Beerwright
Open the studio

Styles · Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Beer style · BJCP 2021 26D

Belgian Dark Strong Ale

Monastic Ale

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.075–1.110
Final gravity
1.010–1.024
Bitterness
20–35 IBU
Color
12–22 SRM (24–43 EBC)
Alcohol
8.0–12.0 % ABV

What it is

The biggest of the abbey beers: dark, rich and layered with dried fruit, toffee, vinous depth and a warming alcohol presence. Complexity comes from yeast and candi sugar rather than roast, and the best examples stay smooth and drinkable at strengths that should not be.

Flavor

What a Belgian Dark Strong Ale should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Hops stay in the background: none of their character belongs.

Malt

Grainy, dark fruit, caramel and sweet/honey, with room for bready/biscuit, toasty or chocolate.

Fermentation

Fruity esters, with room for clove, pepper/spice, clean or banana.

Hops that suit it

The traditional choice

What Belgian Dark Strong Ale has classically been brewed with.

Nothing else on character: the hops here are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 43 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.