Lambic and Wild Ale

Jeff Sparrow’s Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast is a major contribution to the literature on lambic beer. In this book the author does not only discuss traditional lambic but Flanders red ale, Flanders brown ale, and contemporary (American) wild ale as well. If anything, this book is testament that spontaneous fermentation and brewing with other yeasts then Saccharomyces is not dead.

After being introduced by New Belgium’s Peter Bouckaert, the book starts off with the obligatory account of how the author became interested in the beers he  loves to write about. In this case the author is traveling in in Europe, ends up in Chez Moeder Lambic in Elsene, Belgium, orders a lambic “with some odd tropical fruit” and is told by the bartender to try Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus instead. This experience, and a later experience with a vintage bottle of Liefmans Goudenband (old recipe) set the stage for an enduring interest in the wild brews of Belgium.

The recovery of traditional lambic and the movement to brew wild ales in other parts of the world raises the obvious question if lambic can be brewed anywhere else than Brussels and the Payottenland. Brewer Frank Boon reportedly said “you can’t” but Cantillon’s Jean-Pierre Van Roy  believes that spontaneously fermented beer can be brewed  in other places in the world. These answers are not mutually exclusive. If lambic beers are defined as spontaneously fermented beers that are brewed in Belgium’s Payottenland, it is evident that lambics cannot be brewed in any other part of the world. If the defining character of lambic is true spontaneous fermentation, all bets are off. And if lambic is defined solely by its flavor profile, the character of lambics can be approached by controlled fermentation with non-traditional yeasts and bacteria. In his book 1990 “Lambic”,  Jean-Xavier Guinard argues persuasively that the temptation to ride on the popularity of lambics should be resisted and that this label only needs to be used for the traditional brews of the Payottenland. On the other hand, when brewers in other parts of the world employ the authentic traditional techniques such non-Belgium lambics could help to save the tradition from extinction.

Sparrow devotes some effort to distinguish between Flanders red ales (sour ales), Flanders brown ales  (oud bruin) and lambics. In the case of lambics such distinctions are clear but the attempt to distinguish red ales from brown ales looks more challenging.  One cannot just tweak a little with another beer style and get a lambic but the dividing line between the Flanders ales can appear quite arbitrary, although one could mention that the the presence of Acetobacter sp.  contributes to the more pronounced presence of acidic acid in the reds. But reading his account of the Flanders sour ales, it seems that these beers are more vulnerable to disappear than lambics. This is ironic because modern examples of such beers are produced in ways that would be considered taking lazy shortcuts by traditional lambic standards. This raises the question of how the production of a traditional Flanders sour ale be distinguished from a traditional lambic, a topic that is discussed at various points in the book.

The history of wild brews is covered in some detail, including a brief discussion of the American Wild Ale style. Sparrow expands on the history of lambic brewing given in Guinard. As the author states, “lambic can lay claim to being the oldest existing beer style in the world”, its first written documentation going back to around 1320. The most infamous lambic variant must be faro, “the beer which is drunk twice”, a characterization that dates from the time that waste-polluted Senne River water was used to brew this sweet lambic. Discussing the practice of blending and diluting lambics, the author notes that some hint  “that the founder of the Belle-Vue lambic brewery-pub in Brussels was not well respected and produced his lambic with help from beer discarded from other breweries and  returned from cafes.”

Although most lambics that are consumed today are gueuze and fruit lambics, one hundred years ago 90% to 95% of lambics were sold straight. Lambic brewers Cantillon and De Cam have bottled unblended aged lambic, but it is not likely that this style will catch on beyond locals, a small group of lambic connoisseurs and perhaps some adventurous wine drinkers any time soon. Sparrow mentions that traditional lambic brewers consider  the differences between lambic and wine and between Gueuze and Champagne very small. Quite remarkably, the author also mentions that in Eastern Brabant the traditional white (wit) beers were produced by spontaneous fermentation as well. Fruit and herbs were often used in the production to balance the sourness of the beer. The addition of herbs has remained a staple of Belgian white beers such as Hoegaarden but the tradition of spontaneous fermentation has been abandoned.

