diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 6a0cd63a9..1612f22fb 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ if (DAMASK_SOLVER STREQUAL "GRID")
 elseif (DAMASK_SOLVER STREQUAL "MESH")
     project (damask-mesh HOMEPAGE_URL https://damask.mpie.de LANGUAGES Fortran C)
 else ()
-    message (FATAL_ERROR "Build target (DAMASK_SOLVER) is not defined")
+    message (FATAL_ERROR "Invalid solver: DAMASK_SOLVER=${DAMASK_SOLVER}")
 endif ()
 add_definitions ("-D${DAMASK_SOLVER}")
 
@@ -35,6 +35,7 @@ add_definitions (-DDAMASKVERSION="${DAMASK_VERSION}")
 if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "")
     set (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE "RELEASE")
 endif ()
+string(TOUPPER "${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}" CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE)
 
 # Predefined sets for OPTIMIZATION/OPENMP based on BUILD_TYPE
 if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "DEBUG" OR CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "SYNTAXONLY")
@@ -44,9 +45,15 @@ if (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "DEBUG" OR CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "SYNTAXONLY")
 elseif (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "RELEASE")
     set (PARALLEL "ON")
     set (OPTI "DEFENSIVE")
+elseif (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "DEBUGRELEASE")
+    set (DEBUG_FLAGS "${DEBUG_FLAGS} -DDEBUG")
+    set (PARALLEL "ON")
+    set (OPTI "DEFENSIVE")
 elseif (CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE STREQUAL "PERFORMANCE")
     set (PARALLEL "ON")
     set (OPTI "AGGRESSIVE")
+else ()
+    message (FATAL_ERROR "Invalid build type: CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}")
 endif ()
 
 # $OPTIMIZATION takes precedence over $BUILD_TYPE defaults