Lambic
Beers
History
The Lambic style can
trace its roots back over 400 years, and has remained mostly unchanged from its
introduction. The first written recipe is dated 1516 and accounts from 1559
mention the production of Lambic "according to an old recipe".
In fact in ancient
Mesopotamia a beer that could be thought of as the "roots" of Lambic
was brewed by the Sumerians, about 5500 BC. Sikaru, the premium beer of the
day, was brewed from 60% malt, 40% raw wheat, used wild fermentation and was
flavored with herbs like aniseed and cinnamon.
Although it is
impossible to confirm the origin of the word "Lambic"
("lambiek" in Flemish / Dutch), it is most likely a distortion of
Lembeek (Flemish) or Lembecq (French), a present and historic Lambic brewing town.
Other sources relate it to "alambic" or to "lambere"
(Latin).
Brewing
of Lambic
The oddities of the
style are many. Like its ancient Mesopotamian predecessor, the wort is composed
of 60 - 70% barley malt and 30 - 40% unmalted wheat. The hops are aged to
curtail the introduction of hop character. These aged hops have lost their
bittering power but have retained their antiseptic properties.
The brewing method of
Lambic is the turbid mash method or "slijmmethode" in Flemish with
the peculiarity that the brewer intends to obtain a highly dextrinous wort,
more appropriate for sustaining a long fermentation by a mixed flora of
microorganisms and leading to the typical Lambic flavor.
The most typical
differences between the brewing process of a conventional lager beer and Lambic
are the following:
To brew a spontaneous
fermented Lambic, no yeast is artificial added
to the wort, but the wort is exposed to the open air of the
"Zennevalei" (E: Senne-valley). The result of this method is that
wild yeast cells, among them Bretanomyces bruxellensis and B. lambicus, which
are always in the open air in the environment of Brussels, come into the wort
and start on a natural, spontaneous way the
fermentation.
More
than 30 percent unmalted wheat is utilized, this in
contrast to lager beers, where corn or rice is used.
The Lambic brewer uses old
dry hop, aged three years. He does not want the bitterness of the fresh
hop, but the conservation property of the dried hop. The lager brewer uses
young hop which gives beer its typical bitter taste.
By law the brewer must
use min. 30 % unmalted wheat and 70% malt (1/3 winter; 2/3 summer cereal) and a
wort-strength of 11-12 degrees Plato. The acidity of the Lambic should be min.
30 milli. equivalents NaOH and the volatile acidity: min. 2 milli. eq. NaOH.
The spontaneous inoculation from open coolship is a requisite to create a
Lambic.
Due to the spontaneous
fermentation, Lambic is a seasonal beer, which can be
brewn only in the winter season (October-May). In summertime, there are too
much undesirable bacteria, which can infect the wort and influence negatively
the fermentation.
The very old brewing
procedure of Lambic goes as follows (the precise procedure may vary between
different breweries):
1. A
batter (mash - see picture) of water, malt and at least 30 % wheat is made at
45 degrees Celsius. At this temperature the malt releases his first soluble
elements, under which the most important: starch.
2. The
second step is to warm up this brew to 52 degrees Celsius. By this, the
proteases break off the malt flour, through which the brewer obtains an optimal
solution of proteins. This white turbid extract is called "the milk"
or "the slime"
3. By
increasing the temperature of the slime to 65-75 degrees, the enzymatical conversion
of starch into sugar is taking place.
4. After
filtration of this solution, the brewer obtains an extract of sugars, proteins
and minerals, which is called "the wort". this extract is seasoned by
dried (aged) hops (600 g/l) and boiled for 4 hours.
5. Further, the boiled wort goes into the
"koelbak" (Flemish) or "bac refroidissoir"(French), an
open, shallow cooling tun, made of copper and located in a well ventilated
room, to cool down overnight.
It is at this crucial
moment that the inoculation takes place: specific wild yeasts and enteric
bacteria, altogether a mixture of 86 microorganisms, which are floating in the
air around Brussels, fall down into the wort. The resulting process is called
spontaneous fermentation and this mystery of the Lambic-beers is unique in the
beer-world.
6. Next
day, the inoculated wort is pumped into old oaken or chestnut barrels, called
"tonnen" (Flemish) or "tonneaux" (French, 250 liters)
"pijpen" or "pipes"(650 liters) or "foeders" or
"foudres" (3000 liters) where the fermentation can start. The
micro-environment of these barrels contributes to the specific flavor of the
Lambic. The brewers use old barrels because the wood has lost its tannin, which
would affect the flavor of the Lambic. These old barrels mainly come from the
Porto or Sherry region. The evolution of the Lambic goes slower in the larger
barrels, but it is said to be better. Nowadays brewers are also using steel
tanks with wood chips for the fermentation of Lambic.
