A catch-all for high-strength ales and lagers — roughly 8% ABV and above — brewed beyond the strength of any defined style, while still aiming for balance rather than extremity for its own sake. Color, bitterness, and base character vary widely.
Origin
Brewers have long pushed beers to greater strength, whether to mark an occasion or to test what their ingredients can do. This category exists for high-strength ales and lagers that exceed the bounds of their parent styles without belonging to a named strong style — strength as a defining trait in its own right.
Notes
Where a strong beer lands when it’s simply bigger than its parent style allows — an outsized lager, an amped-up ale — without being a barleywine, imperial stout, or another named strong style. These are not wood- or barrel-aged (those go elsewhere).
Defining examples
(varies — high-strength beers outside a defined strong style)