The Midnight Pirate - okay, who decapitated my beer?

So we're a day early from tasting day - but it was one of those Saturday work shifts where time stood still and yet everything and anything happened at once. Coupled with a handful of hours worth of sleep and the kids wanting to play for hours as soon as I got home from work...well suddenly waiting one more day to taste your latest home brew doesn't seem to be that important.

A tasty pirate it looks to be!

But seconds into the pour, I did wonder exactly what happened had happened to the poor pirates head..

Because everything else turned up to party aside from the missing suds.
-The aroma showed up on mass and brought a whole heap of stone fruit goodness with it.
-The color flashed up a ripper looking burnt umber, even with the occasional floating protein in it (I guess the gelatin trick didn't work as well as planned)
-Plenty in the taste department too. Lots of fruity notes and one hell of a building bitterness after each sip.

But if you've seen where the head went, could you let me know?



I knew something was up when I took the cap off without a hiss. Had I grabbed one we forgot to put a carbonation drop in? Maybe it was the glass I was drinking out of that was eliminating any and all head retention? Is this the norm for an all grain without any maltodextrin?

I tried another bottle with a completely different glass and same result. The beer ticks quite a few boxes...but an amazing looking head just isn't one of them. Oh well, on with the review.

What am I smelling here?: Peach and apricot and plenty of it. It's really come to shine here.

What am I tasting here?: Slight buttery like caramel with fruit overtones, a couple of hops notes and just an ever so small hint of bread. The bitterness builds up from light to medium and then a few steps past that with every sip. If it was packing a stronger ABV, we'd be verging into IPA style flavor territory here.

Is it repeatable?: There is a slight want for another after the first, yes.

Overall: So there were a few bumps and hiccups along the way but the ultimate question, did it come anywhere close to replicating the Pirate Life I was after?

Er...no.

For a start, it's missing the herbs and the waft of pine. While The Pirate Life came with plenty of fruit (mine does too), I don't think my creation is as malty. The long lasting taste bit I seemed to have nailed though. The appeal to follow up with another one is there in this brew but it's not as strong as the original.
I'd say that it's a fruity and far more subtle version of the Kozel.

But comparisons aside, how does it stand on it's own?: I'm still happy with most of it. Yes there's no head to write about but it smells great, oozes with flavor, there's no metals in it (unlike my first brew) and it's not as harsh. And even with some gear floating in it, it's actually clearer than the first. Out of the two, I'm preferring this. With a proper head, it'd be miles in front.

3.85 headless pirates out of five.

Edit 1: Okay after a couple of weeks of tasting, I'm going to have to take a point off this one on account for the massive inconsistencies in every bottle. Some have a great aroma, some have no smell, some have no head, some have head for weeks. Taste differs, there's not a standard across the lot which is very disappointing.
Harsh, but it's taking a hit before I try it again and see if I can nail it next time.

New score: 2.85 headless pirates out of five.

Edit 2: I think I have also worked out why the flat head - unlike the Citra Warrior, this one didn't spend a week in the bottles before hitting the fridge. It just got bottled, then chilled for a week. I will be bottling the next one and letting it sit at room temp first for a week before fridge time.

So what's next: The first was an IPA and not counting the home made rice wine, the second was an American Pale Ale. I'm thinking we switch up the styles next time and try something like a Blonde Ale..