Lambic

Lambic is a Belgian beer style brewed with wheat and barley in the Pajottenland region, southwest of Brussels. It ferments through wild yeasts and bacteria from the surrounding air, which give it a dry, tart, cider-like character found in few other beers, and it is the base of styles such as gueuze, kriek and faro.

History

Lambic has been brewed in the region since at least the 13th century, and the name appears in writing in 1794 as allambique, later shortening to lambic. In the early nineteenth century it was heavily hopped, partly because hops helped protect the beer from spoilage during its long, open-air fermentation.

The traditional process involves cooling the wort overnight in a shallow metal tray called a coolship, which exposes it to the open air so that many microorganisms can settle in it. Fermentation then takes place in timber vessels, often old port or sherry barrels, and maturation can last one year or several. The brewing season runs roughly from October to May, since summer air carries too many unwanted organisms.

Blending different ages of lambic gave rise to gueuze, while adding cherries or other fruit produced kriek and framboise. Faro, a sweetened beer made with brown sugar, was once an everyday drink in Brussels.

Culture

In Brussels and the Pajottenland, lambic is part of everyday life in cafés and local taverns, where it is drunk young or old according to the brewer's judgement. Many breweries are family businesses that keep the craft of blending beers of different vintages in their cellars for years.

Brewing depends on the weather, and climate change has shortened the yearly window in which it can be made, a concern for producers. Local variants include bottled gueuze with its natural second fermentation, kriek made with sour cherries, and faro, which is now also enjoyed outside Belgium.

Trivia