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The story of lambic in the Belgian culture is a complex history that dates back to the times of the Roman Empire. From conquest and conquer in ancient times, to World Wars, taxation, decline in popularity, and resurgence, lambic has continued to persevere and evolve. Today, lambic is experiencing a renaissance in Belgium, across Europe, and across throughout the world.

Pajottenland (sometimes ''Payottenland'' in English) is an extremely fertile agricultural region of in Belgium that is situated in a valley between the rivers Senne and Dendre to the south-west of Brussels between the rivers Senne and Dendre. This The Pajottenland is the principal area for lambic production in the country. Only the western section of Neerpede, a small part of Brussels, is considered to be part of the Pajottenland region. Other cities located in this area, many of which are closely associated with lambic breweries, blenders, and cafés are Affligem, Asse, Bever, Dilbeek Gammerages, Gooik, Herne, Leeuw-Saint-Pierre, Lennik, Liedekerke, Pepingen, Roosdaal , and Ternat. The area gets its name from the Walloon word for a soldier from the region, a Payot.

The Senne (French) / Zenne (Dutch) valley is as closely associated with lambic production as the Pajottenland. The Senne River is a small river that runs through the heart of Brussels and was notorious for being one of the most polluted rivers in Belgium. In fact, at one point the river was covered to help alleviate the pollution and flooding problems caused within the city. Today , the Senne is split in two and treated at new facilities before rejoining and continuing southof Brussels. In total , the river is 64 miles/103km long and flows through or near near many of the lambic producing towns in Belgium. To the west of the Senne is another shorter river known as the Dendre (French) / Dender (Dutch) River. Though not often cited in lambic lore, the Dendre River is the second river that helps to cradle the valley known as Pajottenland.

Speaking lambic can be as complex as the beer itself. Belgium is a country divided up into very distinct linguistic regions whose inhabitants have their own words for many of the commonly used terms associated with the lambic tradition and process. Both Dutch and French speaking brewers and blenders are in operation today leaving many curious lambic drinkers wondering how this all came to be. Readers my may also find the [https://www.lambic.info Lambic.Info] [[Glossary]] helpful before reading the main article.

Though there are industrial-scale lambic breweries with very large production runs, the main ingredients always consist of pale two-row malt (approximately 2/3 of the bill), unmalted wheat (approximately 1/3 of the bill), aged hops, water, and microbial flora. When the wort is ready, it is transferred into the [[koelschip]] (or coolship) to cool and become inoculated for a twenty-four hour period and then transferred to the oak barrels where it will continue to develop until it is either blended into [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|gueuze]] or used in a variety of other [[An_Overview_of_Lambic#Lambic_Styles|lambic styles]]. There have been significant changes in the brewing process since the 19th century, according to Guinard <ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref>, including the ratio of malt to wheat, mash temperatures, and controls on the exposure of the wort before being transferred to barrels. Today, the traditional process has been mostly standardized among the traditional brewers. <ref name="HopDuvelMenu">Lambic Digest, June 8, 1994, http://192.185.42.233/lambic_digest/1994/366.txt</ref>

<span style="background:#FFFFFF"> The spontaneous fermentation of lambic is a complex process in which non-cultivated yeasts and bacteria present in the environment around the wort take up residence in , and are responsible for the fermentation of , the beer. In contrast to the controlled fermentation found in most other modern beers, spontaneous fermentation involves many different organisms and proceeds through at least four distinct, but often overlapping, stages, each characterized by the dominance of a different set of microbes and each which are responsible for different aspects of the finished lambic. </span>

After the wort is left in the [[koelschip]] to pick up the wild yeast , it is then transferred to oak barrels to begin aging. Though much of the lambic brewed goes to the production of geuzegueuze, some is held back to age and can be released in various stages.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref> Pure lambic can take on different names at its various ages including ''jonge lambiek/jeune lambic'' (young lambic) and ''oude lambiek/vieux lambic'' (old lambic). The younger lambic is generally less than one year old and rarely seen outside of special cask and draught tappings. Older lambic is generally considered to be older than one year old and can be found both in bottles and on draught/cask.

Though this pure lambic is not as prevalent as gueuze, breweries such as [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon]] and [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij|De Cam]] regularly release pure lambic in bottles at approximately 2-3 years of age. The distinguishing characteristic of pure lambic is its lack of refermentation in the bottle leading to no carbonation. In certain cases, sugars may be added to the pure lambic at bottling to produce a secondary fermentation in the bottle creating carbonation.

Geuze (Dutch) or Gueuze (French) is the result of blending a young lambic (approximately one year old) with an old lambic (approximately two to three years old, or older). The blending of gueuze is a precise practice for which each blender has their own process. The resulting blend of lambics typically ends up in either 750ml or 375ml bottles that are laid to rest in the brewery's cellar to referment in the bottle. This secondary fermentation in the bottle produces a finely carbonated drink that is traditionally served from pouring [[Serving_Lambic#Baskets|baskets]]. Generally While gueuze is generally a blend of one, two, and three year old lambics, however several gueuzes consists of blends using small portions of four year old lambic (e.g., [[Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]] has released a [[3_Fonteinen_Oude_Geuze_Golden_Blend|Golden Blend]] that which consists of a small portion of four year old lambic as well). Sometimes the resulting gueuze blends do not carbonate in the bottle , resulting in "lazy" beers that can remain flat for years. See Examples of such "lazy" beers include [[Brasserie Cantillon|Cantillon]]'s [[Cantillon_Loerik|Loerik]], 3 Fonteinen's [[3_Fonteinen_Doesjel|Doesjel]] and [[3_Fonteinen_Golden_Doesjel|Golden Doesjel]] , and [[Lindemans Loerik|Lindemans Loerik]] for examples.

