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Lambic

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Traditional wooden Lambic barrels; the L on the barrel indicates the brewery.
Industrial barrels of Lambic

Lambic is a very distinctive type of beer brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium (southwest of Brussels) and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery and museum .

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 said to be 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.

History

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.[citation needed] Since then, the style has diversified to a wide range of styles, strengths, and social classes.

Brewing

Aged dried hops
Coolship, where the wort is inoculated with wild yeast spores via the open slats in the wall

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. While 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.[1]

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 inoculation and long fermentation time of Lambic beers increases the risk of spoilage, Lambic brewers still use large amounts of hops for their antibacterial properties. 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 "velo de flor" of yeast that gives some protection from oxidation, 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 have seen an explosion of interest around the world for this unusual beverage. While 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 featured as an ingredient in Belgian cuisine.

Types of Lambic

Most, if not all varieties listed below have Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) Status.

Lambic (pure)

Unblended lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beverage available on tap in only a few locations. Generally three years old. A bottled offering from Cantillon named Grand Cru Bruocsella can be found outside of Belgium.

Gueuze

Main article: Gueuze

A mixture of young (one-year) and old (two and three-year) lambics which has been bottled. It undergoes secondary fermentation, 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 top-fermenting style, Gose, is not to be confused with gueuze.

Mars

Mars traditionally referred to a weaker beer made from the second runnings of a lambic brewing. It is no longer commercially produced. In the 1990s, the Boon brewery made a modern Mars beer called Lembeek's 2% (the 2% referring to the alcohol content), but its production has since been discontinued.

Faro

Historically, a low-alcohol, sweetened beer made from a blend of lambic and a much lighter, freshly brewed beer (called meertsbier, not necessarily a lambic) to which brown sugar (or sometimes caramel or molasses) was added [2]. Sometimes herbs were added as well. The use of the lighter beer (or even water) and of substandard lambic in the blend made this a cheap, light, sweet beer for everyday use. The 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire commented on Faro's (to him) disagreeable aftertaste, "It's beer that you drink twice", believing that the Faro in Brussels was brewed from the waters of a river (the Senne or Zenne) that was also used as a sewer.[3]

The sugar was originally added shortly before serving, and therefore did not add carbonation or alcohol to the beverage (because the sugar did not have the time to ferment). Modern faro beer is still characterized by the use of brown sugar and lambic, but is not necessarily a light beer. The use of meertsbier has disappeared, and modern faro is not viewed as cheap or light. Modern faro is bottled, sweetened and pasteurized to prevent refermentation in the bottle. Examples are produced by Cantillon, Boon, Lindemans or Mort Subite.

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 (pomme), banana, pineapple, apricot, plum, cloudberry, lemon, and blueberry. 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 brown ale (Oud Bruin), rather than a lambic as a base. Many of the non-traditional fruit beers derived from lambic that were commercialized in the last decades are considered to be low quality products by many beer enthusiasts[4]. These products are typically artificially sweetened and based on syrups instead of fresh fruit, resulting in a taste experience that is quite remote from the traditional products.

Etymology

The name "Lambic" entered English via French, but comes from the Dutch language. Lambic is probably derived from the name "Lembeek", referring to the municipality of Lembeek near Halle, close to Brussels[5].

Belgian lambic breweries

Some beers made from lambic

Belgian lambic blenders

Books about Lambic

  • H. Verachtert, Lambic and gueuze brewing: mixed cultures in action, Foundation Biotechnical and Industrial Fermentation research, Vol. 7 Finland pp. 243-263.
  • Jean-Xavier Guinard, Classic Beerstyle Series nr. 3, Lambic, Brewers Publications, a division of the Association of Brewers (1990).
  • Dirk Van Oevelen, Microbiology and biochemistry of the natural wort fermentation in the production of Lambic and gueuze, PhD Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (1979)
  • Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, and Joris Pattyn. LambicLand/LambikLand. ISBN 0-9547789-0-1

See also

  • HORAL, an organization that promotes lambic and geuze
  • BJCP Beer Judge Certification Program

References

  1. ^ http://www.lindemans.be/start/lambik/en
  2. ^ Michael Jackson's beer companion, 1993
  3. ^ The Flowers of Evil p. 382, Charles Baudelaire, James McGowan, Oxford University Press, 1993, ISBN 0192835459
  4. ^ Jackson, Michael (1991). Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium
  5. ^ Jackson, Michael (1991). Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium
  6. ^ "Comic creator: Willy Vandersteen". lambiek.net. Retrieved 2009-01-10.

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