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Is it possible to create a finished product, outside of the Pajottenland or the country of Belgium, which is biochemically indistinguishable from traditional lambic?
Through the late 1800s, people assumed that the right combination of wild yeasts for lambic only existed in the Pajottenland. Technically, in 1904, Danish brewing scientist Niels Kjelte Claussen discovered the first brettanomyces in an English beer. He presented his findings to the British Beer & Pub Association and later published them in the Journal of the Institute of Brewing. Because he found these yeasts in British beers, he chose the name “brittanomyces” (the Greek word for “British fungus”). However, a typesetter’s error changed this to “brettanomyces,” with an ''e''.<ref name=“GeuzeKriek”GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>
In spite of brettanomyces existing worldwide, it is still reasonable to assume that the combination and ratio of brettanomyces and other individual microorganisms within the Pajottenland are unique to the local terroir. For example, in 1993, Frank Boon was said to have discovered 86 unique strains that he believed played a significant role in the fermentation at [[Brouwerij_Boon|Boon]].<ref name=Lambic.digest-9312>Lambic Digest, December 2, 1993, https://192.185.42.233/Lambic_digest/1993/9312.txt</ref>
Lambic is much more than the yeasts themselves. The [[Brewing Lambic|brewing process]] for lambic was regionally developed over hundreds of years and is specifically focused on creating the appropriate enzymes and nutrients for the wild yeasts to thrive and evolve the beer over multiple years. No other beer in the world is produced using a similar process.
*The unique turbid mash brewing process, designed to develop proteins and amino acids that protect against oxidation and acid formation
*An extended boil, creating a wort where only certain micro-organisms can survive.<ref name=“GeuzeKriek”>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012<GeuzeKriek /ref>
*A limited brewing season controlled by seasonal temperatures to limit mold growth, acetic characteristics, and microorganisms that thrive in higher temperatures but negatively impact the beer
*The use of a [[koelschip]] and other regionally developed spontaneous fermentation processes to expose the wort with the open air and regional microflora