It’s winter time, and while you may hear lots of talk about imperial coffee stouts and bourbon barrel-aged barley wines being good winter warmers, I still prefer to reach for a slightly aged Belgian dark ale when it’s cold outside. Ok, so maybe I am old-school, but for a full-flavored, complex dark beer, I still think nobody can beat the Belgians.

A good Belgian dark will be sweet but finish dry. It will have layered flavors of chocolate, caramel, and toffee, plus dried fruits like raisins and plums. It will often take on wine-like characteristics, particularly fortified wine like port or sherry. The color will be deep amber to dark brown, but not black. Hops will not be prominent, yet it will be spicy, either from the yeast, or from added spices, or both.

We find lots of style names for these beers: Abbey Dubbel, Belgian Strong Ale, Trappist Quad, Belgian Dark, etc. If you compare these types, however, you will likely find few concrete boundaries between them. Strength is what matters most. In fact, in Belgium itself, people usually speak of “dark ale” up to 7.5% abv, and “strong dark ale” above that. Similarly, Trappist ales do not constitute any special style, but they are brewed in authentic Trappist monasteries—and tend to set the standards that others follow.

Belgian dark ales achieve their characteristic flavors mainly through specialty yeasts fermenting at high temperatures. These yield spicy and fruity flavors in the production of esters and phenols. Hops are primarily for bittering—to balance sweetness. There is almost no hop aroma in Belgian darks. The simple malt bill for these beers also may surprise you. For the most part, pale malt is used, sometimes with some Munich malt. The dark color, and flavors of caramel, chocolate, and brown sugar, are produced more by dark candi sugar than by malt.

Candi sugar is used in most strong Belgian beers. It ferments out completely, adding alcohol strength without heaviness or sweetness. This is what makes strong golden ales from Belgium so crisp, and strong dark ales so dangerously easy to drink. Dark candi sugar produces no roasted or coffee notes, unlike black malts, so such flavors are usually absent in these beers.
It was at first unbelievable to me that beers as complex as those from Westvleteren could be made only with pale malt and dark candi sugar, as I was told by a monk on my first visit there, but it is true. It is those yeasts, working with the caramelized sugars, that create such magic.

Many Belgian darks also use spices, which go well with the yeast. Even the Rochefort Brewery adds a pinch of coriander to its Trappist beers. Drinking the beer, you barely notice, but it is there. A Belgian dark should not taste like a pumpkin spice beer, though—unless, that is, it is a Christmas or winter seasonal ale. These generally contain a lot more spice to create a festive flavor.

Of the Belgian dark ales available in Japan, you should try those from Trappist breweries: Chimay, Westmalle, Rochefort, Achel, and La Trappe (which incidentally is in the Netherlands). From there, also sample any dark beers from St. Bernardus, Gouden Carolus, Bush, De Dolle, and Struise. There are many other “abbey beers” available, but those listed above are some of the best. If you ever see a Westvleteren, be sure to try that, too.

Most Belgian dark ales taste better with some age. They get mellower, the alcohol hides, and vinous notes reminiscent of port or sherry tend to emerge, with raisin and dried fruit aromas becoming more intense as well. I find that three to five years usually works best. Beers that are much older may show signs of deterioration, depending on aging temperature. I recently drank a 2008 Westvleteren 8 that was impeccable, though.

If you decide to age Belgian darks, here is some advice: 1. Use bottle conditioned beers. 2. Go for stronger beers—at least 8%, but preferably more than 10%. 3. Age large-format bottles. 4. Age bottles shipped under refrigeration. Fresh strong beers often taste fine even when shipped in a container that isn’t temperature-controlled; with aged beers, however, I have found that beers not shipped cold tend to age less gracefully.
One important thing to look for in Belgians darks is bottle conditioning, or “re-fermentation in the bottle”. The better breweries add a bit of yeast and sugar to each bottle before it is capped, causing CO2 to be produced naturally by fermentation. This leads to a full head of foam, and a body that is softer and less gassy than with forced carbonation. Bottle conditioning also means the beer is still alive, with yeast working in it, and thus better for aging.

Unfortunately, these types of beers, especially the stronger ones, are not all that popular with Japanese brewers. Two of the better beers in this style that are available year round are Hida-Takayama Karumina, a massively complex 10% bruiser with distinctively spicy yeast and notes of raisins, chocolate cookies, nuts, oranges, and sherry; and Hitachino Nest XH, a more manageable beer at 8%, with spicy yeast, raisins, and sweet caramel cookies. Kobushi Hana Grand Cru and Umenishiki Aromatic Ale are lighter, amber colored beers. Kagua Rouge is made for Far Yeast in Belgium, and is heavily spiced with sansho. Yorocco and Daisen have made very nice dubbels recently, as has Talmary, whose Yuzu Dubbel was quite a surprise. For the most part, Japanese-made Belgian darks strive for originality more than authenticity, and thus can be fun to compare to the Belgians, from which they differ greatly.

So now you have your shopping list. Get two of each beer—one to drink now, one to age—try the Belgians, starting with the Trappists, then the Japanese versions, and then other interpretations of the style. Just one or two a night until summer and you can sample a great variety.

All Beer Styles articles are written by Mark Meli, author of Craft Beer in Japan.

This article was published in Japan Beer Times # () and is among the limited content available online. Order your copy through our online shop or download the digital version from the iTunes store to access the full contents of this issue.