Comparing Old, Young, and Unblended Lambic: Difference between revisions

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==Clarifying the Language==

The terms ''jonge'' and ''oude'' in Dutch and ''jeune'' and ''vieux'' in French directly translate to ‘young’ and ‘old’. When discussing the various styles of lambic in general, we found that many native speakers of the language use either the general term ''lambiek'' (Dutch) or ''lambic'' (French) in their everyday parlance. When asked to clarify their definition of lambic, speakers of the two prominent languages in where the beer is produced always add the young/old adjective to clarify the age. Asking a native Dutch or French speaker to describe what a g(u)euze is will always yield the answer that it is a blend (''mengeling'', Dutch; ''mélange/assemblage'', French) of young and old lambics.

The terms ''jonge'' and ''oude'' in Dutch and ''jeune'' and ''vieux'' in French directly translate to ‘young’ and ‘old’. When discussing the various styles of lambic in general, we found that many native speakers of the language use either the general term ''lambiek'' (Dutch) or ''lambic'' (French) in their everyday parlance. When asked to clarify their definition of lambic, speakers of the two prominent languages where the beer is produced always add the young/old adjective to clarify the age. Asking a native Dutch or French speaker to describe what a g(u)euze is will always yield the answer that it is a blend (''mengeling'', Dutch; ''mélange/assemblage'', French) of young and old lambics.

This brings into question the ubiquitous English-language designation of ''unblended lambic''. Historically, authors have generally used the English term to distinguish this type of lambic from its blended form g(u)euze and to a lesser extent from its fruited form. Papazian (1991), Jackson (1991, 1999), and De Keersmaecker (1996) all have used the term ''unblended lambic'' in English to describe a lambic beer which has not been blended into a g(u)euze or used to create a fruited lambic.<ref name=Papazian> Charlie Papazian – The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (2nd Ed.), 1991 </ref><Ref name=MichaleJackson1>Michael Jackson – Great Beers of Belgium (1st Ed.), 1991 </ref><ref name= MichaelJackson2>Michael Jackson, [http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000214.html Understanding the Beer Styles, The Lambic Family of Beers], 1999</ref><ref name=DeKeersmaecker> Jacques De Keersmaecker - The Mystery of Lambic Beer, 1996</ref>

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Age plays an important role when discussing lambics that have not yet been blended into a g(u)euze. There is no set rule as to when a ''jonge lambiek'' becomes an ''oude lambiek''. That decision is at the brewer’s or blender’s discretion and depends on a number of factors determined by them while working with the beer. We know that g(u)euze is described as a blend of young and old lambic, and that native language words for old and young are used to describe lambic in general terms. Asking a brewer or blender to describe their lambic in Dutch would not yield words like ''ongemengd'', ''niet gemengd'', or ''ongemixt'', all the general equivalent to the English word ''unblended'', and are rarely, if ever used in general discussions. Likewise, the same logic applies in French.

There are two likely causes for the ''unblended'' term becoming prominent in English lambic discussions. First, though many native Dutch and French speakers will describe lambic as young and old if pushed, the most common word for discussion is still just ''lambiek/lambic''. Lambic is the base beer, g(u)euze is the blended beer. This would have presumably ~~lead~~ to many of the earlier English language publications discussing lambic in terms of ''blended'' and ''unblended''. That discussion, coupled with the fact that lambic beers in general were still a very obscure style to many outside of Belgium during the publication of many of the often cited beer bibles, leads one to reassess the use of the term in light of the resurgence and popularity in lambic. However, there is at least one English language publication (Guinard, 1992) that does not use the term unblended lambic and refers to the beers with generic age descriptors.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard - [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref>

There are two likely causes for the ''unblended'' term becoming prominent in English lambic discussions. First, though many native Dutch and French speakers will describe lambic as young and old if pushed, the most common word for discussion is still just ''lambiek/lambic''. Lambic is the base beer, g(u)euze is the blended beer. This would have presumably led to many of the earlier English language publications discussing lambic in terms of ''blended'' and ''unblended''. That discussion, coupled with the fact that lambic beers in general were still a very obscure style to many outside of Belgium during the publication of many of the often cited beer bibles, leads one to reassess the use of the term in light of the resurgence and popularity in lambic. However, there is at least one English language publication (Guinard, 1992) that does not use the term unblended lambic and refers to the beers with generic age descriptors.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard - [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref>

