Changes

The main ingredients of lambic consist of pale two-row malt (approximately 2/3 of the bill), unmalted wheat (approximately 1/3 of the bill), aged hops, water, and the local native microbes which drive the spontaneous fermentation. Lambic wort is produced through a time- and labor-intensive mashing process called turbid mashing. Turbid mashing involves the preservation of unconverted starchy and protein-rich wort which provides food and nutrients to the diverse microbes present throughout the long lambic fermentation. Lambic wort is boiled much longer than typical in conventional brewing and is hopped with aged hops. When the wort is ready, it is transferred into the [[koelschip]] (or coolship) to cool and become inoculated for a ~12 hour period and then transferred to the oak barrels where it will continue to develop until it is either blended into [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|gueuze]] or used in a variety of other [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|lambic styles]]. There have been notable changes in the brewing process since the 19th century including the ratio of malt to wheat, mash temperatures, and controls on the exposure of the wort before being transferred to barrels.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref> Today, the traditional process has been mostly standardized among the traditional brewers.<ref name="HopDuvelMenu">Lambic Digest, June 8, 1994, http://192.185.42.233/lambic_digest/1994/366.txt</ref>, though differences remain among modern lambic brewers.