Friday is the “Day of the Dubbels,” when bloggers from here and there will be drinking the Belgian-inspired beers and writing about what they taste (or whatever they want, really).

I’ll be participating in The Session II at Appellation Beer rather than here because next month we’ll likely be tasting something non-Belgian in nature.

In preparing for Friday, host Alan McLeod writes: “Some days I find myself all a flutter as to what is a dubbel and what isn’t.”

Don’t we all? As I wrote in BLAM:

Because they are dark and strong but not too strong, dubbels drink most like Trappist ales of the past, and to many they represent the “abbey” style. Dubbels introduced many drinkers to Belgian beer, in part because of Chimay Red and in part because so many brewpubs occasionally brew a dubbel.

The easiest way to define a dubbel is to point to a particular beer as a good example. But even that isn’t clear cut. In Brew Like a Monk I list Ommegang Abbey Ale s an example of the style. After all, the beer has medaled that category in the World Beer Cup. But it’s also 8.5% abv, too strong for the “style.”

Gordon Strong, who wrote the BJCP guidelines for dubbels (and many other styles), commented on the fine line between dubbels and dark strongs (which include beers such as Rochefort 8 or 10 and Allagash Four) and explains that much of the distinction is a matter of intensity:

“The main differences are apparently rooted in the alcohol strength,” he said. “Dark strongs are a broader style with a greater range of commercial interpretations, but they all have a complex balance of interesting flavors and aromas with a malty flavor and a darker-than-pale color. Dark strongs have a greater alcohol component, but have more malt and yeast character to match. The balance remains similar, but the intensity of perceptual characteristics is proportionally greater in Belgian dark strongs.”

After The Session you’ll find a recap at A Good Beer Blog. Feel free to participate if you have a blog (or a website). Just send Alan a link after you post on Friday.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 3rd, 2007 at 1:49 pm and is filed under Tasting-rating. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.