Although non-traditional, sweetened, fruit “lambics” are easy to obtain in most American cities, finding retailers, pubs, or restaurants that sell traditional Lambic and Gueuze (also spelled Geuze) remains a challenge. Most Americans remain unfamiliar with these traditional beers, or dislike the dry and tart taste. By definition, traditional Lambics need to be imported from Belgium, which further limit availability and increase price. Nevertheless, there are a number of locations in Portland, Oregon, where these beers can be purchased and consumed.

A good brief introduction to Lambic beers is the Wikepedia entry on Lambic beer. A great recent book that extensively covers Lambic is Jeff Sparrow’s “Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast.”

The following list only includes locations in Portland, Oregon, where traditional Lambics and Geuze beers are being sold. This list is not complete and may be outdated. Please contact the authors at lambicandwildale@gmail.com for additions, corrections and updates.

North

Saraveza
1004 N Killingsworth St

Downtown

Higgins Restaurant and Bar
1239 SW Broadway

Northeast

Concordia Ale House
3276 NE Killingsworth St

Grain and Gristle
1473 NE prescott

Southeast

Apex
1216 SE Division St. Portland

Belmont Station Beer Store and Biercafe
4500 SE Start St.

Cheese Bar
6031 SE Belmont Street

Retailers

Some local Whole Foods stores carry traditional Lambics (for example, Cantillon at the Pearl District Whole Foods) or are open to ordering special requests. John’s Market in SW Portland has the largest selection of traditional Lambics in Portland. Another beer seller with a reasonable collection of traditional Lambics is Belmont Station. Beers at Belmont Station can be either purchased to take out, or consumed in the “bier cafe.” They occasionally have traditional Lambics and Gueuzes on draft and organize an annual “Puckerfest” to celebrate sour ales and lambics. The bottle shop Saraveza carries a small selection of traditional lambics. Beaumont Market in North East has a selection of traditional lambics including Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen. A new beerstore in the South East called The Beermongers sells tradtional brewers such as Cantillon, Girardin, and Boon. Until recently, the excellent lambics of Hanssens were not available in Portland but since Autumn 2009  bottles of Hanssens have made it to Belmont Station and John’s Market. The only traditional Lambic brewer that is not available at all in Portland is De Cam.

American Wild Ales

Not strictly Lambic, but American wild ales share some similarities with the traditional Pajottenland beers. Representative brewers of this style are Russian River Brewing Company and Jolly Pumpkin Artisan Ales. Some American wild ales (notably Jolly Pumpkin) are available at Saraveza, Belmont Station, Apex, John’s Market, Bailey’s Taproom (downtown), and Concordia Ale House.

Resources

Boon
Cantillon
De Cam
3 Fonteinen
Girardin
Hannsens Artisanaal
Oud Beersel