Lambic
Lambic | |
---|---|
Spontaneous fermentation | |
Alcohol by volume | 2–8% |
Color (SRM) | Yellow or pale to deep gold or dark red (when made with certain fruits, see below) |
Malt percentage | 66% |
Lambic (English:
Etymology
This beverage is first mentioned in 1794 as allambique. The initial 'a' was dropped early on so that in an 1811 advertisement it was called lambicq, though it was sometimes referred to as alambic as late as 1829. The name may stem from alembic, a type of still used for producing local spirits such as cognac and jenever (but not used in the production of lambic).[4] Breweries in and around Lembeek, a village near Halle, Belgium, have attempted to associate lambic with that name,[2] including through the legend of local saint Veronus of Lembeek.
Brewing
Lambic is generally brewed from a
Since at least the 11th century, and probably earlier, hops have been used in beer for their natural preservative qualities and for the pleasant bitterness, flavour, and aroma they impart. Since the method of inoculation and long fermentation time of lambic beers increases the risk of spoilage, lambic brewers use large amounts of hops for their antibacterial properties. Lambic in the early 19th century was a highly hopped beer, using 8–9 g/L of the locally grown 'Aalst' or 'Poperinge' varieties.[9] Modern lambic brewers, however, try to avoid making the beer extremely hop-forward and use aged, dry hops, which have lost much of their bitterness, aroma, and flavour.[10] Consequently, lambics often have a strong, cheese-like, "old hop" aroma, in contrast to the resiny, herbal, earthy hop bitterness found in other styles.[11][12] The favourite hop used for lambic in the nineteenth century was a variety called Coigneau which was cultivated in the Aalst-Asse area in Belgium.[13]
After the fermentation process starts, the lambic is siphoned into barrels, mostly old port wine or sherry barrels (of chestnut or oak) from Portugal or Spain. Some brewers prefer used wine barrels. The lambic is left to ferment and mature for one or several 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.
Types of lambic and derived beers
Lambic is usually a blend of at least two different beers; many producers are blenders who buy beer from other brewers and blend them together to create the desired result. A
Unblended lambic
Unblended lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beverage that is rarely available on tap. Draught releases are generally regarded as either jonge (young) or oude (old), depending on the age and discretion of the brewer. Bottled offerings from
Gueuze
A mixture of young (one-year-old) and old (two- and three-year-old) lambics have been bottled. Because the young lambics are not yet fully fermented, they undergo secondary fermentation in the bottle and produce carbon dioxide. A gueuze is given at least a year to carbonate in the bottle, but can be kept for 10–20 years.
Mars
Mars traditionally referred to a weaker beer made from the second runnings of a lambic brewing.[16] It is no longer commercially produced. In the 1990s, Boon Brewery made a modern Mars beer called Lembeek's 2% (the 2% referring to the alcohol content),[16] but it is now only produced for use of Tilquin as a component of their keg beers.
Faro
Historically, this low-alcohol, sweetened beer is made from a blend of lambic and a much lighter, freshly brewed beer to which
The sugar was originally added shortly before serving, so does not add carbonation or alcohol to the beverage, as 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 always a light beer. The use of meertsbier has disappeared, and modern faro is not viewed as cheap or light. Today, faro is bottled, sweetened, and pasteurized to prevent refermentation in the bottle. Examples are produced by
Kriek
Lambic refermented in the presence of
Fruit
Lambic may be made with the addition of
Many of the non-traditional fruit beers derived from lambic that was commercialized in the last decades are considered to be low-quality products by many beer enthusiasts.[2] These products are typically artificially sweetened, artificially carbonated, sterilized, and based on the juice of the fruit instead of the whole fruit.
Belgian producers
Lambic beers are only produced near Brussels due to that region's natural microflora.[19] The number of producers, which numbered more than 300 in 1900, shrank drastically throughout the 20th century.[14] Lambic production is generally sanctioned and promoted by HORAL.[14]
Breweries
- 3 Fonteinen (traditional), Beersel
- Belle-Vue, owned by AB InBev (sweetened, except Sélection lambic), Sint-Pieters-Leeuw
- Boon (traditional + sweetened), Lembeek
- Lindemans Brewery (traditional + sweetened), Vlezenbeek
- Brussels Beer Project (traditional), Brussels
- Cantillon(traditional), Brussels
- Girardin (traditional), Sint-Ulriks-Kapelle
- Kestemont (traditional), Sint-Gertrudis-Pede
- Timmermans (sweetened, except "Traditional" line), Itterbeek
- Van Honsebrouck produce St. Louis beers (sweetened, except Gueuze Fond Tradition) located outside of the Zenne valley, in Ingelmunster
Blenders
- De Cam (traditional), Gooik
- Hanssens Artisanaal (traditional), Dworp
- Oud Beersel, brewed by Boon, (traditional), Beersel
- Tilquin (traditional), Rebecq
See also
- Barrel-aged beer
- HORAL (High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers)
- Sour beer
References
- ^ "Lambiek". Hoge Raad voor Ambachtelijke Lambiekbieren (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d Jackson, Michael (1991). Michael Jackson's Great Beers of Belgium.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
- ^ Thierry Delplancq, 'Les brasseurs de lambic. Données historiques et géographiques (XVIIIe S. - XXe S.) (1)', in: Archives et bibliothèques de Belgique, part 67 (1996), nr. 1-4, p. 257-320; Gazette d'Amsterdam 29 August 1811.
- ^ Risen, Clay (14 December 2009). "American Beer the Belgian Way". The Atlantic. Retrieved 12 December 2014.
- ^ a b c Boffey, Daniel (10 September 2018). "One of world's oldest beer varieties 'at risk from climate change'". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ Spitaels, Freek, et al. "The Microbial Diversity of Traditional Spontaneously Fermented Lambic Beer." PLoS ONE 9.4 (2014): e95384.
- ^ "The birth of lambic". lindemans.be. Archived from the original on 11 September 2007. Retrieved 9 June 2010.
- ^ Lacambre, G. Traité de la Fabrication des Bières et de la Distillation des Grains, etc., Vol. 1. 1851.
- ^ "Lambic and the spontaneous fermentation". Cantillon.be. Brasserie Cantillon. Archived from the original on 6 November 2014. Retrieved 6 November 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-4494-3141-9.
- ^ "Assess Your Ingredients (II:Hops and Yeast)". beerandwinejournal.com. Archived from the original on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ Thompson, Kat. "Why You Should Drink Lambics, One of Belgium's Best and Wildest Beers". Thrillist. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ a b c d Glaser, Gregg (1 July 2001). "In Search of Lambic". All About Beer. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ Eddings, Bryce (16 April 2020). "Lambic Beers: The Tart Brews You Need for Dinner". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-19-536713-3.
- ISBN 9781857321814.
- ISBN 978-0-19-283545-1.
- JSTOR 24993314.
- ^ Van Looveren, Yoni (15 December 2017). "Heineken will sell Mort Subite internationally". Retail Detail.
Further reading
- 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)
- 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).
- Jeff Sparrow, Wildbrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's yeast, Brewers Publications, a division of the Association of Brewers (2005).
- Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, and Joris Pattyn. LambicLand/LambikLand. ISBN 0-9547789-0-1