Changes

Lambic wort arrives in the coolship [[koelschip]] at approximately 5% sugar per weight of water, along with an assortment of proteins and fatty acids and other compounds.<ref name=Erbe >T. Erbe and H. Brückner, [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0021967300002557| Chromatographic determination of amino acid enantiomers in beers and raw materials used for their manufacture], 2000</ref> Negligible ethanol is present prior to fermentation, nor is there much of the organic acids that will give lambic its characteristic tartness; the wort has a pH around 5, which is similar to the wort of other beers.<ref name=Oevelen77 >D. Van Oevelen, M. Spaepen, P. Timmermans and H. Verachtert, [http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/j.2050-0416.1977.tb03825.x/abstract| MICROBIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF SPONTANEOUS WORT FERMENTATION IN THE PRODUCTION OF LAMBIC AND GUEUZE], 1977</ref> Enteric bacteria, including Enterobacter hormaechei, E. kobei, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, are the first to gain a foothold in this environment, with significant numbers found after three to four days. The enteric bacteria primarily consume glucose, which reduces the gravity of the wort from ~1.050 to ~1.040 after the first three weeks.