When you think of lambic beers you probably think about Belgium and the sour beers like gueuze, kriek, or other fruit varieties that are brewed around the capital Brussels. But, did you know this type of beer is brewed all around the world? In this article, I’ll take you through the marvelous world of lambic beers around the world. Starting in Belgium, the Senne Valley and Pajottenland to be more precise, but after that slowly moving away from the cradle of lambic beers, finishing all the way at the end of the world in New Zealand.
A few months back, Chris from the kraftbier0711 asked me if I wanted to write a guest blog about lambic beers for their website. Kraftbier0711 is one of the best and biggest craft beer blogs in Germany. A team of friends and (amateur)brewers, beer sommeliers, and beer jurors are behind this website that publishes in German only. A translated version of this post will be available on their website: www.kraftbier0711.de.
What is Lambic?
Before we jump to who’s producing lambic where in the world, let’s start with what lambic is. For this let’s take a look at the application for registration of Old Lambic (NL: Oude Lambiek, FR: Lambic Vieux)), Old Gueuze (NL: Oude Geuze, FR: Gueuze Vieille), and Old Kriek (NL: Oude Kriek, FR: Vieille Kriek) in the register of Traditional Specialties Guaranteed of the European Union. In this register, these beers are described as “Acid beer during production of which spontaneous fermentation occurs. A spontaneous fermentation beer is obtained by the fermentation of a boiled wort after natural inoculation from the ambient air during cooling”. Under the description of the product, the documents state that the blend has undergone a secondary fermentation and is conditioned on the sediment. Furthermore, it’s defined when a lambic, gueuze, or kriek can be called old. Old Lambic and Old Gueuze can only be called old if the weighted average of the blend is one year or more, and the oldest component has been aged in wooden barrels for at least three years. Old Kriek can only be called old when the weighted average is one year or more, and the oldest component has been aged in wooden barrels for at least one year. Furthermore, it has to contain 10% to 25% cherries, cherry juice, or cherry concentrate in terms of an equivalent weight of cherries. The same requirements exist for other fruit lambic, except for peach lambic, in which the maximum percentage of fruit may total up to 30%. There are some additional requirements like the degrees Plato, pH, bitterness (20 BU maximum), amount of isoamyl acetate, ethyl acetate, and acidity. But, these are the only registered lambic beers in this registry, meaning that lambic, gueuze, or kriek (and any other type of fruit lambic) are not protected in any way. Only the old versions are registered as Traditional Specialties Guaranteed in the EU.
This register only says something about the traditional method of manufacturing and must not be confused with Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), or Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). So, lambic is not a protected product in any way, and old lambic, old gueuze, and old kriek are only protected by the method of production not by where it’s made. Most brewers outside Belgium however will still not call their beer a lambic, even if technically/legally they can. They do this out of respect for the Belgian tradition and to honor the origin of lambic. Terms used for their beers are coolship ale, spontaneous ale, wild ale, or Méthode Traditionelle amongst others.
Legal and regulatory stuff aside, what makes lambic beer so special, delicious, and different from all other beer types in the world? To answer this, we need to take a look at the ingredients and how it’s made. Lambic beers are usually made with 30% to 40% raw wheat and aged hops. Combined with malted barley the wort is made with a process that’s called a ‘turbid mash’. This involves multiple temperature rests and the gradual addition of hot water to the mash to create a complex mixture of starches and sugars, resulting in a cloudy or turbid wort. This process contributes to unique flavors, enhanced mouthfeel, and fermentation characteristics in the final beer. This also results in a different sugar composition of the wort compared to other beers. The types of sugar that are made with a turbid mash are ideal for yeasts like Brettanomyces Bruxelensis and Brettanomyces Lambicus and other yeast strains usually can’t digest these sugars. The presence of these Brettanomyces strains in the wort is a result of the cooling of the wort in a coolship. However, the romantic image of happy yeast cells floating around in the air and finding their way into the wort by chance needs some nuance. In lambic breweries, these yeast cells are everywhere, so instead of coming in through the window it’s more likely that these yeasts come from the brewery environment like the wooden beams of the roof etcetera. I mean, we all know the stories of breweries replacing their roof and suddenly the beer doesn’t ferment anymore. Also, since the barrels, pipes, and foeders in which the lambic ages and ferments are reused, they each contain a unique micro-climate of microorganisms that inoculate the wort when it’s transferred after cooling. Besides Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Acetobacter, Pediococcus, and Saccharomyces strains can be found in lambic beers.
