Lambic

Tasting Notes

Lambic is a type of wheat beer that has the unique distinction of using unmalted wheat and being spontaneously fermented. The lambic family of beers includes many different substyles, such as gueuze, faro, kriek, and framboise.

Ingredients

This is sour wheat beer made from the wild yeasts of the Senne Valley in Belgium. Although no one is sure of its origin, the most likely explanation is that the name derives from that of Lembeek, a small town southeast of Brussels. Lambic is golden yellow to light amber in color, light- to medium-bodied, almost flat, pungently sour, and has earthy (horsy and mousy) aromas and fruity notes. Some acetic character is acceptable, but excessive amounts are undesirable. The hop bitterness can be undetectable to very low. Lambic begins with a single basic wort.

Lambic is sold either when it is young (called "vos" or "foxy" Lambic) or old ("vieux" Lambic). Vos lambics are highly variable products; they are frequently sold straight from the cask in specialized places in Brussels and continue to change from day to day with age. The vos lambic is less than one year old and is usually a hazy, very dry, rusty color, with very little carbonation. It can be quite sharp and lactic. Some brewers no longer sell lambic in this form because there is little or no demand for the product. The vieux lambic is two to three years old and becomes clearer and has very interesting flavors from an earthiness to a wide range of esters. Basically, color is light gold to amber. As long as the beer is in the cask, it is called "lambic." Much of the lambic is not sold "straight," but in a variety of blended forms such as gueuze, framboise, and kriek.

One of the basic requirements of lambic is that at least 30 to 40% of the grain bill be unmalted wheat - usually a soft, white variety. The malt used is usually a mixture of two- and six-row barley. Crystal and specialty malts are not used, but some brewers add proportions of corn, rice, or even rye.

Traditionally, aged hops (from 1 to 3 years) were used to brew lambic in order to reduce the flavor and aroma of hops, as well as the bitterness. Assertive hops flavors do not combine well with the tartness of wheat beers or the intentionally sour notes of lambic beers. Modern lambic brewers use mostly British rather than Belgian hops. Preferred hop varieties are East Kent Goldings, Fuggle, Brewers Gold, Northern Brewer, and Hallertauer.

Brewing Techniques

The boil for lambics can last between 5 and 6 hours because of the thinness of the wort. The hopping rate can be up to 6 times higher than that of conventional beers. After boiling, the wort is run into a coolship.

The coolship is usually situated in a well-ventilated room, to encourage inoculation by wild yeasts. No yeast is added to the wort. Today, the lambic brewing season is typically from the 15th of October to the 15th of May because of the higher concentrations of microorganisms during that period.

After a night in the coolship, the wort is run off the trub and into wooden barrels, which are stored in non-air-conditioned rooms. Old barrels are strongly favored over new ones, and some brewers prefer barrels that have previously been used for port, cherry, and claret.

Some of the microorganisms in the Senne valley that are involved in fermenting lambic beers are enteric bacteria, Kloeckera apiculata, Saccharomyces yeast, pediococci bacteria, and Brettanomyces yeast. Enteric bacteria are the dominant microorganisms involved in the initial stages of fermentation, contributing flavors variously described as celery-like, parsnip-like, mushroom-like, smoky, or moldy.

The information on this page was provided by beer-brewing.com (http://www.beer-brewing.com).