The third chapter about drinking wild beer has lot of information (including a number of maps) about most of the major existing producers of traditional lambics and wild ales and  makes the book quite useful as a reference. There are also interesting tidbits of information about the evolution of some brewers, which often means the transition from a traditional product to something with more mass appeal (such as the reduction of aged beer in Rodenbach Classic to make it sweeter). This chapter really shines in its description of the traditional lambic brewers; their formation, history and brewing approach. Sparrow’s description of 3 Fonteinen’s unorthodox “temperature controlled” barrel stores has taken a completely different meaning since the 2009 disaster that cost the brewery most of its years product and contributed to DeBelder’s decision to stop brewing and return to blending. The United States is also discussed and includes some interesting information on smaller experiments with wild ales around the country. Also featured, of course, is Russian River, the California brewery that has done a lot to promote sour ales in the United States and who can give many Belgium brewers a run for their money.

The technical treatment of lambic brewing covers much of the same ground as Jean-Xavier Guinard’s 1990 book on the topic but adds a lot of interesting details, photos (including microscopy images) and tables.  In the case of Sparrow’s book there is, of course, also the technical treatment of the production of Flanders reds and browns. Most impressive, and somewhat of a neglected topic in Guinard’s book, is the extensive discussion of the characteristics, selection and maintenance of barrels, an element of traditional lambic brewing that requires a lot of expertise, which further adds to the mystique of lambic brewing. In his discussion of barrel choice, the author mentions the ability of some lambic connoisseurs to detect the original use of a “new” barrel in a blend.  Breweries such as Belle-Vue, Cantillon, and Oud Beersel also use chestnut barrels in addition to oak.

The technical and procedural treatment of lambic is completed with a chapter about blending, and that of Gueuze blending in particular. As the author notes: “Gueuze blending is an art. The traditional gueuze blender expresses himself using a liquid media the same way a painter uses paint and canvas.”

Wild Brews is great book for  lovers of traditional lambic.  Highly recommended.

The Belgian beer blog Hier Stroomt het Bier! has an extensive photo report on the birth of a new Gueuze blender from Bierghes in the French speaking part of Belgium (Walloons). Brewer Pierre Tilquin, who has learned the skills of traditional lambic brewing at 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon, expects to release his first Gueuze in mid-2011.  Lambics are obtained from Boon, Lindemans, Girardin, and Cantillon (the first time this brewer is making its lambic available for blending) and will be aged in used Crozes-Hermitage of Cornas barrels.

Is this possible to make a lambic in the United States? This depends on the definition of what constitutes a lambic (brewing process or location) but the ongoing attempt by Allagash to use the usual ingredients, a cool ship, and  real spontaneous fermentation could do it. In the meantime,  some of the beers made by Russian River are coming closer in terms of brewing process and taste.  Few, if any, American wild ales have come as close to the smell and taste of an actual Belgian Geuze as Russian River’s Beatification.

Beatification is a blend of two vintages of a base beer called “Sonambic,” which are further blended with “a couple of other orphan beers” to change the mouthfeel of barrel aged beers or enhance its acidity. Beatification was aged for 8 to 15 months in old Oak Barrels (at least 5 years according to Russian River’s website) which impart little wine or oak notes to the beer. Its “spontaneous” character lies in the wild yeasts and bacteria which inhabit the barrels.  This method comes a lot closer to traditional lambic brewing than just adding a lambic or Flanders Red culture to the beer. Like traditional Geuze, Beatification undergoes a secondary fermentation in the bottle, which, as all the Russian River wild ale bottles, feature restrained and beautiful labels.

Because we did not have an opportunity to try this until a family member from California visited us, the beer that we tasted may have benefited from further aging after it was purchased in 2008.

The following notes were taken on Thursday, August 27, 2009:

Batch 003. 750 ml. Poured into a Cantillon Geuze glass.

Upon uncorking — lots of carbonation, foam came over the lip of the bottle.

Appearance: When pouring, half a finger of head which dissipated quickly. Blond / yellow beer, opaque.

Smell: Smells like a traditional Geuze. Cannot recall any American beer that smells so much like a lambic/Geuze. Brett, citrus (lemon), wheat.

