Brewing Lambic: Difference between revisions

==Fruiting==

The most commonly used fruits in lambic production are cherries (Kriek) and raspberry (Framboise, Framboos). Many other fruits have been experimented with in the beers discussed on this site. Examples include plums, blueberries, gooseberries, apricots, currant, strawberries,, apple, banana, and a variety of wine grapes. Traditionally whole fresh fruit was steeped in lambic of minimum one year but many brewers use frozen fruit or fruit extracts/juices in their modern processes.

Traditionally, fruit and lambic is racked into barrels.  Today however, some brewers use stainless tanks for blending lambic and fruit. Whether in a barrel or a stainless tank, the fruit and lambic are usually stored together for between four and eight weeks. Most fruits are added whole without being crushed or pitted. Once fermentation is completed, the now fruited lambic is transferred to a bottling tank through a filter. The filter could be cellulose or any other type of filtering material.  

==Blending==

Fruit lambics are typically not blended with other fruit beers. In some events, if the lambic shows too much sign of fruit (over-fruiting), the brewer will blend in some unfruited lambic to mellow the flavor.  

Gueuze is loosely defined as a blend of 1, 2, and 3 year old lambics. This ratio is very dependent on the blender's intentions, what barrels are available to choose from, and what those barrels provide in terms of flavor profile. Recently, more blenders have been experimenting with adding 4+ year old lambic to blends.