Lambic & Belgian Sour Ale - Straight Lambic-style Ale

BJCP 20-A

AROMA

The aroma of these beers is a complex blend from a wide variety of microbiota, often described in the following terms: horsey, horse blanket, sweaty, oaky, hay, and sour. Other aromas that are found in small quantities are: enteric, vinegary and barnyard. Lambics can also be very fruity, and a corky or woody character may also be detected on occasion. Typically, no hop aroma or diacetyl are perceived.

APPEARANCE

May be cloudy. Head retention is not expected to be very good. Yellow to gold color.

FLAVOR

Young examples are intensely sour from lactic acid and at times some acetic acid. When aged, the sourness is more in balance with the malt and wheat character. Fruit flavors are simpler in young lambics and more complex in the older examples. Some oak or wood flavor is sometimes noticeable. Hop bitterness is low to none. Hop flavor is absent. Typically, no diacetyl is perceived.

MOUTH FEEL

Medium to light in body. Bottled lambic ales vary from well-carbonated to not carbonated, and draft lambic is virtually flat.

OVERALL

Complex, sour, pale, wheat-based ales fermented with a variety of microflora.

INGREDIENTS

Unmalted wheat (30-40%) and aged hops are used. Traditionally, these beers are spontaneously fermented with naturally occurring yeast and bacteria in oak or in some cases chestnut barrels. Home-brewed and craft-brewed versions are more typically made with pure cultures of yeast, including Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces, along with Pediococcus and Lactobacillus bacteria, in an attempt to recreate the effects of the dominant microflora of the Senne/Zenne valley.

COMMENTS

Straight lambics have a fruity complexity and intense acidity, and very few are bottled. Blended, aged and bottle-conditioned lambics, called gueuze or geuze, tend to have a smoother palate. Lambic is spelled "lambiek" in Flemish.

HISTORY

Uniquely sour ales from the Senne (Zenne) Valley of Belgium which stem from a farmhouse brewing tradition several centuries old.

COMMERCIAL EXAMPLES

Very few straight (unblended) lambics are bottled. Most commonly available is Grand Cru Cantillon Bruocsella 1900. In the area around Brussels (Bruxelles), there are specialty cafes that have draught lambics from traditional brewers such as Boon, Cantillon, De Neve, Girardin, Hanssens, Vander Linden and Timmermans.

VITAL

OG: 1.044-1.056 IBUs: 10-15 FG: 1.006-1.012 SRM: 4-15 ABV: 4.7-5.8%