Belgian golden strong ale is a textbook example of how a beer’s bite might be stronger than its bark, and vice-versa. Beer geeks love this particular exercise: Place a glass of Duvel next to a Guinness Stout, and ask an uninitiated beer drinker to tell you which one delivers more alcohol and/or flavor. He or she will usually get it wrong, and afterward you have two wonderful, flavorful beers to drink. Lessons learned: good beer comes in a variety of colors and flavors, and you can’t judge a beer’s  intensity by the clothes that it wears.  While they look different, both of these beers are light in body and full of flavor but there the similarities end.  In most American draft versions, the Guinness serves up a roasted flavor and a slightly sour finish, with a very modest 5% alcohol.  The benign looking Duvel, on the other hand, is filled with fruity, spicy and alcoholic flavors, and packs an ABV of 8.5%.

When the great beer author Michael Jackson was still enlightening the world about the wonders of beer, Duvel was clearly the most recognized example of this style, and it may still be. The Beer Judge Certification Program puts Duvel at the top of its list of examples. Beer historians will correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe it is commonly held that Moortgat Brewery gave birth to the style (similar but distinct to Belgian triple) when, in the early part of the 20th century,  it reformulated a Scotch ale to compete with lagers. The resulting beer was named Duvel, in reference to its devilishly high alcohol content.  Jackson, in his 1998 book Ultimate Beer, described strong golden ales as great aperitif beers:

“The flowery character of those ales arises from hop varieties normally used in lagers — and from aromas created during the fermentation of such strong brews.  Their distinctive character shines through because, despite their strength, these beers are lean in body: pale malts and highly fermentable sugars are used, and there is a maturation period in the bottle.”

Brewers of strong goldens sometimes use Styrian Goldings, (a distinctive British ale hop) in combination with noble lager hops.  High fermentation temperatures help bring about citrus, pear and green apple flavors and aromas and flavor notes. In the best examples these are balanced with spicy hop flavors and bitterness. Goldens should be warming, but not hot, and there should be no solvent like alcohol notes (only the fruity ones) or astringency. They should greet the drinker with a huge fluffy white head, and a zesty carbonation, and leave behind a glass of Belgian lace.

Other good examples of the style include Hapkin, from the old country, Pranqster from North Coast Brewery in California, and Avery’s Salvation, from Colorado.  

As Jackson pointed out, these beers are great all by themselves, but Cheese and Cheers is simply going to have to pair them with cheese. I will wager that strong goldens will resonate with something sweet, but that we may have to opt for saltier cheeses for contrast. I’ll shoot for aged goat- and sheeps-milk cheeses, or the caramel-salt of a nice American Gouda.  Alpine styles from the Alps or those from the new world ought to work, and a golden might also go with some blue cheeses, or even a washed rind.  Stay tuned and we’ll give it a whirl.