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A Brief History of Lambic in Belgium

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A similar situation arose with geuze as well. This ''capsulekengeuze'', which was generally comprised of a blend of lambic and top-fermented beer, was filtered, pasteurized, sweetened, pressurized with CO2 and bottled into 25cl bottles. Many breweries at the time adopted this model as a means to survive. This created some confusion in labeling, and in 1965 a royal order began to regulate terms like geuze and how they would be used. The tradition of sweetening lambic continued to grow immensely through the latter half of the 20th century with breweries like [[Brouwerij_Lindemans|Lindemans]], [[Brouwerij_De_Troch|De Troch]], and Belle-Vue producing massive quantities of sweetened lambic. Very few producers were still following the old ways of production.
===Lambic ca.1970 – Present1999===As mergers and acquisitions continued to close smaller breweries, some breweries managed to remain open and independent.Survival mechanisms like sweetened lambic and side business persisted throughout the 70's and still continue to this day. Brewers are still catering to what a majority of consumers want and often expect, and that is sweetened lambic. Still, brewers like Armand Debelder who do not offer sweetened lambic survived by maintaining a restaurant with his brother that was connected to [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]].<ref name=summit10>[[The Lambic Summit 2010#Part 10|The Lambic Summit, Part 10]]</ref>  In 1978, Jean Pierre Van Roy of Cantillon opened the brewery up as a ‘living museum’. The [[Musée bruxellois de la Gueuze]] (Brussels Gueuze Museum) was born. The museum strived to preserve the process and qualities of centuries old production techniques in the modern era. Today, it is one of the most frequented stops on any lambic pilgrimate to Brussels. If the era immediately following World War II saw a surge in sweetened lambic, then the 1970’s onward has seen a distinct split in lambic production, appellation, and consumption.
Sweetened lambic is still extremely popular, yet so is the ‘traditional’ unsweetened lambic. From hundreds of producers in the early part of the 20th century, the current lambic lineup includes nine lambic brewers (who also blend) and four lambic blenders. Though small in number, these brewers and blenders represent a new resurgence in lambic interest. Many brewers who had long since abandoned the idea of non-sweetened lambics are back to producing both sweetened and unsweetened products for consumers. In 1994, Lindemans reintroduced an unsweetened gueuze called Gueuze Cuvée René and [[Brouwerij_Timmermans|Timmermans]] has also reintroduced a line of unsweetened prducts.
As lambic brewers and blenders began to recognize the importance of keeping the older traditions alive, they banded together for [[HORAL]]. This group aimes to promote lambic beers, brewing, and culture in Belgium. Their stated goals are "to promote the craft lambic beers and related products, paying attention to the entire process of brewing to serving lambic; denouncing irregularities concerning artisanal lambic beers and related products; take steps to protect the traditional lambic beers and related products".<ref name = HORALAssociation> HORAL - Association, Members, and History, http://www.horal.be/vereniging (Dutch)</ref> HORAL has worked to obtain and maintain current European Protections on traditional lambic beers since the Traditionally Specialty Guaranteed label was assigned to them in 1997.<Ref name = Avermaete&Vandermosten> Tessa Avermaete and Gert Vandermosten, Traditional Belgian Beersin a Global Market Economy, 2009 </ref> The most recent commercial blender, [[Gueuzerie_Tilquin|Gueuzerie Tilquin]] opened its doors in 2011 and has been well received by the lambic community both at home and abroad. 
===Lambic 2000 - Present===This renewed interest in lambic has inspired new generations of brewers, blenders, and consumers alike. The most recent commercial blender, [[Gueuzerie_Tilquin|Gueuzerie Tilquin]] opened its doors in 2011 and has been well received by the lambic community both at home and abroad. The new chapter in the history of lambic is currently being written. The recent surge in popularity and the return of more traditional products is a welcomed sign of things to come.
==References==
<references />
[[An_Overview_of_Lambic|← An Overview of Lambic]]
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