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→Barrels: expanded impact of barrels and links section
===Barrels===
[[File:De_Troch_barrel_cleaning.jpg|230px|thumb|right|Barrel cleaning at De Troch]]
While some larger producers are using stainless steel tanks, lambic is traditionally fermented and aged in wooden barrels and fouders. Lambic brewers and blenders prefer used barrels, which are often coming from red wine production, for fermenting and aging lambic. These barrels are preferred because most of the oak character has already been stripped extracted from the barrel, so not much oak flavor and less character from the wood will come through in the final lambic. Barrels vary widely in size, including sizes such as 267 liter Tonnes, 550-650 liter Pipes, and 3,000 to 120,000+ liter Foudres. Each brewer has their preference for their ideal barrel size. These barrels are typically made from oak or chestnut. Some Each individual barrel can have its own progression, even among the brewing day, and some lambic brewers and blenders are experimenting with more distinctive barrels where the influence of the previous contents of the barrel are desired. Increasingly, lambic producers are releasing beers highlighting the unique role that different barrels or fouders can have. This includes sourcing specific barrels or fouders for their characteristics, bottling the first lambic use(s) of used barrels as separate releases, and releases highlighting a single fouder or selection of older barrels. Some examples of this barrels are: Barrels used for spirits such as cognac and armagnac *[[Vat_110_Monoblend|Boon Vat 110 Monoblend]] (Cognac)*[[Boon/Mikkeller_Oude_Geuze_(Calvados_Aged)|Boon/Mikkeler Oude Geuze (Calvados Aged)]] (e.g. Cantillon Calvados)*[[Cantillon_50_Degrees_North_-_4_Degrees_East|Cantillon 50N 4E]] and (Cognac, Armagnac)*[[Cantillon_Chouke|Cantillon Chouke]](Armagnac) and barrels Barrels used for oxidative wines like sherry (e.g. *[[3_Fonteinen_Zenne_y_Frontera|3 Fonteinen Zenne Y Frontera]](Sherry) and vin jaune (e.g. *[[Cantillon_Lambic_Vin_Jaune| Cantillon La Vie est Belge]](Vin Jaune)*[[Cantillon_Brabantiae|Cantillon Brabantiae]] (Port) First use(s).of wine barrels*[[Cantillon_Zwanze_2018|Cantillon Zwanze 2018]] (Amarone, Chianti, Sangiovese)*[[Oud Beersel Oude Geuze Vieille - Vandervelden 135|Oud Beersel Vandervelden 135]] (Brunello di Montalcino) Old barrels*[[Vat_79_Monoblend|Boon Vat 79 Monoblend]] (from a foeder built in 1883), along with many of the other monoblend series
Barrel cleaning is important for lambic production; however, the exact methods used vary among individual brewers and blenders. Some basic steps are fairly universal. First, any sediment is removed from the barrels by spraying with hot water and, in some cases, scrubbing. Some brewers (such as Cantillon) scrape barrels clean by putting sharpened chains in the barrels and spinning them. The barrels are then washed extensively with with very hot water and/or steamed to sanitize and prepare them for use. If they are to be stored empty rather than being reused promptly, the barrels are allowed to dry and sulfur is burned in them to preserve their sanitation. Even with this extensive cleaning, the barrels still carry microbes and contribute to the fermentation of subsequent batches of lambic<ref name='Spitaels et al 2014'>F. Spitaels, A.D. Wieme, M. Janssens, M. Aerts, H.M. Daniel, A. Van Landschoot, L. De Vuyst, P. Vandamme (2014). [[The_Microbial_Diversity_of_Traditional_Spontaneously_Fermented_Lambic_Beer.|The Microbial Diversity of Traditional Spontaneously Fermented Lambic Beer.]] PLOS One, 9(4), e95384.</ref> and only superficial cleaning of barrels can alter the progression of lambic fermentation.<ref name='Spitaels et al 2015'>F. Spitaels, A.D. Wieme, M. Janssens, M. Aerts, H.M. Daniel, A. Van Landschoot, L. De Vuyst, P. Vandamme (2015). The microbial diversity of an industrially produced lambic beer shares members of a traditionally produced one and reveals a core microbiota for lambic beer fermentation. Food Microbiology, 49, 23-32.</ref>