Taste: Very tart, with a smooth finish. One of the strongest lemon notes I have ever tasted in a beer. Wheat. Alcohol is not very noticeable. A slight grapefruit note develops as it gets warmer.

Mouthfeel: Light. Moderate carbonation (just the right amount). Some astringency.

Drinkability: Extremely drinkable. Perhaps it is a good thing that the price prevents excessive consumption! A perfect beer to drink outside in warm weather.

One difference between Beatification and Geuze lambic that I detected is the reduced complexity in taste. In this case I am wondering whether this should be considered a defect because the bone dry and lemon-like taste is exceptional.   There are more complex Russian River wild ales but Beatification simply blows them away.  There is something to be said for alcoholic beverages that simply feature flawless execution of a specific flavor. More than one reviewer has compared Beatification to a very dry, tart white wine. In light of my preference for the dry and concentrated white wines from the Alsace region in France, this characterization does not surprise me.

Since this beer was so close in taste to a traditional Geuze it would be interesting to  use an analytical chemistry technique like chromatography on this beer to determine its chemical profile and compare it to traditional lambics and other wild ales.

After tasting Beatification there is no doubt in my mind that Americans can compete with the best traditional Lambic brewers if  instant gratification is suppressed and the temptation to sweeten the beer, the use of new oak , and excessive carbonation is discouraged. All these pitfalls have been avoided in Beatification.

Of all the wild ales that are currently available in the United States, Beatification ranks among the best.

On Saturday May 16th 3 Fonteinen’s Armand Debelder entered his storage place in Halle, Belgium and found that a failure of  the thermostat had allowed the temperature to rise from 16 degrees Celsius to around 60 (!) degrees Celsius for at least 36 hours. As a result, a small number of the fermenting bottles of geuze and kriek had simply exploded and others had started leaking. Upon tasting some of the intact bottles, DeBelder observed that the beer was slightly oxidized; still better than a lot of beers that can be found on the shelves, but not worthy of the name 3 Fonteinen.  As a consequence, close to 100,000 small bottles (50,000 liters of beer), had to be discarded.

Volunteers and supporters from different countries flocked to Halle to help Debelder uncork all the bottles by hand to save them for future use.  To salvage some of his investment (around 315,000 dollars), Debelder will be using the lambic from the intact bottles for distillation to produce a non-sweetened 40° eau de vie at Distillerie de Biercée in Tuin, which will be offered in small bottles of 50 cl.

Naturally, DeBelder is devastated about what happened but notes that the support from lambic supporters and other lambic breweries has been heartwarming. Please support 3 Fonteinen by purchasing its excellent products and the unique eau de vie upon release.

Dutch links:

Thermostaat vernielt productie 3 Fonteinen

Thermostaat verknoeit 50.000 liter lambiek (with video)

English Links:

Serious blow to Drie Fonteinen

Brief Update on Setback at Drie Fonteinen

Nothing is more suitable than to open a book about lambic beers with a personal story on how the author became acquainted with that most mysterious of beers. In the case of Jean-Xavier Guidard most people will recognize the experience. A young student in Paris is persuaded by his friend to order a Kriek, “a wheat beer from Belgium made by spontaneous fermentation and with macerated cherries.” After looking at the price on the board, the author is not so sure. His friends offers to buy it, and the rest is history.

Although the detailed technical discussion of brewing traditional lambics may be challenging to some readers, the complexities of this unique Belgian brew more than warrant the fascinating tour through the wonderful microbial flora that work together to create lambic. Because there are many basic introductions available about traditional lambic brewing, I will focus here on some of the more interesting details that the author has collected during his research.

The author starts off with a fascinating history of lambic beers and draws attention to the close similarities between traditional lambic and sikaru, a beer that was produced 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia by Sumerians. A Sumerian tablet revealed that the basic composition of sikaru was virtually identical to that of lambic. Sikaru did not include hops but rather spices like cinnamon to add flavor. Like lambic, the spontaneous fermentation of sikaru wort involved the local microflora like saccharomyces and schizo saccharomyces yeasts. Both lambic and sikaru have been considered high quality premium beers and were used to pay the salaries of farmers, the working class and managers. Today, Gueuze is still known as “Brussels Champaign.”

