When I look at the BJCP guidelines, a beer that I will bottle this weekend appears to fall into both the dubbel and Belgian dark strong categories based on both the narrative and the quantitative characteristics (e.g., F.G., O.G., IBUs). Are there any specific things that point to a beer being doing better in competition as a dubbel rather than Belgian dark strong or vice-versa?
BJCP stats for dubbel:
OG: 1.062 – 1.075
IBUs: 15 – 25 FG: 1.008 – 1.018
SRM: 10 – 17 ABV: 6 – 7.6%
BJCP stats for BDS:
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.075 – 1.110
IBUs: 20 – 35 FG: 1.010 – 1.024
SRM: 12 – 22 ABV: 8 – 11%
Not much overlap, IMO. What are your beer’s stats?
The biggest qualitative difference to me is the noticeable alcohol.
It’s all in the alcohol. Dubbels are around 6 or 7% alcohol. Strong darks are >8%. If you have a beer that’s about 7.5%, you can go either way. Base it on how smooth the alcohol flavor is. If it creeps up on you and puts your girlfriend under the table because it’s so smooth, it’s more of a dubbel. If it tastes like Belgian flavored vodka, it’s more of a strong dark ale. My very humble opinions.
I agree. My dubbel has an OG around 1.075, my DSDA is between 1.090 and 1.100. If I can taste an alcohol burn it’s a BSDA, if not it’s a dubbel.
Guess I focused on the narrative and didn’t notice that the %alcohol did not overlap. Definitely no alcohol flavor in my beer so I’m going to enter it as a dubbel. Thanks for the input.
Agree. IME, a dubbel at the high end of the range (or a little beyond–accidentally, of course ;)) will always score better than a BDS on the low end of the range in most homebrew competitions. Most judges aren’t experienced enough to look beyond the basic comparison within a flight. They usually go with the bigger, maltier, more flavorable beer that makes the others look thin, watery, and insipid by comparison.
Not saying it is right, but that has been my observation.
Yum!