Tag Archives: De Cam

Lambic beer in Portland Oregon


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

Portland, Oregon, is considered one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, beer city in the United States. Even the average neighborhood deli or gas station has a greater selection of craft beers than the average supermarket in other cities.  Many people here have a healthy dislike of mass produced lagers and not a week goes by without interesting beer events. And, as can be expected, Portland brewers also have a strong commitment to organic brewing, as evidenced by brewpubs such as Hopworks and Roots.  So if Portland is Beervana, should it be easier to locate and drink traditional Belgium lambics in this town?

The answer to this question is YES. As I document in the The Portland Oregon Guide to Lambic and Gueuze Beers, there are quite a number of beer stores and pubs that sell traditional lambics.  To my knowledge all traditional Belgian lambic brews can be found in Portland with the exception of De Cam but this should not be surprising because to date De Cam is not available in the US at all. A lot rarer is finding traditional lambic on tap, but it occasionally happens, especially during the annual “Puckerfest” at Belmont Station. As a general rule, expect to pay for lambics in Portland. This does not only reflect the obvious fact that lambics need to be imported, but also the labor- and time-consuming  process of traditional lambic brewing itself, which further increases price.

Is Portland a great location for locally produced wild ales? In my opinion, NOT YET. Portland does not have the equivalent of a Russian River or Allagash brewery. To the extent that sour ales are produced in Portland they often are expensive one time seasonal experiments, stray too far from tradition, or leave the brewer with too much residual sugar. Although one cannot expect a Portland brewer to produce a traditional product like Cantillon Lou Pepe Gueuze without extensive knowledge, skill, and most of all, patience, there is no reason to assume there could not be a market for such beers in Oregon. And, like California, Oregon also has a strong wine culture and it is well established that traditional lambics are often found more appealing by wine drinkers than by beer drinkers.

Like traditional lambic, The Portland Oregon Guide to Lambic and Gueuze Beers is ALIVE. Please contact the author with updates, corrections, or information about events: lambicandwildaleATgmail.com


Bottled unblended lambic


Posted by Aschwin de Wolf

cantillon_bruocsellaAlmost all lambic beers that are sold to consumers are either lambic with added fruit, or a blend of young and old lambics (geuze). But perhaps the oldest style of lambic is just the unblended version of the beer, which can be consumed while it is still young or after many years of fermentation. Young lambic (or fox lambic)  cannot be bottled because the  ongoing carbon dioxide generation of the remaining sugars would shatter the bottle. It can be consumed, however, from a cask at the brewery or on draft at neighboring cafes in the Brussels area in Belgium. Some American cafes  like Philadelphia’s Monk’s Cafe have served young lambic.

Young lambic is a cloudy, flat,  sour, and dry product and is  served when 6 months to one year of age, although theoretically a young lambic can be sampled at a very young age. These very young lambics are still in the early stages of fermentation and  without many of the characteristics of a mature lambic. Perhaps an even rarer style that has found its way to select consumers are unblended versions of fruit lambic. Uncarbonated or slightly carbonated versions of Cantillon’s Saint Lamvinus and Kriek have been reported.

At the other end of the spectrum are unblended aged lambics, or “vieux lambic.” Unlike young lambics, such aged unblended lambics can be bottled because generation of carbon dioxide has run its course, leaving a dry, sharp, sour and still beer.  This style of lambic is the furthest removed from what most people consider a beer and has more similarities with a bone dry wine, and the Vin Jaune wines from the Jura region in France in particular. As demand is not high for aged “straight lambic,” only a few lambic producers have offered bottled unblended lambic. Cantillon offers a three year aged straight lambic under the name Grand Cru Bruocsella. Geuze blender De Cam has bottled a 5 year old lambic called “De Cam Oude Lambiek,” supposedly as a consequence of persistent demand from some Japanese (!) consumers.

Perhaps the increasing popularity of traditional Belgian lambic beers will generate more demand for bottling of aged unblended lambics from other lambic producers. And with the increasing interest in real wild fermentation in the United States, aged unblended wild ales may become a possibility as well.