What is a strong beer?

When we delve into the world of beer, one of the first things we discover is that there’s life beyond 5.5% ABV. Without completely abandoning refreshing industrial lagers, we look for strong beers. We want to broaden our sensory threshold. And this raises a question that the more seasoned among us will have pondered more than once… What is a strong beer? What does that adjective really say about our favorite drink?

At first glance, it might refer to alcohol. In that case, one of the first strong beers could be Voll-Damm with its 7.2%—quite a punch for the average lager drinker! The next step up in strong beers almost always comes from abroad, with the typical Duvel, Judas, etc., icons of Irish-style pubs. These Belgian beers sweep us away with no less than 8.5% alcohol, and they “go down” without warning you of their strength. Following the alcohol path, we could continue with the “imperial” prefix… all the way to the mother of alcoholic beers: Snake Venom from Scottish brewery Brewmeister Beer, at 67.5% alcohol. But is this really beer? Strictly speaking, the base beer is freeze-distilled to remove water and obtain a kind of concentrated whisky… so it’s not entirely clear.

Some people also think that dark beer is stronger. However, the color of the beer only indicates how roasted the grain used to make it is. A good example is classic Guinness, which doesn’t stand out for its alcohol content (4.2%) or for an excessively intense flavor, since it’s designed to be drunk in volume.

So maybe a strong beer is a very bitter beer… Beer enthusiasts know that hops give beer its characteristic bitterness, which is measured in IBUs. More IBUs, more bitterness? Is a beer with 200 IBUs more bitter than one with 150? Not exactly. Let’s break it down. A beer’s bitterness is relative, as it depends on its balance with the residual sugars that give a perception of sweetness. In addition, humans can only distinguish up to about 100 IBUs. Beyond that, whether it’s 200 or 300 makes no difference because it exceeds our perception range.

Will it be the most aromatic? There are IPA-style beers that, when you open them, flood the whole room with fruity sensations, but this Pantene effect fades as the beer matures... Or saisons, farmhouse beers from Belgium whose yeasts produce “barnyard” aromas, as experts describe the style. However, aroma intensity disappears after a few minutes, as the body gets used to and ignores persistent smells. It’s an evolutionary adaptation.

Maybe a strong beer refers to a sour “Lambic” or a coffee-laden “Imperial Russian Stout”. However, the beer world still doesn’t have a definition of strong beer per se. Yes, there are styles like strong ales, but that only refers to the alcohol content of the beer. Pity the bartender or shop assistant who gets asked for “a strong beer”!