Protect
4,141
edits
Changes
m
→Lambic ca.1970 – 1999
In 1978, Jean Pierre Van Roy of [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantilon]] opened the brewery up as a ‘living museum’. The [[Museums#Brussels Gueuze Museum|Brussels Gueuze Museum (Musée bruxellois de la gueuze)]] was born. The museum strived to preserve the process and qualities of centuries old production techniques in the modern era. Today, it is one of the most frequented stops on any lambic pilgrimate to Brussels. If the era immediately following World War II saw a surge in sweetened lambic, then the 1970’s onward has seen a distinct split in lambic production, appellation, and consumption.
Sweetened lambic is still extremely popular, yet so is the ‘traditional’ unsweetened lambic. From hundreds of producers in the early part of the 20th century, the current lambic lineup includes nine lambic brewers (who also blend) and four lambic blenders. Though small in number, these brewers and blenders represent a new resurgence in lambic interest. Many brewers who had long since abandoned the idea of non-sweetened lambics are back to producing both sweetened and unsweetened products for consumers. In 1994, [[Brouwerij_Lindemans|Lindemans ]] reintroduced an unsweetened gueuze called [[Gueuze_Cuvée_René|Gueuze Cuvée René ]], and [[Brouwerij_Timmermans|Timmermans]] has also reintroduced a line of unsweetened products.
As lambic brewers and blenders began to recognize the importance of keeping the older traditions alive, some banded together to form [[HORAL]]. This group aims to promote lambic beers, brewing, and culture in Belgium. Their stated goals are "to promote the craft lambic beers and related products, paying attention to the entire process of brewing to serving lambic; denouncing irregularities concerning artisanal lambic beers and related products; take steps to protect the traditional lambic beers and related products."<ref name = HORALAssociation> HORAL - Association, Members, and History, http://www.horal.be/vereniging (Dutch)</ref> HORAL has worked to obtain and maintain current European Protections on traditional lambic beers since the Traditionally Specialty Guaranteed label was assigned to them in 1997.<Ref name = Avermaete&Vandermosten> Tessa Avermaete and Gert Vandermosten, Traditional Belgian Beers in a Global Market Economy, 2009 </ref>