Lambic Beers

I have heard of Lambic brewing but never actually tasted any Lambic beers. It comes from a small region of Belgium and from what I read it is still the only place really in the world where it’s brewed.

Lambic beer is produced when the beer is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne valley of Belgium, this strange fermentation process gives the beer a unique flavor that includes a sour aftertaste.

Whilst this exposure is a critical feature of the style, many of the key yeasts and bacteria are now understood to reside within the brewery and its (usually timber) fermenting vessels in numbers far greater than any delivered by the breeze. But they say that Lambic beer can only be made between October and May as there are too many nasties in the air in other times.

There are actually four different types of Lambic Beers, they include;

• Lambic (pure) - Unblended lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beverage available on tap in only a few locations
• Gueuze lambic - A mixture of young (one-year) and old (two and three-year) lambics which has been bottled
• Faro - A low-alcohol, slightly sweet table beer made from lambic to which brown sugar has been added
• Fruit Lambic - Lambic with the addition of sour cherry , raspberry, peach, blackcurrant, grape, or strawberry, as either whole fruit or syrup

I will try to find some Lambic Beers to do a review on, but if you know of any or got anything else to say on Lambic beers please leave a comment.