Dark beers

A beer counts as dark when its colour runs from brown to black, thanks to roasted or caramel malts in the grist. The main dark styles are stout, porter and brown ale, Germany's dunkel and schwarzbier, and Belgium's dubbel and strong dark ales. Colour tells you nothing about the yeast, though: in the wider world of beer, a dark beer can be a top-fermented ale or a bottom-fermented lager.

There is no official top ten, so it makes more sense to think in styles than in rankings. The most admired dark styles are Irish stout, English porter, Baltic porter, Munich dunkel and the dark Trappist beers of Belgium. Belgian strong dark ale, often called a quadrupel, shows why they are so well loved: full-bodied and smooth, with notes of caramel, dried fruit and spice.

There isn't just one. In English you will also come across “dark ale” and “dark lager”, but more often a dark beer simply goes by its style: stout, porter or brown ale. Other languages have their own words. German speakers say Dunkel or Dunkles, and Schwarzbier for the black lager; in Bavaria, Dunkles is also a style in its own right, the smooth, malty dark lager of Munich. In French, a dark beer is a “brune”.

Dark isn't a brand but a colour, and a whole family of styles: almost every brewery makes one. Rather than a particular label, it is worth knowing the traditions behind the best-known dark beers: Irish stout, English porter, Bavarian dunkel, and the abbey and Trappist beers of Belgium. Genuine Trappist beers are brewed inside an abbey under the monks' supervision and carry the “Authentic Trappist Product” mark.