==Does Unblended Lambic Exist?==

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Yes. The answer is that yes, ''unblended lambic'' does exist, but in our view it still falls under the category of old and young lambic. In much the same way that Dutch and French speakers discuss lambic as lambic first and age second, there had to be some sort of reconciliation of the terms on this site. To that end, we have forgone using the term ''unblended lambic'' and instead have decided to use native language appropriate terms for each of the breweries discussed on [https://lambic.info Lambic.Info]. We have broken up any beer that is not specifically a g(u)euze, faro, or fruited lambic into their appropriate categories. Beers that are commonly labeled as ''unblended'' in English like [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij|De Cam’s]] [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij_Oude_Lambiek_De_Cam |Oude Lambiek De Cam]], [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen’s]] bottled [[3_Fonteinen_Oude_Lambiek_(4_Year_Old)|4-year old Oude lambiek]], or [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon’s]] [[Cantillon_Grand_Cru_Bruocsella|Grand Cru Bruocsella]] are all various old lambics blended together and then bottled. This is a particularly important distinction when discussing bottlings of old lambic whose initial wort came from different breweries and/or brewdays but were blended together before bottling, thus contradicting the long-held definition of the style discussed above.

~~Unblened~~ lambic exists perpetually in lambic breweries or blenderies. Each oak barrel that is filled from a brewing session is in essence a completely unblended lambic; yet it still has an age and can be described as such. A truly unblended lambic outside of the barrel is rare in the lambic world. A single barrel expression of a lambic is unblended. It has not been blended with any other lambic of the same age,the same brew day, or even the same batch. As each barrel has its own characteristics to impart on the beer, so to do the lambics that come from those barrels. That is why we see discussions of barrels chosen specifically for their unique characteristics. If you are lucky enough to be drinking from a barrel then you are drinking unblended lambic, but it could be young or it could be old. Ask the brewer or blender what they think!

Unblended lambic exists perpetually in lambic breweries or blenderies. Each oak barrel that is filled from a brewing session is in essence a completely unblended lambic; yet it still has an age and can be described as such. A truly unblended lambic outside of the barrel is rare in the lambic world. A single barrel expression of a lambic is unblended. It has not been blended with any other lambic of the same age, the same brew day, or even the same batch. As each barrel has its own characteristics to impart on the beer, so too do the lambics that come from those barrels. That is why we see discussions of barrels chosen specifically for their unique characteristics. If you are lucky enough to be drinking from a barrel then there is a good chance that you are drinking unblended lambic, but it could be young or it could be old. Ask the brewer or blender what they think!

