Culture vs. Chemistry

One of the most common debates surrounding lambic today is whether or not lambic can be produced outside of the Senne Valley. This is a very controversial and multi-dimensional topic. Minimally, there are three things to consider in trying to reach a satisfactory answer to this question: the product, the process, and the culture.

The Product

Let’s look first at the finished product called lambic: Is it possible to create a finished product, outside of the Senne Valley or the country of Belgium, which is biochemically indistinguishable from traditional lambic? Until the late 1800s, people assumed that the right combination of wild yeasts for lambic only existed in the Senne Valley. Shortly after the turn of the 20th century, it was discovered that these yeasts already existed elsewhere in the world. In 1904, Danish brewing scientist Niels Kjelte Claussen found the yeast Brettanomyces in English beer. He presented his findings to the British Beer & Pub Association and later published them in the Journal of the Institute of Brewing. Because he found these yeasts in British beers, he chose the name “brittanomyces” (the Greek word for “British fungus”). However, a typesetter’s error has left us instead with the name “brettanomyces,” with an e.

Since the yeasts for lambic are not geographically limited to the Senne Valley, what is keeping brewers, with more developed and scientifically-driven techniques, from replicating the ratios and quantities of the various strains of Brettanomyces which are found in traditional lambics and using them in the production of a beer outside of Belgium? In a word – nothing. However, does this mean an American (or Brazilian or Croatian) lambic can be brewed? Let’s defer that question for now and move on to the next topic, process.

The Process

As all lambic brewers will tell you, lambic is much more than the yeasts themselves. The brewing process for lambic is completely unique, and involves the following: • The unique turbid mash brewing process • An extended boil, designed to develop proteins and amino acids that protect against oxidation and acid formation, creating a wort where only certain micro-organisms can survive • A limited brewing season controlled by seasonal temperatures • The use of a coolship and spontaneous fermentation • Spontaneous fermentation in wooden barrels, ripe with wild yeast • The terroir of the building itself, from the ceiling to the floor as well as the local surroundings • A complex aging process, in which different wild yeasts impact the liquid differently at different phases of the beer’s development • A blending process involving multiple barrels of lambic, often from multiple years, to create a product that will mature into something great

This process is as much a tradition as a recipe. With the intense physical demands, the constant attention and care required, and the seasonal brewing cycles, being a lambic brewer is not just a job, but a way of life. This is passed down from generation to generation.

Returning to our question of the viability of a non-Belgian lambic, let’s examine one step in the process of lambic brewing: spontaneous fermentation. A spontaneously fermented beer gets its yeast naturally from the air during the wort cooling process. This is perhaps the best known part of the lambic-brewing process, and every lambic brewer will tell you that if it is not spontaneously fermented, it is not a lambic. Given the balance of yeasts found in the Senne Valley is a primary creator of lambic’s flavor profile, and that spontaneous fermentation is equally crucial to the proper production of lambic, any attempt to move lambic production elsewhere creates a tension between these two aspects of lambic brewing which were previously in perfect harmony. It forces the brewer to ask which is more important: the biochemical composition/yeast content or the method of brewing. This is not a question that any lambic brewer in Belgium has to ask, or would want to – these two aspects of lambic production work in harmony in the Senne Valley, and elsewhere they would likely be in tension. Which is more important: that lambic tastes like a lambic, or that lambic be made like a lambic? In other words, what prevents someone from replicating all of the above? From a scientific perspective…nothing.

Spontaneously fermented beers can be produced anywhere, following the brewing processes of a traditional lambic. Jeff Sparrow reminisces in “Wild Brews” of a conversation that he had with Jean-Pierre Van Roy:

“But don’t despair; believe it or not, you can spontaneously ferment beer anywhere in the world. Jean-Pierre Van Roy of the Cantillon brewery in Brussels told me so on my first visit. I just didn’t know what to make of the statement at the time. Since then, Van Roy’s revelation has become a great deal clearer. Van Roy told me you must develop a taste for your own local lambic, although he never had to taste one result of his suggestion.”

Despite the recent rise in the use of coolships and spontaneous fermentation outside of Belgium, there is still significant variation in the processes and techniques used to produce these new wild ales in other regions. With this experimentation comes a wide variety of wild ales. Often they lack the complexity, or do not age and develop in the bottle well, or are significantly out of balance. They often taste very different from a traditional lambic. Often, these beers are brewed specifically with sour as a goal, as opposed to allowing the beer to develop naturally in a variety of ways, with a tartness being one of those bi-products.

The Culture

One of the most unique aspects of lambic in Belgium is its attendant – both that in which it has grown up, and that which has grown up around it. Lambic is both a reflection of Belgian terroir and culture and a contributor to that same culture. Naturally, Belgian brewers and lawmakers have wanted to protect and preserve their indigenous product. Lambic has, like many other popular regional products throughout Europe, been regionally protected through law and decree. In 1997, a variety of lambic related products were protected by being granted Traditional Specialties Guaranteed (“TSG”) status. Within Europe, this does protect the brewing style, however it does not tie the beer specifically to a region. There are also regular references to lambic having been protected by Royal Decree in 1965.

From a cultural perspective, can lambic be replicated? Lambic represents hundreds of years of history. It represents a culture that identified the unique natural characteristics of a region and leveraged this terrior to produce a product unlike any other. It represents a completely unique localized brewing style where each step was developed specifically to capture and enhance the effects of the region. It represents hundreds of years of family history, breweries that have come and gone, and a culture where bars and restaurants would buy wort and create their own lambic. It represents the annual pilgrimage of beer geeks worldwide who journey to Belgium to experience lambic.

Conclusion

Brewers are ingenious. They have and will continue to brew wild ales in other regions, either through the use of that region’s local terrior or through chemistry and microbiology. They will follow many of the steps described above that are unique to lambic. But beyond that, they experiment and make their own beers, changing the process to create their own unique beverages. We encourage their experimentation. We do hope however, that brewers truly attempting to create a Belgian style lambic respect this amazing style, that they create a product that can stand the test of time, and that they create a complex beer that’s much more than just “sour” or “funky”. We hope that they respect the regional history of the Belgian lambic itself, and instead make their own wild ales, indigenous to their region and brewery.