Lambic Geography

Pajottenland

Pajottenland (sometimes Payottenland in English) is an extremely fertile agricultural region of Belgium situated in a valley to the south-west of Brussels between the rivers Senne and Dendre. This is the principal area for lambic production in the country. Only a small part of Brussels, the western section of Neerpede, is considered to be part of the Pajottenland region. Other cities located in this area, many of which are closely associated with lambic breweries, blenders, and cafes are Affligem, Asse, Bever, Dilbeek Gammerages, Gooik, Herne, Leeuw-Saint-Pierre, Lennik, Liedekerke, Pepingen, Roosdaal and Ternat. The area gets its name from the Walloon word for a soldier from the region, a Payot.

Senne/Zenne and Dendre/Dender River valley

The Senne (French) / Zenne (Dutch) valley is as closely associated with lambic production as the Pajottenland. The Senne River is a small river that runs through the heart of Brussels and was notorious for being one of the most polluted rivers in Belgium. In fact, at one point the river was covered to help alleviate the pollution and flooding problems caused within the city. Today the Senne is split in two and treated at new facilities before rejoining and continuing south. In total the river is 64 miles/103km long and flows through or near near many of the lambic producing towns in Belgium. To the west of the Senne is another shorter river known as the Dendre (French) / Dender (Dutch) River. Though not often cited in lambic lore, the Dendre River is the second river that helps to cradle the valley known as Pajottenland.

The Language of Lambic

Main article: The Language of Lambic

The language of lambic can be as complex as the beer itself. Belgium is a country divided up into very distinct linguistic regions whose inhabitants have their own words for many of the commonly used terms associated with the lambic tradition and process. Both Dutch and French speaking brewers and blenders are in operation today leaving many curious lambic drinkers wondering how this all came to be.

Brewing Lambic

• Brewing Process TYLER

Main article: Brewing Lambic

Though there are industrial-scale lambic breweries with very large production runs, the main ingredients always consist of pale two-row malt (approximately 2/3 of the bill), unmalted wheat (approximately 1/3 of the bill), aged hops, wheat, water, and microbial flora. When the wort is ready, it is transferred into the koelschip to cool and become inoculated for a twenty-four hour period and then transferred to the oak barrels where it will continue to develop until it is either blended into gueuze or used in a variety of other lambic styles. There have been significant changes in the brewing process since the 19th century, according to Guinard ^[1] including the ratio of malt to wheat, mash temperatures, and controls on the exposure of the wort before being transferred to barrels. Today, the traditional process has been mostly standardized among the traditional brewers. ^[2]

• Microbiology and Biochemistry NICK

Additional Information: Microbiology and Biochemistry

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Styles

• Unblended lambic

Unblended lambic, or pure lambic, is the result of the brewing process and spontaneous fermentation of the wort. After the lambic wort is left in the koelschip to pick up the wild yeast it is then transferred to oak barrels to begin aging. Though much of the lambic brewed goes to the production of geuze, some is held back to age and can be released in various stages.^[1] Pure lambic can take on different names at its various ages including jonge lambic (young lambic) and oude lambiek/vieux lambic (old lambic). Though pure lambic is not as prevalant as other forms of blended lambic, breweries such as Cantillon and De Cam regularly release pure lambic in bottles at approximately 2-3 years of age. A characteristic of pure lambic is that it is generally flat, without any carbonation. In certain cases, sugars may be added to the pure lambic at bottling to produce a secondary fermentation in the bottle creating carbonation.

• Gueuze/Geuze

Gueuze (or Geuze) is the result of blending a young lambic (approximately one year old) with an old lambic (approximately two to three years old, or older). The blending of gueuze is a precise practice for which each blender has their own process. The resulting blend of lambics typically ends up in either 750ml or 375ml bottles that are laid to rest in the brewery's cellar to referment in the bottle. This secondary fermentation in the bottle produces a finely carbonated drink that is traditionally served from pouring baskets. Generally gueuze is a blend of one, two, and three year old lambics, however 3 Fonteinen has released a Golden Blend that consists of a small portion of four year old lambic as well. Sometimes the resulting gueuze blends do not carbonate in the bottle resulting in "lazy" beers that can remain flat for years. See Cantillon's Loerik, 3 Fonteinen's Doesjel and Golden Doesjel and Lindemans Loerik for examples.