After a few days,
depending on the weather, the fermentation starts. White foam appears on the
upper hole of the barrel. Later, the foam becomes brown and form a natural
stopper, which preserves the beer for external factors, like undesirable
bacteria and oxygen, but the CO2 (carbon dioxide), released by fermentation,
can escape.
The principle
fermentation is passing on to a second fermentation and further to a cascade of
other smaller fermentations and finally there is the maturation of Lambic,
which takes up to 2 years. Lambic requires several years to come of age, during
which time, dust and cobwebs cover the barrels.
The production of Lambic
is limited to the cooler seasons, as during summer other micro-organisms may
interfere with the natural fermentation .The production of Lambic is usually
confined from mid-October to May (15 October to 15 May), allowing for the wild
yeast and beer to ferment during the summer.
Types
Lambic
- Lambiek
Lambic (French) or
Lambiek (Flemish) is a very ancient beerstyle, unblended Lambic has a rich flavor,
quite different from other beers nowadays. Nowadays, Lambic on draught is hard
to find. Only in a few pubs in and around Brussels you still can taste the
curious sherry-like flavored beer. It lacks the carbon dioxide and has a more
sour taste than modern day beers.
The traditional Lambic
is a sour beer of 100% spontaneous fermentation with at least 30% of wheat used
as a basic ingredient. Young Lambics ("platte", "joenk",
"vos") are dry, sour, cloudy and similar in taste to cider. Aged
Lambics are more mellow and settled. Young Lambic, or "vos" (Flemish)
(E: fox) Lambic, is slightly sour, old Lambic has greater acidity. Some Lambic
is sold as such, but most Lambic is used to produce Geuze.
O.G.: 1.040 - 1.056;
Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBU's: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 13.
Geuze
- Gueuze
Geuze is made of 100%
Lambic beer which undergoes additional fermentation on the bottle. Geuze was
created in the 19th century in Lembeeq. The blending of old and young pure
Lambic is the traditional way to make Geuze. The skill in producing a good
Geuze is in balancing the right young and old Lambics in the right quantities.
The right ratio young/old is depending on the maturation degree (end
attenuation) of each of them.
Once the blend is
bottled, it undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle (Method
Champenoise), creating the unique flavor. After 6 months the Geuze obtains a
golden color and a cidery, winey palate; reminiscent, perhaps, of dry vermouth
with a more complex and natural flavor.
Geuzes tend to be
sweeter than Lambics, and are always livelier, causing them to be dubbed the
"Champagnes" of the beer world. The right flavor and amount of carbon
dioxide is caused by the secondary fermentation in the bottle, for which it
takes at least a year in the bottle to make a good geuze. The taste of Geuze
ranges from sour over sourish-bitterish to bitterish. A traditional,
unsweetened, Geuze contains only about 0.2 % sugar containing substances. An
old traditional, unsweetened, Geuze is therefore well tolerated by diabetics, due
to its very low sugar content. Geuze is golden to light amber in color.
Geuze is the traditional
beer for carbonade, as well as a beautifully beverage with seafood or other
salty meals. It is also delicious with cream sauces.
Beside the traditional
unsweetened Geuze, there is also a more commercial Geuze that dominates the
market. It is pasteurized and has a sweeter taste.
O.G.: 1.040 - 1.056;
Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBU's: 3 - 23; SRM: 4 - 13.
Faro
Nowadays faro is made
from spontaneous fermentation Lambic (from moderate gravity wort) to which is
added burnt sugar or candy sugar (chaptalized), so that it gets a sour-sweetish
taste. Faro has a low alcohol level.
Traditionally, Faro was
made by blending Lambics produced from high- and low-gravity worts. A lump of
sugar was added to the glass to sweeten the Faro. This was probably the beer
being served in Breughel the Elder his paintings of Flemish Village Life.
O.G.:
1.040 - 1.056; Alcohol: 4 - 6%; IBU's: 3 - 22; SRM: 4 - 13.
Mars
beer
Mars beer was made from
the late, low-gravity worts, it was mainly produced for home-use. Today mars
beer is no longer commercially available.
Fruitbeer
Lambics are sometimes
casked with cherries, raspberries, or other fruit to produce fruitbeer. A
fruitbeer can vary as to whether it is of low fermentation, spontaneous
fermentation (Lambic) or high fermentation. The only thing one does is add real
cherries or raspberries or the cheaper essences, juices or syrups. Thus one
gets Flemish brown "kriek" beers (E: cherry) or geuze
"kriek" beers. Besides the traditional cherry or
"frambozen" (E:raspberry) beers other fruit beers are all beers on
the basis of essences, juices or syrups - no real fruit is involved.
Kriek: orangey to deep
red in color, combines the character of geuze with fresh fruit and pit aromas
and some residual sweetness, it has a delicious taste of sparkling cherry
champagne.