hazy ale with a nice big white head.  On the nose, there is some spice notes, like clove, coriander, maybe a tiny cardamom hint.  There are some musky aromas too, and over ripe fruit notes of apricot and sour cherry.
The body is fairly big and with a good amount of maltyness.   There's a strong peppery bitterness that shifts into a sour character that lingers looooong on the finish.  Unfortunately it's not (to me) the  appealing kind of sourness, but the kind that compromises the beer's balance. 
It's an ok beer, but not very well refined.  5 out of 10.