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The terms ''jonge'' and ''oude'' in Dutch and ''jeune'' and ''vieux'' in French directly translate to ‘young’ and ‘old’. When discussing the various styles of lambic in general, we found that many native speakers of the language use either the general term ''lambiek'' (Dutch) or ''lambic'' (French) in their everyday parlance. When asked to clarify their definition of lambic, speakers of the two prominent languages in where the beer is produced always add the young/old adjective to clarify the age. Asking a native Dutch or French speaker to describe what a g(u)euze is will always yield the answer that it is a blend (''mengeling'', Dutch; ''mélange/assemblage'', French) of young and old lambics.
This brings into question the ubiquitous English-language designation of ''unblended lambic''. Historically, authors have generally used the English term to distinguish this type of lambic from its blended form g(u)euze and to a lesser extent from its fruited form. Papazian (19841991), Jackson (1991, 1999), and De Keersmaecker (1996) all have used the term ''unblended lambic'' in English to describe a lambic beer which has not been blended into a g(u)euze or used to create a fruited lambic. <ref name=Papazian> Charlie Papazian – The Complete Joy of Homebrewing (1st 2nd Ed.), 1984 1991 </ref><Ref name=MichaleJackson1>Michael Jackson – Great Beers of Belgium (1st Ed.), 1991 </ref><ref name= MichaelJackson2>Michael Jackson, [http://www.beerhunter.com/documents/19133-000214.html Understanding the Beer Styles, The Lambic Family of Beers], 1999</ref><ref name=DeKeersmaecker> Jacques De Keersmaecker - The Mystery of Lambic Beer, 1996</ref>
The official 2008 BJCP Style Guideline defines category 17D as "Straight (Unblended) Lambic" and notes in the comment section that “straight lambics are single-batch, unblended beers [and] ... since they are unblended, the straight lambic is often a true product of the “house character” of a brewery and will be more variable than a gueuze.” <ref name= BJCP2008> BJCP - [http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style17.php#1d Style Guidelines], 2008</ref> The 2014 draft proposal of the new guidelines eliminates the category of Straight (Unblended) Lambic, replacing it with category 23D: Lambic. The wording in the comments section remains unchanged.<ref name= BCJP2014> BJCP - [http://www.bjcp.org/docs/2014%20BJCP%20Style%20Guidelines%20%28DRAFT%29.pdf Style Guidelines - Draft Proposal], 2014 </ref> The Oxford Beer Companion, under the heading of “Types of Lambic” also uses the term lambic to distinguish it from g(u)euze and proceeds to describe “unblended lambic [as] uncarbonated, devoid of foam, sour, and available on tap only at a few locations around Brussels and in the producing villages.”<ref name=Oxford> Garrett Oliver, Tom Colicchio – The Oxford Companion to Beer, 2011</ref> The usage of unblended lambic in English likely predates the publications cited, and still persists in many print and online beer publications, including beer rating and categorizing websites. Though the BJCP's term is technically correct, it is rare that a lambic is commercially available while adhering to the strict understanding of the definition.