This week’s featured beer is the current winter seasonal from Birmingham’s own Good People Brewing Company, their Belgian Strong Dark (BSD). Before I dig into the specifics of the beer, it occurs to me that I should say a word about country names used in beer styles.

When an Alabama brewery releases something called a Belgian Strong Dark, that does not mean they traveled to Belgium to brew a dark beer.  It means the style has its origin in Belgium—just as Bavarian hefeweizen has its origin in Germany, and Russian imperial stout has its origin in… uh, England.  That last one is named for the destination country, rather than country of origin.

In spite of the country names involved, all of these beers have defining traits that are not limited to the nationalities of the brewers who first produced them. so a large number of American craft breweries feature BSDs in their portfolios.

The single most fundamental defining trait of Belgian beers is the yeast used. American ale yeasts tend to be very “clean,” producing some mild fruity esters but little in the way of spiciness. In contrast, Belgian ale yeasts often yield incredible spicy flavor profiles from phenols produced during fermentation.

Without further ado, some specs on Good People’s BSD: 10.25 percent ABV, French pilsner as the base malt, eight specialty malts and Tettnang hops. They do not disclose recipe specifics, but I would be shocked if some of the most popular dark Belgian malts are not in play here, such as Special B and perhaps Belgian aromatic malt. Special B in particular is credited for some of the caramel and raisin flavors that are typical of BSDs.

Good People brewer Jason Malone says he loves BSDs and brewed this one exactly to style, something he normally doesn’t concern himself with when brewing. I think he hit it right on. It’s moderately sweet with lots of spiciness and dark fruit, such as plum, raisin and grape. It reminded me of a fine red wine, only much better. It has plenty of alcohol but it doesn’t taste hot as you drink it. In fact, it’s remarkably easy to drink for having more than 10 percent ABV.

Jason says he’s wanted to brew this style ever since our state’s ABV restriction was lifted last year, but he’s just now found the time to squeeze it in. This one has very limited availability so get it while you can, until next year. Only places with exceptional draft selections will have it on tap, as well as some of the draft-to-go places where you can get a half gallon to take home. For those who don’t know already, Dee’s Package, Vulcan Beverage, Highland Package and The Bottle Stoppe all sell draft beer to-go (though I’m not sure which of those stores will stock this particular beer).

“Hopped Up” is a weekly brew review by Danner Kline, founder of Free the Hops and co-organizer of the annual Magic City Brewfest. Send your feedback to danner@freethehops.org.