Lambic Myths
A lot of myths exist around lambic of which seemingly the most important is the geographical location where it can be made. I mean, don’t get me wrong, there’s no doubt that lambic beers originate in the Senne Valley and Pajottenland, but it’s simply not true that these beers can only be made there. The story that Brettanomyces Lambicus and Bruxellensis can only be found in these two regions is still told by some traditional breweries, but this is just marketing nonsense. Yeast doesn’t know any borders and I still have to meet the first yeast cell that knows how to read a map. In 1957 one Belgian brewer, Luc Van Honsebrouck, from the Vanhonsebrouck brewery located in West Flanders (known for its Flanders Red-Brown Ale), thought the same. Vanhonsebrouck proved that it’s possible to brew lambic and make gueuze outside the Senne Valley and the Pajottenland. Others followed soon and many West Flemish lambic beers were made in the time. To this day Vanhonsebrouck with their St-Louis Geuze Fond Tradition and Omer Vander Ghinste with their Cuvee des Jacobins still produce lambic beers.
They were some of the first breweries, but certainly not the last, to irritate the ‘traditional’ lambic producers from the Senne Valley and the Pajottenland. Jester King from Texas has been brewing lambic since 2013 and released their first gueuze called SPON Méthode Gueuze in 2016. Other blogs and websites have written about this with more detail and better than I can do here, so I’ll give you a summary. Jester King and Cantillon had coined the term ‘Méthode Gueuze’ for gueuze beers brewed outside of Belgium, The High Council for Artisanal Lambic Beers (HORAL) didn’t like this and thought this showed a lack of respect for the origins of lambic and gueuze. After deliberation, Jester King decided to abandon the name Méthode Gueuze and opt for the name ‘Méthode Traditionalle’.
Lambic in Belgium
Being the birthplace of lambic, it’s not a surprise that Belgium is home to a lot of producers. These producers can be divided into three categories. Those that brew their own wort, those that purchase wort from a brewery, and those that buy lambic from one of the two former categories. Most producers fall within the second category.
Lambic producers that brew wort themselves include the better-known names like Boon, Cantillon, and 3 Fonteinen, but recently new breweries have started too like Kestemont and Angerik. The producers that fall within the second category, as said, buy wort from one of the brewers and ferment this in their own barrels. Examples of these producers are Oud Beersel, Boerenerf, Donck, but also Bofkont, and Bokke. Then the last category, the lambic blenders. Producers in this category are H.ertie, L’Improviste, Vermeersch, and Publitasting amongst others. A lot of home blenders (like myself) fall within this category too. Their beers are not commercially available but can be drunk at events like Carnivale Brettanomyces. Some home blenders are W.O.F.D. Vergistingen, ‘t Pomphuizeke, and Duron Blending.
Lambic around the globe
In my desktop research, I’ve already identified more than 600 breweries across more than 30 countries that brew wild beer in the broadest definition possible. From Brett beers to Flemish Red-Brown ales, to spontaneously fermented beers. Of these breweries a significant amount brew lambic(like) beer, and not only in Belgium. Lambic beer is brewed across all corners of the globe. For now, let’s focus on some breweries from the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand. However, before we dive into that I shall give a short disclaimer. As I am not fully aware of the brewing process nor ingredients used by these breweries, they might officially not be lambic beers. Nonetheless, in terms of appearance and flavor, they are at least very similar.
The Netherlands
Lambic has historically been brewed in the Netherlands since at least the beginning of the nineteenth century in cities like Haarlem, Utrecht, and Dordrecht. In 1968 with the closing of Brouwerij De Halve Maan in Hulst this stopped, and until Toon van den Broek started his brewery Vandenbroek in 2014, no lambic beers were commercially brewed in the Netherlands. If you want to try some of Toon’s beers, which I would totally recommend, you have to be quick. The brewery will close down this year, but you can still find his beers online or in some shops, bars, and restaurants in The Netherlands. To not cause any trouble with HORAL, Toon named his gueuze beers ‘Watergeus’. He has made several different versions with fruit, grapes, or honey. Vandenbroek’s lambic is used by another, top-rated, blender from the Netherlands too. Symbiose from Groningen makes exceptionally good blends with lambic, wines, and ciders. I was lucky enough to try their passion fruit, grape (Sauvignon Gris) lambic ‘Sauvignon/Passie’ and it’s among one of the best lambic beers I’ve ever tasted. Another bottle of their prune lambic is patiently waiting in the fridge.
Another Dutch brewery that makes lambic (inspired) beers is Tommie Sjef from Den Helder. His beers are internationally available, but you have to be lucky to obtain them as the bottles are sold out quickly. If you want to increase your chances you can subscribe to his bottle release mailing list. Unlike Vandenbroek he doesn’t refer to gueuze or lambic, but rather calls his blends ‘wild ales’.
