Exclusive Lambics at De Lambikstoempers Beer Weekend

Just before leaving on my vacation to the Basque Country and Spain (more about the wild beer scene there in future posts), De Lambikstoempers organized their annual beer weekend in ‘Bezoekerscentrum De Lambiek’ in Alsemberg. Once again a great opportunity to try some new lambic beers, including some new releases and exclusive lambics. With more than 100 beers being poured, of which more than 80 lambics, the options were numerous. Luckily all beers were available in 10 or 15-centiliter tasting glasses, so we could taste many different ones. The sun was shining, so Miss Beers Gone Wild (not the biggest lambic fan, but who I had dragged along for this event) and I sat down on the terrace to surprise our tastebuds.

Dansaert Strawberry Cider Lambic

This blend of lambic, cider, and fresh strawberries by Brussels Beer Project had intense strawberry aromas. Think of strawberry jam or strawberry popsicles. A bit too much on the sweet side for me, lemonade for grown-ups.

Geuze Bourbon

Lambic aged on bourbon barrels by SAKO. At the time of the event, this gueuze hadn’t been released yet. The bourbon barrel added tones of wood, vanilla, and spices to it. The smell was amazing, combined with a complex and tart taste, and bourbon/whisky in the aftertaste, this was a very pleasant gueuze.

Authentic Refermented Old Lambic

This lambic by Bobbi was exclusively available at the event so I had to try it. The wort for this lambic is brewed at Den Herberg, but the barrels lay in the cellar of the Halle Saint-Géry in the middle of Brussels. A place where Brussels originated at the borders of the river Senne. This 18-month-old lambic had a nice round taste with woody notes and some astringency.

Barolo Lambic

Another exclusive and new lambic, brewed by Belgoo. This lambic aged for 18 months on a 5000-liter red Barolo foeder. The result is a lambic with a lot of character from the red wine, both in taste and smell.

Dansaert Madeira Lambic

Another exclusive lambic by Brussels Beer Project. This lambic aged for 18 months on Madeira barrels and refermented on the bottle. The result is a beautiful round and complex lambic similar to the Barolo lambic but with a less pronounced vinous character.

Lambic – Belle Vue

For the event this lambic was sourced straight from the foeder at Belle-Vue in the week before the event. As expected from a lambic it was completely flat and tart, reminding me of apple juice. Interesting to try, but missing the funk, fizziness, and complexity from a gueuze or bottle-conditioned/refermented lambic.

Kriek Amarone

After a visit to Boerenerf earlier this year, I was excited to try their kriek that aged on Amarone (Boticella) barrels. The color, smell, and taste were good, but it was missing the almond character I enjoy in some other kriek lambics.

Lambèreke

This raspberry lambic was created by De Lambiekstoempers with lambic from 3 Fonteinen to honor one of their members who recently passed away. Fresh raspberries were macerated on a blend of young and old lambic. The result is a flat lambic with a rose/red color and a well-pronounced raspberry aroma.

Peregeus

Limited edition and exclusive lambic-perry blend by 4 Pajot. 70% lambic and 30% perry were used for this blend. It’s a cloudy semi-sweet beer with some funk and little to no carbonation. However, the pear didn’t really shine through.

Zwarte Bes (Black Currant)

Having only tasted their two-year-old bag-in-box lambic in one of my blending adventures, I was curious to try one of the fruit lambics by Kestemont. It was fruity with an intense aroma of black currants. Miss Beers Gone Wild even liked this one, enough said I think!

Nocturne

After all the lambic it was time to end the day on a different note. This take on a Flemish Red-Brown beer by 3 Fonteinen took me by surprise. The complexity of the combination of sourness, smokiness, and toasty notes from the dark malt was delicious. It almost reminded me of a mix between a gueuze and a German Rauchbier.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well-organized event! The choice of (lambic) beers was amazing, with lots of new and event-exclusive ones. Furthermore, I discovered some very good new beers, my favorite discoveries were Geuze Bourbon by SAKO, Barolo Lambic by Belgoo, and Nocturne by 3 Fonteinen

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