OK, I'm ready to shift into Belgiums

I have 40 batches of really good ales under my belt. Love this hobby.

My friends and I have been exploring the wonders of belgium beers and I would like to start make some.

For my first 5 attempts at belgium beers, what recipes/styles would you recommend as the "natural progression". Relative to the 4-7.5% ales, what is the relative difficulty level of taking this next step?

I shouldn't think there are too many obstacles between you and successful brews of Belgian-style beers. In many cases, the differences aren't all that dramatic; often, simply changing the yeast will make the swing.

For example, you could take a Blonde Ale like this one and change the yeast to Wyeast Belgian Ardennes. Suddenly you've got a very different beer indeed! Further, you could take your tried-and-true Wee Heavy recipe and swap the clean Scotch Ale yeast for Trappist High Gravity - Hey! Now you've got a Dubbel!

That's my advice for your first few batches: Get a feel for the differences Belgian yeasts can make. For many Belgian-style beers, the only real difference is the yeast!

Bob