==Conclusion==

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 ==Clarifying the Language==
-The terms ''jonge'' and ''oude'' in Dutch and ''jeune'' and ''vieux'' in French directly translate to ‘young’ and ‘old’.  When discussing the various styles of lambic in general, we found that many native speakers of the language use either the general term ''lambiek'' (Dutch) or ''lambic'' (French) in their everyday parlance.  When asked to clarify their definition of lambic, speakers of the two prominent languages in where the beer is produced always add the young/old adjective to clarify the age.  Asking a native Dutch or French speaker to describe what a g(u)euze is will always yield the answer that it is a blend (''mengeling'', Dutch; ''mélange/assemblage'', French) of young and old lambics.
+The terms ''jonge'' and ''oude'' in Dutch and ''jeune'' and ''vieux'' in French directly translate to ‘young’ and ‘old’.  When discussing the various styles of lambic in general, we found that many native speakers of the language use either the general term ''lambiek'' (Dutch) or ''lambic'' (French) in their everyday parlance.  When asked to clarify their definition of lambic, speakers of the two prominent languages where the beer is produced always add the young/old adjective to clarify the age.  Asking a native Dutch or French speaker to describe what a g(u)euze is will always yield the answer that it is a blend (''mengeling'', Dutch; ''mélange/assemblage'', French) of young and old lambics.
 This brings into question the ubiquitous English-language designation of ''unblended lambic''.  Historically, authors have generally used the English term to distinguish this type of lambic from its blended form g(u)euze and to a lesser extent from its fruited form. Papazian (1991), Jackson (1991, 1999), and De Keersmaecker (1996) all have used the term ''unblended lambic'' in English to describe a lambic beer which has not been blended into a g(u)euze or used to create a fruited lambic.<ref name=Papazian> Charlie Papazian – The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (2nd Ed.), 1991 </ref><Ref name=MichaleJackson1>Michael Jackson – Great Beers of Belgium (1st Ed.), 1991 </ref><ref name= MichaelJackson2>Michael Jackson,  [http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000214.html Understanding  the Beer Styles, The Lambic Family of Beers], 1999</ref><ref name=DeKeersmaecker> Jacques De Keersmaecker - The Mystery of Lambic Beer, 1996</ref>
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 Age plays an important role when discussing lambics that have not yet been blended into a g(u)euze.  There is no set rule as to when a ''jonge lambiek'' becomes an ''oude lambiek''. That decision is at the brewer’s or blender’s discretion and depends on a number of factors determined by them while working with the beer.  We know that g(u)euze is described as a blend of young and old lambic, and that native language words for old and young are used to describe lambic in general terms.  Asking a brewer or blender to describe their lambic in Dutch would not yield words like ''ongemengd'', ''niet gemengd'', or ''ongemixt'', all the general equivalent to the English word ''unblended'', and are rarely, if ever used in general discussions.  Likewise, the same logic applies in French.
-There are two likely causes for the ''unblended'' term becoming prominent in English lambic discussions.  First, though many native Dutch and French speakers will describe lambic as young and old if pushed, the most common word for discussion is still just ''lambiek/lambic''.  Lambic is the base beer, g(u)euze is the blended beer.  This would have presumably lead to many of the earlier English language publications discussing lambic in terms of ''blended'' and ''unblended''.  That discussion, coupled with the fact that lambic beers in general were still a very obscure style to many outside of Belgium during the publication of many of the often cited beer bibles, leads one to reassess the use of the term in light of the resurgence and popularity in lambic.  However, there is at least one English language publication (Guinard, 1992) that does not use the term unblended lambic and refers to the beers with generic age descriptors.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard - [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref>
+There are two likely causes for the ''unblended'' term becoming prominent in English lambic discussions.  First, though many native Dutch and French speakers will describe lambic as young and old if pushed, the most common word for discussion is still just ''lambiek/lambic''.  Lambic is the base beer, g(u)euze is the blended beer.  This would have presumably led to many of the earlier English language publications discussing lambic in terms of ''blended'' and ''unblended''.  That discussion, coupled with the fact that lambic beers in general were still a very obscure style to many outside of Belgium during the publication of many of the often cited beer bibles, leads one to reassess the use of the term in light of the resurgence and popularity in lambic.  However, there is at least one English language publication (Guinard, 1992) that does not use the term unblended lambic and refers to the beers with generic age descriptors.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard - [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref>
 ==Does Unblended Lambic Exist?==
@@ Line 23: / Line 23: @@
 Yes.  The answer is that yes, ''unblended lambic'' does exist, but in our view it still falls under the category of old and young lambic.  In much the same way that Dutch and French speakers discuss lambic as lambic first and age second, there had to be some sort of reconciliation of the terms on this site.  To that end, we have forgone using the term ''unblended lambic'' and instead have decided to use native language appropriate terms for each of the breweries discussed on [https://lambic.info Lambic.Info].  We have broken up any beer that is not specifically a g(u)euze, faro, or fruited lambic into their appropriate categories.  Beers that are commonly labeled as ''unblended'' in English like [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij|De Cam’s]] [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij_Oude_Lambiek_De_Cam |Oude Lambiek De Cam]], [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen’s]] bottled [[3_Fonteinen_Oude_Lambiek_(4_Year_Old)|4-year old Oude lambiek]], or [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon’s]] [[Cantillon_Grand_Cru_Bruocsella|Grand Cru Bruocsella]] are all various old lambics blended together and then bottled. This is a particularly important distinction when discussing bottlings of old lambic whose initial wort came from different breweries and/or brewdays but were blended together before bottling, thus contradicting the long-held definition of the style discussed above.
-Unblened lambic exists perpetually in lambic breweries or blenderies. Each oak barrel that is filled from a brewing session is in essence a completely unblended lambic; yet it still has an age and can be described as such.  A truly unblended lambic outside of the barrel is rare in the lambic world.  A single barrel expression of a lambic is unblended. It has not been blended with any other lambic of the same age,the same brew day, or even the same batch.  As each barrel has its own characteristics to impart on the beer, so to do the lambics that come from those barrels. That is why we see discussions of barrels chosen specifically for their unique characteristics.  If you are lucky enough to be drinking from a barrel then you are drinking unblended lambic, but it could be young or it could be old. Ask the brewer or blender what they think!
+Unblended lambic exists perpetually in lambic breweries or blenderies. Each oak barrel that is filled from a brewing session is in essence a completely unblended lambic; yet it still has an age and can be described as such.  A truly unblended lambic outside of the barrel is rare in the lambic world.  A single barrel expression of a lambic is unblended. It has not been blended with any other lambic of the same age, the same brew day, or even the same batch.  As each barrel has its own characteristics to impart on the beer, so too do the lambics that come from those barrels. That is why we see discussions of barrels chosen specifically for their unique characteristics.  If you are lucky enough to be drinking from a barrel then there is a good chance that you are drinking unblended lambic, but it could be young or it could be old. Ask the brewer or blender what they think!
 ==Conclusion==