The origin of the name lambic remains a source of debate. Some claim that it refers to the alambic, an old name for the mashing vessel that was used to brew lambic, while others point to the latin word lambere (to sip). Lambic may also have been derived from the village of Lembeek in Belgium. Similar mysteries surround the name Gueuze (or Geuze). The importance of lambic in Belgian culture is evident in old paintings (such as Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s “The Wedding”) and literature, culminating in a notorious document of lambic culture in the late 19th century in Belgium called “Les memoires de Jef Lambic.”

Less exalted was the French poet Charles Beaudelaire, who wrote about faro (young lambic with candi sugar) consumption in Brussels: “Faro is drawn from the great latrine, the Senne; it is a beverage extracted from the excrements of the city through its sewer system. This is how the city has been drinking its own urine for centuries.” Beaudelaire even wrote a short poem about it, which goes as follows:

“Do you drink Faro, Mr. Hetzel?
A look of horror crossed his bearded face,
No!, never! Faro! I say this without spleen,
It’s beer that you drink twice.”

Beaudelaire would have been pleased with the decline of traditional lambic brewing during the 20th century. At the beginning of the century there were about 130 lambic breweries in the Brussels and the Senne Valley. Today, only a small number of lambic breweries and Geuze blenders survive. If we exclude breweries that mainly offer “modern” and “sweetened” lambics, the number of traditional lambic breweries and blenders is around 10 (as of 2008).  Going forward, there is reason to be optimistic, as evidenced by the creation of organizations to preserve and promote traditional lambic beers, the increased respect that brewers such as Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen receive, and the experiments with wild ales by breweries such as Russian River in the United States. Traditional lambic brewing (and the practice of spontaneous fermentation in general) appears to be making a comeback.

Although some of the information about contemporary lambic brewers, blenders, and cafes in Guinnard’s book is dated (the book was published in 1990), in his review of contemporary lambic brewing the author expresses concern over the fact that artisan lambic brewers have to compete with “lambics” that have been artifically inoculated and carbonated, fermented in steel tanks, pasteurized, filtered, and in the case of fruit lambics, sweetened with syrups and artificial flavors. Since 1998, the European Union decided that only traditional lambic brewers can use the name “oude” (which means old, as in “traditional”) for their products, the situation remains that these modern “lambics” are still being sold under the name lambic, necessitating the need for better education about lambic brewing and grassroots support for breweries and blenders who are committed to the old ways.

After introducing the reader to the history of lambic brewing, the author briefly reviews the sensory properties of lambic beers using a table that includes appearance, aroma, taste and mouthfeel. In reviewing the properties of young and aged unblended lambic, an interesting comparison is made between aged lambic and the vin jaune wines (French for “yellow wine”) of the Château-Chalon area in the French Jura. If there was still any doubt about differences in the physical and chemical properties of lagers and lambic, the  next chapter provides hard data to distinguish them. These data, derived from technical publications on lambic brewing, also highlight the differences between traditional and modern lambics.

The real degree of fermentation (RDF) can range from 63 to 82 percent in geuzes, exceeding the 50 to 68 percent in American lagers. In traditional lambics the attenuation of sugars can be complete, making them  interesting choices for diabetics. As such, calories in lambic beers come from ethanol and residual extract. The “thin” mouthfeel of traditional lambics is explained by the low level of dextrins.  One of the distinguishing characteristics of lambics is of course their acidity and sour taste. Total acidity of lambic beers are reported to be three to eight times as high as American lagers. Measured values for acetic acid and lactic acid in lambics are much higher than in other beers. The vinegarlike aroma of lambics results from acetic acid and ethyl acetate, with the latter disproportionately contributing to the smell because of its lower detection threshold. Although lambics have roughly the same values in bitterness units as American lagers, the use of aged (oxidized) hops and high acidity of the beers imparts little or no bitter taste to the lambic beers. The chapter ends with a fascinating look at  the different HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) profiles of traditional and modern lambics. As expected, higher residual sugars and dextrins and a lower alcohol content are detected in the modern geuzes and fruit lambics.