Various fruits have a long history of augmenting the taste of lambic. Traditionally, fruit lambic is made my macerating whole fruit with young lambic in wooden casks. A second fermentation of the sugars from the lambic and the fruit then takes place. After maturation , the lambic is typically bottled with with a small amount of young lambic or sugar-liquor to aid natural carbonation in the bottle.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, [[Books#Classic Beer Styles: Lambic|Classic Beer Styles: Lambic]], 1990</ref> Some breweries such as [[Brouwerij Lindemans|Lindeman]]'s and [[De Troch]] also use various fruit syrups to flavor their lambics.

[[Kriek]] (cherry), [[Framboiseframboise]] (raspberry), and [[Druifdruif]] (grape) are all commonly used among lambic producers. Other fruits include peaches, black currants, apricots, apples, and a wide variety of more exotic fruits such as [[Brasserie_Cantillon|Cantillon]]'s use of bilberries in their [[Cantillon_Blåbær_Lambik|Blåbær Lambik]] and [[Neill_and_Ross|Neill and Ross]]'s use of blackberries in [[Shot_in_the_Dark|Shot in the Dark]].

Historically Faro is a lower-alcohol, sweetened beer made with a blend of lambic and another freshly brewed beer (sometimes called a mars beer) in varying amounts.<ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, Classic Beer Styles: Lambic, 1990</ref> Faros are also known to have candy sugar, brown sugar, or cane molasses added to enhance the flavor. According to Guinard, Faro faro "was a blend of equal amounts of lambic and mars... and was a sweet, light table beer that had to be brewed and sold before the heat of summer to avoid fermentation accidents and spoilage." Non-lambic beers that were blended in to create the Faro faro were only brewed until the month of March, from which these beers derived their name. The custom of blending in mars beers into contemporary Faro faro has subsided and they are now a blended version of young lambic sweetened with dark candy sugar and caramel coming in around 4.5% ABV. <ref name="Guinard">Jean-Xavier Guinard, Classic Beer Styles: Lambic, 1990</ref> Recent commercial examples include [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]]'s [[3_Fonteinen_Straffe_Winter|Straffe Winter]] and [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij|De Cam]]'s [[De_Cam_Geuzestekerij_Oude_Faro_De_Cam|Oude Faro De Cam]].

Lambic is one of the few beers capable of being aged for many years. This is because the beer contains microorganisms that continue to develop at different rates changing and change the characteristics of the beer. Additionally, oxygen can work with these yeasts (such as Brettanomyces) to change the characteristics of the beers over time. Lambic is commonly sought after if it has been bottled for between 0 and 15 years, though bottles dating back through the past 100+ years are still occasionally opened and reported to be drinkable. [[Brasserie Cantillon|Cantillon]] recently started their [[Brasserie Cantillon#Underground Cellar|Underground Cellar]] project where they are working to age lambic in controlled conditions with minimal interaction.

Lambic, like wine, is most commonly stored on it's its side. This orientation expands the surface area of the beer that is in contact with the oxygen in the bottle. It also places the beer in contact with the cork. The While the cork will remain moist even if the bottle is upright because of the 100% humidity in the bottle, however storing the bottle sideways may still have an effect on the ullage of a beer by keeping the cork in contact with liquid rather than air. The flip side though is that However, if the cork breaks down with age, direct contact between the beer and cork can lead to Trichloroanisole (TCA) "corked" flavors in the beer. Brewers continue to experiment with corks and continue to invest in higher quality corks that should allow for better aging of lambic in the future.

Lambic also contains natural yeasts and microorganisms which can lead to considerable sediment in the bottle while it ages. Fruits can further contribute to the sediment in a bottle. By storing the beer on it's side, the yeasts will settle along the side of the bottle. When a basket is used for serving, the bottle is kept on it's its side, allowing the yeast to stay in this state and reducing what sediment gets poured into the glass.

Side storing Horizontal storage lambic is not a steadfast rule, however. Many [[Brouwerij Boon|Boon]] beers specifically state on the label to store them upright. No long-term controlled studies have been done to prove the benefits of upright vs vertical and horizontal aging of Lambic.

''Main article: [[Serving Lambic]]''<br> 

No beer style has a greater dichotomy than lambic. For many, it is an entry level beer, marketed as easy drinking, sweet, and a great transition for people who generally do not like the taste of beer. On the other side , lambic is a complex beverage: an acquired taste that is considered to be one of most evolved and sought after tastes among beer aficionados. Exploring both varieties provides a more comprehensive understanding of the history of lambic beers in Belgium.

''Main article: [[Culture vs. Chemistry]]''<br>