Lambic
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Traditional wooden Lambic barrels; the L on the barrel indicates the brewery. |
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Industrial barrels of Lambic |
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Aged dried hops |
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Coolship, where the wort can be infected with wild yeasts |
Lambic is a very distinctive style of
beer brewed only in the
Payottenland region of
Belgium (southwest of
Brussels). Similar beers produced outside of this area are usually known as "Lambic-style" or "Plambic" (short for "pseudo-lambic"), although this is purely a voluntary distinction made out of respect to the original.
Unlike conventional
ales and
lagers, which are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's
yeasts, Lambic beer is instead produced by
spontaneous fermentation: it is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are native to the
Senne valley, in which Brussels lies. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, with a slightly sour aftertaste.
The origins of Lambic beer lie in the working classes of the region some 500 years ago who appreciated a weak, quenching drink that could be produced cheaply and easily on the farm. Since then, of course, the style has diversified to a wide range of styles, strengths, and social classes.
Today the beer is generally brewed from a
grist containing approximately 70%
barley malt and 30% unmalted
wheat. When the
wort has cooled, it is left exposed to the open air so that fermentation may occur spontaneously. Whilst this exposure is a critical feature of the style, many of the key yeasts and bacteria are now understood to reside within the brewery and its (usually timber) fermenting vessels in numbers far greater than any delivered by the breeze. Up to 86 microorganisms have been identified in Lambic beer, the most significant ones being
Brettanomyces bruxellensis and
Brettanomyces lambicus. The process is generally only possible between October and May as in the summer months there are too many unfavourable organisms in the air that could spoil the beer.
Since at least the 11th century and probably earlier,
hops have been used in beer for their natural
preservative qualities as well as for the pleasant bitterness, flavour, and aroma they impart. Today they still provide bitterness, flavor, and aroma in almost all beer styles except Lambic. Since the method of innoculation and long fermentation time of Lambic beers increases the risk of
spoilage, Lambic brewers still use large amounts of hops for their antibacterial properties. In order to avoid making the beer extremely bitter, however, aged, dry hops (which have lost much of their bitterness) are used. Consequently, Lambics often have a strong, cheese-like, "old hop" aroma, in contrast to the resiny, herbal, earthy hop bitterness found in other styles.
After the fermentation process starts, the lambic is siphoned into old oak or chestnut barrels from the
Porto region of Portugal or the
Jerez region of Spain. Some of the brewers prefer used wine barrels. The lambic is left to ferment and mature for one to two or even three years. It forms a
flor of yeast that gives some protection from oxidisation, in a similar way to
vin jaune and
sherry; the barrels are not topped up.
Another important feature of Lambic is that it is usually a blend of at least two different beers; many 'producers' are in fact blenders who buy beers from other brewers, and blend two or more together to create the desired result. A good
gueuze, for example, may have occupied space in several different cellars over 6 years or more. Despite this complex production, the locals are justifiably proud of their unique beer, and recent years has seen an explosion of interest around the world for the unusual drop. Whilst those outside of the area are most likely to find the bottled gueuze and fruit versions, there are a wide variety of styles available to the local drinker, and they are often blended again or sweetened with
sugar or flavoured
syrups before drinking, as some examples can be extremely tart.
Lambic beer is widely consumed in Brussels and environs, and frequently features as an ingredient in
Belgian cuisine.
Lambic (pure): Unblended lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, slightly sour beverage available on tap in only a few locations. One year old.
Gueuze lambic :A mixture of young (one-year) and old (two and three-year) lambics which has been bottled. It undergoes secondary fermentation (the so-called
méthode champenoise), producing carbon dioxide, because the young lambics are not yet fully fermented. It keeps in the bottle; a good gueuze will be given a year to referment in the bottle, but can be kept for 10-20 years. An obscure German ale style,
Gose, is not to be confused with gueuze.
Faro:A low-alcohol, slightly sweet
table beer made from lambic to which "candi" sugar (crystalised and in some cases caramelised cane or beet sugar) has been added. It is an unblended three-year-old lambic and is usually sold on
draught, not bottled.
Fruit:Lambic with the addition of
sour cherry (
kriek),
raspberry (
framboise),
peach (pêche),
blackcurrant (cassis),
grape (druif), or
strawberry (aardbei), as either whole fruit or syrup. Other, rarer fruit lambic flavorings include
apple,
banana,
pineapple,
apricot,
plum, and
lemon. Fruit lambics are usually bottled with secondary fermentation. Although fruit lambics are among the most famous Belgian fruit beers, the use of names such as kriek, framboise or frambozen, cassis, etc. does not necessarily imply that the beer is made from lambic. The fruit beers produced by the Liefmans brewery, for example, actually use a sour brown ale rather than a lambic as a base.
This is a theory regarding the origins of the names gueuze and lambic as put forth by Hubert van Herreweghen (Flemish-Belgian author and gueuze connoisseur), translated by Horst Dornbusch:
"It was also during the Spanish occupation of Brabant that the two Belgian signature brews of gueuze and lambic got their names. According to this tale, the well-provisioned Spanish soldiers used to march into battle with partitioned leather flask dangling from their belts. One half of such a flask was filled with water, the other, with wine. Because of its dual function, the flask was called el ambiguo (Spanish for "double meaning"). The poor local gueux, on the other hand, (gueux is French for "beggars" or "good-for-nothings"), who opposed the worldly Spaniards, merely carried a flask of indigenous sour beer on their marches. The Spanish apparently derided the unpartitioned and thus obviously inferior drinking vessel of the bedraggled locals as a ... gueuze el ambiguo or a gueuze-lambic."
* Lambik is also the name of a famous
Belgian comic strip character in the
comic strip Suske en Wiske (
Spike & Suzy) by
Willy Vandersteen. Vandersteen liked Lambic beer so much he named the character after it.
*
Belle Vue owned by
InBev (Sweetened - except Sélection Lambic)
*
Boon (Traditional)
*
Brasserie Cantillon (Traditional)
*
De Keersmaeker owned by
Scottish & Newcastle, better known by its brand name
Mort Subite (Sweetened - except Gueuze Fond)
*
De Troch who also produce the
Chapeau lambics (Sweetened)
*
Drie Fonteinen (Traditional)
*
Girardin (Traditional)
*
Lindemans (Sweetened - except Cuvé Renée)
*
Oud Beersel (recently reopened), now brewed by
Frank Boon (Traditional)
*
Timmermans (Sweetened - except "Traditional" line)
*
De Cam a new gueuze blender (Traditional)
*
Hanssens (Traditional)
*
Van Honsebrouck who produce the
St. Louis beers (Sweetened - except Gueuze Fond Tradition)
*Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, and Joris Pattyn.
LambicLand/LambikLand. ISBN 0954778901
*
Horst Dornbusch, "Belgium: A Brew Melting Pot"*
Peter Van Osta Lambic and Geuze Page*
Oud Beersel Brewery*
Lindemans*
Cantillon
