An Overview of Lambic: Difference between revisions

Pajottenland (sometimes ''Payottenland'' in English) is an extremely fertile agricultural region in Belgium that is situated in a valley between the rivers Senne and Dendre to the south-west of Brussels. The Pajottenland is the principal area for lambic production in the country.  Only the western section of Neerpede, a small part of Brussels, is considered to be part of the Pajottenland region.  Other cities located in this area, many of which are closely associated with lambic breweries, blenders, and cafés are Affligem, Asse, Bever, Dilbeek, Gammerages, Gooik, Herne, Leeuw-Saint-Pierre, Lennik, Liedekerke, Pepingen, Roosdaal, and Ternat. The area gets its name from the Walloon word for a soldier from the region, a Payot.

The main ingredients of lambic consist of pale two-row malt (approximately 2/3 of the bill), unmalted wheat (approximately 1/3 of the bill), aged hops, water, and the local native microbes which drive the spontaneous fermentation. Lambic wort is produced through a time- and labor-intensive mashing process called turbid mashing. Turbid mashing involves the preservation of unconverted starchy and protein-rich wort which provides food and nutrients to the diverse microbes present throughout the long lambic fermentation. Lambic wort is boiled much longer than typical in conventional brewing and is hopped with aged hops. When the wort is ready, it is transferred into the [[koelschip]] (or coolship) to cool and become inoculated for a ~12 hour period and then transferred to the oak barrels where it will continue to develop until it is either blended into [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|gueuze]] or used in a variety of other [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|lambic styles]]. There have been notable changes in the brewing process since the 19th century including the ratio of malt to wheat, mash temperatures, and controls on the exposure of the wort before being transferred to barrels.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref> Today, the traditional process has been mostly standardized among the traditional brewers<ref name="HopDuvelMenu">Lambic Digest, June 8, 1994, http://192.185.42.233/lambic_digest/1994/366.txt</ref>, though differences remain among modern lambic brewers.

After the wort is left in the [[koelschip]] to pick up the wild yeast, it is then transferred to oak barrels to begin aging. Though much of the lambic brewed goes to the production of gueuze, some is held back to age and can be released in various stages.<ref name="Guinard" /> Pure lambic can take on different names at its various ages including ''jonge lambiek/jeune lambic'' (young lambic) and ''oude lambiek/vieux lambic'' (old lambic). The younger lambic is generally less than one year old and rarely seen outside of special cask and draught tappings. Older lambic is generally considered to be older than one year old and can be found both in bottles and on draught/cask.

''Main Article: [[Kriek]]''<br>

 

Kriek (cherry), framboise (raspberry), and druiven (grapes) are all commonly used among lambic producers.  Other fruits include peaches, black currants, apricots, apples, and a wide variety of more exotic fruits such as [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon]]'s use of bilberries in their [[Cantillon_Blåbær_Lambik|Blåbær Lambik]] and [[Neill_and_Ross|Neill and Ross's]] use of blackberries in [[Neill_and_Ross|Shot in the Dark]].

Historically, faro is a lower-alcohol, sweetened beer made with a blend of lambic and another freshly brewed beer (sometimes called a mars beer) in varying amounts.<ref name="Guinard" /> Faros are also known to have candy sugar, brown sugar, or cane molasses added to enhance the flavor.  According to Guinard, faro "was a blend of equal amounts of lambic and mars... and was a sweet, light table beer that had to be brewed and sold before the heat of summer to avoid fermentation accidents and spoilage." Non-lambic beers that were blended in to create the faro were only brewed until the month of March, from which these beers derived their name.  The custom of blending in mars beers into contemporary faro has subsided and they are now a blended version of young lambic sweetened with dark candy sugar and caramel coming in around 4.5% ABV.<ref name="Guinard" /> Recent commercial examples include [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]]'s [[3_Fonteinen_Straffe_Winter|Straffe Winter]] and [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij|De Cam]]'s [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij_Oude_Faro_De_Cam|Oude Faro De Cam]].

 

 

 

 

Duivels Bier (also written Duivelsbier) is a historic beer from Halle (French: Hal) in the lambic family. Depending on the time period and producer, the production methods and characteristics of historic Duivels Bier would have varied. Around 1900 Duivels Bier was a spontaneously fermented beer with close similarities to lambic in both the characteristics of the final beer and in production methods. More recently Duivels Bier was a blend of lambic and top fermentation beer. Modern Duivels Bier is a top fermentation beer without lambic.

Lambic, like wine, is most commonly stored on its side. This orientation expands the surface area of the beer that is in contact with the oxygen in the bottle. It also places the beer in contact with the cork. While the cork will remain moist even if the bottle is upright because of the 100% humidity in the bottle, storing the bottle sideways may lead to more ullage of a beer by keeping the cork in contact with liquid rather than air.  Also, if the cork breaks down with age, direct contact between the beer and cork can lead to Trichloroanisole (TCA) "corked" flavors in the beer. Brewers continue to experiment with corks and continue to invest in higher quality corks that should allow for better aging of lambic in the future.