• Fruited lambic

Various fruits have a long history of augmenting the taste of lambic. Traditionally, fruit lambic is made my macerating whole fruit with young lambic in wooden casks. A second fermentation of the sugars from the lambic and the fruit then takes place. After maturation the lambic is typically bottled with with a small amount of young lambic or liquor to aid natural carbonation in the bottle.^[1] Some breweries such as Lindeman's and De Troch also use various fruit syrups to flavor their lambics.

Kriek (cherry), Framboise (raspberry), and Druif (grape) are all commonly used among lambic producers. Other fruits include peach, black currant, apricot, apple, and a wide variety of more exotic fruits such as Cantillon's use of bilberries in their Blåbær Lambik and Neill and Ross's use of blackberries in Shot in the Dark.

• Faro

Historically Faro is a lower-alcohol, sweetened beer made with a blend of lambic and another freshly brewed beer (sometimes called a mars beer) in varying amounts.^[1] Faros are also known to have candy sugar, brown sugar, or cane molasses added to enhance the flavor. According to Guinard, Faro "was a blend of equal amounts of lambic and mars... and was a sweet, light table beer that had to be brewed and sold before the heat of summer to avoid fermentation accidents and spoilage." Non-lambic beers that were blended in to create the Faro were only brewed until the month of March, from which these beers derived their name. The custom of blending in mars beers into contemporary Faro has subsided and they are now a blended version of young lambic sweetened with dark candy sugar and caramel coming in around 4.5% ABV. ^[1] Recent commercial examples include 3 Fonteinen's Straffe Winter and De Cam's Oude Faro De Cam

Lambic Breweries and Blenders (Commercial)

Brewers

• Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
• Brasserie Belle Vue
• Brouwerij Boon
• Brasserie Cantillon
• Brouwerij De Troch
• Brouwerij Girardin
• Brouwerij Lindemans
• Brasserie Mort Subite
• Brouwerij Oud Beersel
• Brouwerij Timmermans

Blenders

• De Cam Geuzestekerij
• Gueuzerie Tilquin
• Hanssens Artisanaal bvba

Lambic Breweries and Blenders (Experimental)

As lambic experiences its 21st century renaissance, many people have taken to becoming home-blenders. Much like the tradition of the lambic cafe, house-blenders source their lambic from the producers and blend it in a number of ways. From traditional lambic and gueuze blends to blending it with other styles of beer, more and more of these bottles are showing up. The following list is not exhaustive but does represent some of the more prevalent independent-, private-, and home-blenders. While many of these blenders prefer to remain quiet, some are actively moving toward the mainstream commercial space.

• BIIR
• Huisstekerij h.ertie
• In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst
• Vanberg & DeWulf
• Neill and Ross
• OWA

Lambic Breweries and Blenders (Closed)

Main page: List of Closed Lambic Breweries and Blenders
Many lambic breweries and blenders have opened and closed through the years. The preceding page is not an exhaustive list of such places, but it is fairly comprehensive. However, there is a lot of information presented for some of the more recently closed breweries so please take a look! As more information becomes available it will be uploaded to the corresponding brewery. Any submissions, additions, or corrections can be sent to our primary retired brewery researcher Matt or site editors Bill and Adam.

Lambic Bars

Around the world many bars feature lambic prominently, if not exlusively.

• A La Bécasse
• A La Mort Subite
• Akkurat
• Cafe De Kluis
• De Heeren van Liedekercke
• Delirium Cafe
• Ebenezer's Pub
• Herberg De Zwaan
• In de Verzekering tegen de Grote Dorst
• In de Welkom
• Moeder Lambic
• Ølbutikken
• One Pint Pub
• Pikkulintu

Lambic Events

• 3 Fonteinen Open Brew Days
• Cantillon Open Brew Days
• Cantillon Quintessence
• Cantillon Zwanze Day
• International Geuze and Kriek Festival
• Nacht van de Grote Dorst - Night of the Great Thirst
• Sour & Bitter Festival
• Toer de Geuze
• Weekend of Spontaneous Fermentation

Equipment

• Barrels
• Baskets
• Koelschip

Storage / Cellaring

Additional Lambic Information

• Culture vs. Chemistry
• Sweetened Lambic

Learn More

• Books
• Glossary
• HORAL
• Lambic Websites
• Research
• The Lambic Summit 2010

References

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4} Jean-Xavier Guinard, Classic Beer Styles: Lambic, 1990 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Guinard" defined multiple times with different content Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "Guinard" defined multiple times with different content
2. ↑ Lambic Digest, June 8, 1994, http://192.185.42.233/lambic-listserv/1994/366.txt