FUNKY, FRUITY & F'ED UP IN A GOOD WAY -- THURSTQUEEN SPILLS THE TEA ON LAMBICS AND SHARES ALL THE DIRTY LITTLE DETAILS YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW (BUT WERE TOO AFRAID TO ASK)
There are hundreds of different types of beers, and out of all of them Lambics are probably the most obscure. These beers are the kind of beers that hipsters, connoisseurs, and natural wine lovers really fall hard for. And honestly? What’s not to love?
If you’ve ever had a Lambic or a Geuze - not to be confused with Gose - you’ve probably been dazzled by its zesty, bright, kind of yeasty and earthy qualities. If you’ve been fortunate enough to have a Kriek or a Framboise, I’m sure you’ve fallen head over heels for these bright red fruited Lambics that are flavored with cherries and raspberries. These styles of beer are excellent dessert beers, and you can really level up your pairing game if you bust them out with a rich and creamy cheesecake or something.
To me, Lambics are the beer world’s version of Sauternes or Champagne, they’re a super specialty beer that pairs perfectly with any and all elevated occasions. And Lambics are a beer nerd’s version of saying — “I went the extra mile for you.” In short, Lambics are special, and you should introduce them to your rotation if you want to impress someone who matters.
HOW LAMBICS ARE MADE
Let’s be clear - Lambics are hard as fuck to make. And yeah, I didn’t have to swear, but I chose to swear because brewing this style of beer is really that difficult. It’s a fucking art form, thankyouverymuch.
This time and labor intensive process is typically done from October to May, because brewers who make Lambics are reliant on Mother Nature to manipulate the temperature of these delicate brews.
A mixture of wheat and malted barley from German farms is used in the mash bill with a combination of aged hops to regulate the growth of unwanted bacteria. They used aged hops because new hops would make the finished beers too bitter.
After the mash and wort are made, the wort is boiled prior to being sent over to a coolship. These coolships sit near windows in the brewery, and the beer cools through the ambient temperatures. This usually takes place for a ten hour duration on a cold winter night. The wort is then transferred the next day into barrels, where it ages prior to being blended with other lambics.
The Geuzes - Champers for Beer Geeks
Geuzes are a sub category of Lambic that are blended Lambics. With a Geuze, you have a blend - like a Nonvintage Champagne - of 1, 2, and 3 year Lambics. As Lambics age, they soften and have less of a harsh and yeasty quality. Older Lambics usually make up the base of Geuzes.
After the vintages of Lambic are blended into the Geuze, the beer is bottled and a small amount of sugar may be added to give it a little more of that bubbly factor prior to being capped off.
Fruited Lambics For Dessert Fiends:
Strawberries, Raspberries, and Cherries - Oh My!
With fruited lambics, fruit such as cherries, peaches, strawberries or even blackberries are added during the fermentation process. These beers are absolutely delicious and serve as fantastic cocktail mixers, or are great with a scoop of vanilla ice cream - because Lambic floats rule.
Types of Fruited Lambics to Look For
Kriek: Cherry Lambic
Framboise: Raspberry Lambic
Peche: Peach Lambic
Pomme: Apple Lambic
Cassis: Black Currant Lambic
Fraise: Strawberry Lambic
PICK OF THE WEEK: LINDEMAN’S KRIEK $11.99 @ Total Wine
The folks over at Lindeman’s have been crafting Lambics since 1822 — talk about a long ass time. During the fermentation process, whole sour cherries are added to the brew and blended with traditional lambics, resulting in a gorgeous red beer that literally tastes like fresh cherries.
Lindemans first started exporting their beers to the good old US of A in the 1970s, and these unpasteurized beers would explode in transit, so they started blending fresh cherry juice with a more aged Lambic which resulted in less exploding beer.
Krieks definitely skew a bit towards the sweeter side, and I often recommend serving these fruited beers with dessert. With all that in mind, Kreiks make excellent cocktail mixers and are great when blended with a Hefeweizen or some other wheat beer. Or you could do how I do, and serve this over a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a Lambic Float.