The essential ingredients in lambic are malted barley, unmalted wheat, water, hops, and in the case of fruit lambics, whole fruits. Although lambic brewing is considered a highly local phenomenon, it is surprising to learn that the barley and hops often come from other regions such as the UK and central Europe. Although the Schaarbeekse cherries are considered the gold standard for traditional Kriek lambics, local supply is not sufficient to satisfy demand, requiring cherries to be imported from other countries.

Guinnard gives a fairly detailed description of the lambic brewing process which includes a lambic production diagram which seems to describe lambic brewing at the Cantillon brewery. One of the most fascinating features of lambic brewing is the use of a cooling tun or coolship (bac refroidissor) that is used to innoculate the wort. Lambic cooling tuns are very wide and shallow, allowing good exposure of the surface area to the microorganisms that are introduced through the outside air through vented tiles and open louvers. The importance of not disturbing the local microflora is considered so important to traditional lambic brewers that Cantillon decided to keep the old tiles when replacing the roof. It may come somewhat as a surprise to lambic connoisseurs that the old brewing process did not maximize the opportunity for the wort to pick up the local microflora. The author notes that “in the 1850s, the presence of lactic flavor or a ropy appearance (caused by lactic acid bacteria and considered “normal” in today’s lambic fermentations) was regarded as a defect.”

Without a doubt the most fascinating (and longest) chapter in the book is devoted to the microbiology of lambic fermentation and cellaring. The lambic beers are unique in their reliance on spontaneous fermentation by  the airborne microflora in the area and the brewery. Over the years chemists and food scientists have done important work in documenting the microorganisms that are involved in lambic brewing. Lambics do not only distinguish themselves from lagers and conventional ales in the involvement of “wild” yeasts of the brettanomyces genus but bacteria play a role in their fermentation as well. During the first week the lambic wort is home to enteric bacteria and yeast of the Kloeckera apiculata strain. After two weeks K. apicculata is overgrown by Saccharomyces yeast, converting most of the sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide. After 3 to 4 months ethanol fermentation levels off to give way to lactic acid bacteria. These lactic acid bacteria contribute to the distinct sour taste of traditional lambics. After eight months yeasts of the Brettanomyces genus dominate. This slow growing yeast is responsible for the distinct “horsey” flavor in lambics.  The Brettanomyces and other oxidative yeasts also contribute to the formation of a film that forms at the surface of the beer. This film protects the aging brew against oxidation and great care is exercised not to break it. The author also reports on the role of spiders in protecting the aging lambic wort from infection; “as predetors of flies, the spiders…are treated with respect and care by most lambic brewers. Killing a spider in their brewery is considered a crime.”

A special case is the microbiology of gueuze. To make a  real gueuze, lambics of different ages (for example, 1, 2 and 3 years) are blended and refermented in the bottle. During bottle fermentation three distinct phases can be distinguished. First, aerobic yeasts such as Candida, Torulopsis, and Pichia proliferate (probably as the result of air exposure during gueuze production), followed by the longest phase during which Pediococcus and Brettanomyces produce its carbonation, and ending with the drop and autolysis of the cells. The author stresses the importance of alternating  warm and cold temperatures (which are traditionally achieved by the changing of the seasons) to satisfy the optimum temperature requirements for the different microorganisms. As can be expected, a live product such gueuze is vulnerable to handling and extreme temperature variations; “In 1931, more than 3 million bottles of gueuze were lost to hot weather in Brussels.”

The book ends with storing and serving recommendations for lambic beers and formulations for how to brew them. Real lambics can only be produced by spontaneous fermentation in areas that have the unique microbial flora for these brews (such as the Payottenland in Belgium). Although attempts can be made to approach the aroma and taste of lambics by using malt, wheat, aged hops and and cultures of the most important yeasts, the author stresses that such beers should NOT be called lambics to avoid confusion and out of respect for those who brew the real thing. Provided these recommendations are taken seriously, the resulting wild ales can  be interesting beers, as evidenced by the creations of brewers like Russian River and Jolly Pumpkin in the United States.

Jean-Xavier’s book on Lambic is a classic and recommended reading for everyone interested in Belgian beers, and lambics in particular.