Germany
Near Münster Kemker Kultuur brews beer based on spontaneous fermentation with the use of a coolship. Their ‘Aoltbeer’ ages on average thirteen months on red wine barrels and is deliciously tart, citrussy, and refreshing. Another German brewery that makes wild lambic-inspired beers is Lost Horizon Farm. This brewery near Hamburg is, as the name suggests, located on a farm. I haven’t tried any of their beers but would love to try ‘Morgenkrieken’, a blend of 2 and 5-year-old wild beer with fresh cherries from the farm.
United Kingdom
Track Brewing Co from Manchester brews a lot of different types of mostly canned beer. However, more interestingly they have some wild ales in their barrel aging project too. For example, ‘Rosa’, a wild ale with damsons (a plum variety) and plums. It’s barrel aged for 18 months on pinot noir barrels giving it a rounded and soft flavor.
The second lambic (inspired) brewery from the UK that I would like to call out is Holy Goat from Dundee, Scotland. Admittedly, I don’t know if these beers check all the boxes to be called lambic, but they are barrel-aged and fermented with Brettanomyces and bacteria. Holy Goat refers to their beers as being produced by mixed fermentation. However, the main reason to feature the beers from this brewery is the amazing artwork on the labels. Just look at the label of ‘Holy Mountain’! It’s a kriek-style beer with Stevnsbær sour cherries.
United States of America
The US, and especially Oregon, is truly a heaven for lovers of lambic and lambic-inspired beers. Earlier, you could already read about Texas-based brewery Jester King, and now I’ll add two other breweries to your list. The first one, Allagash Brewing Company from Maine, was the first commercial brewery to install a coolship in the US. In 2010 they released their first gueuze ‘Resurgam’ and since then many have followed. The second is De Garde Brewing from Tillamook, Oregon. Like Allagash, they follow the exact processes and methods used by Belgian lambic breweries. Several bottles are available for pick up at the brewery or shipped to Oregon addresses only. ‘The Anniversary’, a blend from five years of spontaneous wild ale for the 10th anniversary of the brewery, is one of them.
Canada
Big Rock Brewery from Calgary (with locations in Vancouver and Toronto too) was, according to their website, the first Canadian commercial craft beer brewery to develop a wild ale, Belgian style, program. The brewery in Calgary includes a 2,000-liter coolship where beers like their ‘Kriek Lambic Cherry’ are made.
Brazil
Brazil might not be the first country in the world when you think about places where they could brew lambic beers. The fact is that this country is home to at least a handful of them. One of them is Cervejaria Imigração, founded in 1824 in Campo Bom near Porto Alegre. This brewery produces several lambic beers, with and without fruits. ‘Brazilian Cajá Lambic’ is one of their fruited lambic beers with caja or hog plum in English, a sweet fruit native to Brazil and other South American countries.
Australia
Would you have guessed they make lambic beers down under? Well, they do! Wildflower Brewing & Blending is probably one of the best. This brewery makes all sorts of wild-fermented beers, using yeasts and bacteria collected from native flowers. Every winter they team up with Mountain Culture to brew lambic for a new gueuze release. The latest one from this series is ‘Village 2022’.
New Zealand
Browsing on Instagram I recently discovered New Zealand is home to a few small-scale lambic producers too. Karamu Barrelworks is one of them. This brewery, specializing in spontaneously fermented ales, is located on a farm in Karamu, a small village near Hamilton on the North Island. They produce several fruit lambics, like the ‘Fig And Delicious’ with French Sugar figs.
Long story short, lambic beers are made all around the globe and not just in Belgium. However, these amazing beers do originate in Belgium and we’ve got to be grateful for and honor the tradition of Belgian brewers and lambic beers. Personally, I’d love to try all these lambic beers from outside Belgium as sometimes they tend to be a bit more experimental and less constrained by tradition. What’s your favorite lambic beer? Let me know, you can leave a reply in the comments.
I’d like to thank Chris for the opportunity to write this guest blog. Hopefully, more of them will come in the future. Until then, follow me on Instagram to stay up to date!
References
- https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/eambrosia/geographical-indications-register/tsg accessed 21 August 2023
- https://geertvanlierde.be/bier-60-jaar-west-vlaamse-spontane-gisting/ accessed August 21 2023
- https://www.beervanablog.com/beervana/2017/9/29/the-american-lambic-wars accessed 21 August 2023
- https://verlorenbieren.nl/acht-mythes-over-lambiek-ontzenuwd/ accessed August 21 2023
- https://www.biernet.nl/bier/brouwerijen/nederland/zeeland/hulst/halve-maan-anno-1821 accessed 21 August 2023
- https://punchdrink.com/articles/can-america-do-lambic-beer-like-belgium/ accessed August 21 2023