“Smooth and dangerous” and great for winter sipping, these are some of the most enjoyable beers you’ll ever drink—and they can be surprisingly easy to make if you build a good recipe and adhere to some basic brewing practices.

Belgium’s dark, strong ales are among the most complex and impressive beers in the canon—yet extract brewers can tackle them as well as anyone, as long as we pay attention to a few key points.

Solvent character is almost always the result of fermenting too hot.

Aroma: “Big warm bourbon hug, with a bit of wine barrel. Vanilla, strong cacao nibs, rich malt, moderate alcohol, along with some spicy phenols.” Flavor: “Bourbon is strongest in the mix and a little hot. The vanilla is more oaky than bean. Underneath the liquor, I can still find the malt, along with the raisin, plum, and nuttiness I’d expect in a big beer. Moderate cocoa. Some spicy alcohol warmth. Nice phenols and esters. Bourbon lingers into the finish, where I’d prefer the malt.” Overall: “If you can get some of this for the holidays, do it! Chocolate may be over strong in the aftertaste, but it just adds to the warming sensation. Dry finish helps with drinkability. A well-made Belgian Dark Strong with a barrel-full of bourbon. Will be excellent with proper aging.”

This recipe for a dark, spiced holiday ale is ideal for serving either cool or warmed and mulled, with many more variations possible on fruits and spices.

This recipe courtesy of Brasserie Lupulus in the Ardennes offers a modern spin on the Wallonian strong brown ale.

For those who like it dark, strong, and contemplative, here’s a partial-mash extract recipe for a Trappist-inspired ale that can be cellared for many months, with a drinkability belies its strength and complexity.

This big and complex yet dangerously easy-to-drink ale is relatively easy to brew well—just watch that attenuation and focus on healthy fermentation for a drying finish.

“Nutty breadcrust nose with a substrate of mild phenol. Light hints of American hop resin, with apricot and golden currant esters plus vanilla oak notes. Rich toffee, fig, and sweet-roll malt flavor. Low soft hints of clove and a touch of pepper phenol.”

Stepping out of the shadow of it’s bigger and more intense IPA siblings, Pale Ale is overdue for its return to the craft beer spotlight, with new approaches to timeless appeal.

“The first whiff brings caramel with a peppery undertone. A deeper sniff pulls some estery yeast character. Rich, layered malt complexity. Beautiful fermentation notes. The flavor hits all of that. If only it finished a bit dryer.”

Stepping out of the shadow of it’s bigger and more intense IPA siblings, Pale Ale is overdue for its return to the craft beer spotlight, with new approaches to timeless appeal.

This Belgian Dark Strong recipe is Scratch Brewing’s favorite tomato beer. The dried cherry tomatoes retain their perceived sweetness and become raisiny and prune-like. They blend perfectly with a Belgian yeast strain.

Aromas of raisin, dried fruit, and candied strawberry are more reminiscent of a Belgian dark strong. The fla-vor profile fairly quickly changes course as it delivers a noticeable roast, toast, and chocolate-malt punch with those classic Belgian notes moving to express themselves in the background along with some subtle nutti-ness. The overall package is unusual but surprisingly interesting.

**Aroma:** “A forward barrel character that is melded with some nice dark malt characters and light esters. Vanilla, coconut, oak, light roast, caramel, and dark cherry. Sweet chocolate malt carries through the nose. Touch of red wine notes, moderate bourbon. Lots of chocolate.” **Flavor:** “Like an imperial stout, but with less roast barley character. Big bourbon, rich dark chocolate. Apparent bitterness is only there to support the malt. The strong vanilla and roasted coconut work perfectly with the sweet biscuit and rich caramel. The alcohol warmth is nice and not overpowering.” **Overall:** “An incredibly smooth, bourbon-barrel-dominated strong ale that could easily pass for an imperial stout. Coconut and vanilla are excellent expressions of the barrel and complement the rich roast and chocolate backbone delightfully.”

**Aroma:** “Incredibly intense and complex barrel notes. The bourbon-barrel characters of vanilla and roasted coconut, but a more intriguing brandy note, with rich raisin and musty character. Nice fruity notes. Some dark chocolate. Suggestions of alcohol, but they’re not overt.” **Flavor:** “The bourbon dominates up front, but the brandy finishes, and there is just the slightest roast, even smoky character. Intense malty sweetness of roast, chocolate, and some vanilla carries through it all, but the barrels are the stars. Slight coconut and some dark fruit. Alcohol is apparent on the tongue and in the throat, but it isn’t even vaguely hot.” **Overall:** “What a wonderful barrel-aged strong ale. The two barrels are slugging it out in quite a heavyweight bout, but we’re all the winners in this fight. A rich melange of dark chocolate, licorice, dark fruit, and subtle tartness.”

From a style perspective, though, it can be tough to differentiate because it bears some superficial and structural similarities to Belgian Tripel.

This homebrew recipe is based on everything we know about how Duvel brews its iconic golden strong ale.

Duvel, Belgium’s iconic and elegant golden strong ale, is pale, dry, highly carbonated, and it boasts a distinctive fermentation profile. What are the stories, ingredients, and processes behind the archetype?

The defining traits of a Ukrainian golden ale are its golden hue, a relatively high ABV, and a smooth, sweet finish balanced by soft bitterness.