Lambic
Encyclopedia
Beer
Beer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
brewed only in the Pajottenland region of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
(southwest of Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
) and in Brussels itself at the Cantillon Brewery
Cantillon Brewery
Cantillon Brewery is a small Belgian traditional family brewery based in Brussels and founded in 1900. Although it has been managed by the Van Roy family after the last Cantillon left it to his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Van Roy, the name Cantillon has been kept.- Overview :Cantillon Brewery brews...
and museum. Lambic is now mainly consumed after refermentation, resulting in derived beers such as Geuze or Kriek
Kriek
Kriek is a style of Belgian beer, made by fermenting lambic with sour Morello cherries. The name is derived from the Dutch word for this type of cherry . Traditionally "Schaarbeekse krieken" from the area around Brussels are used...
.
Unlike conventional ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
s and lager
Lager
Lager is a type of beer made from malted barley that is brewed and stored at low temperatures. There are many types of lager; pale lager is the most widely-consumed and commercially available style of beer in the world; Pilsner, Bock, Dortmunder Export and Märzen are all styles of lager...
s, which are fermented by carefully cultivated strains of brewer's yeast
Yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic micro-organisms classified in the kingdom Fungi, with 1,500 species currently described estimated to be only 1% of all fungal species. Most reproduce asexually by mitosis, and many do so by an asymmetric division process called budding...
s, lambic beer is produced by spontaneous fermentation: it is exposed to the wild yeasts and bacteria that are said to be native to the Senne
Senné
Senné is a village and municipality in the Veľký Krtíš District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.-External links:*http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html...
valley, in which Brussels lies. It is this unusual process which gives the beer its distinctive flavour: dry, vinous, and cidery, usually with a sour aftertaste.
Brewing
Grist
Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a grist mill. Its etymology derives from the verb grind....
containing approximately 70% barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
malt
Malt
Malt is germinated cereal grains that have been dried in a process known as "malting". The grains are made to germinate by soaking in water, and are then halted from germinating further by drying with hot air...
and 30% unmalted wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
. When the wort
Wort (brewing)
Wort, , is the liquid extracted from the mashing process during the brewing of beer or whisky. Wort contains the sugars that will be fermented by the brewing yeast to produce alcohol.- Production :...
has cooled, it is left exposed to the open air so that fermentation may occur spontaneously. While this exposure is a critical feature of the style, many of the key yeasts and bacteria are now understood to reside within the brewery and its (usually timber) fermenting vessels in numbers far greater than any delivered by the breeze. Up to 86 microorganisms have been identified in lambic beer, the most significant being Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Brettanomyces bruxellensis is a yeast native to the Senne valley near Brussels, Belgium. It is one of several members of the genus, which was discovered at the Carlsberg brewery in 1904 by N. Hjelte Claussen, who was investigating it as a cause of spoilage in English ales, hence the name...
and B. lambicus. The process is generally only possible between October and May as in the summer months there are too many unfavourable organisms in the air that could spoil the beer.
Since at least the 11th century and probably earlier, hops
Hops
Hops are the female flower clusters , of a hop species, Humulus lupulus. They are used primarily as a flavoring and stability agent in beer, to which they impart a bitter, tangy flavor, though hops are also used for various purposes in other beverages and herbal medicine...
have been used in beer for their natural preservative
Preservative
A preservative is a naturally occurring or synthetically produced substance that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes....
qualities as well as for the pleasant bitterness, flavor, and aroma they impart. Today it is the latter that is the reason for their inclusion in almost all beer styles other than lambic. Since the method of inoculation and long fermentation time of lambic beers increases the risk of spoilage, lambic brewers still use large amounts of hops for their antibacterial properties. To avoid making the beer extremely bitter, however, aged, dry hops (which have lost much of their bitterness) are used. Consequently, lambics often have a strong, cheese-like, "old hop" aroma, in contrast to the resiny, herbal, earthy hop bitterness found in other styles.
After the fermentation process starts, the lambic is siphoned into old port or sherry barrels (of chestnut or oak) from Portugal or Spain (some of the brewers prefer used wine barrels.) The lambic is left to ferment and mature for one to two or even three years. It forms a "velo de flor"
Flor
Flor is a winemaking term referring to a film of yeast on the surface of wine and which is important in the manufacture of certain styles of sherry. The flor is formed naturally under certain winemaking conditions, from indigenous yeasts found in the region of Andalucía in southern Spain...
of yeast that gives some protection from oxidation, in a similar way to vin jaune
Vin jaune
Vin jaune is a special and characteristic type of white wine made in the Jura wine region in eastern France. It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as the voile, on the wine's surface...
and sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
; the barrels are not topped up.
Another important feature of lambic is that it is usually a blend of at least two different beers; many "producers" are in fact blenders who buy beers from other brewers, and blend two or more together to create the desired result. A good gueuze
Gueuze
Gueuze is a type of lambic, a Belgian beer. It is made by blending young and old lambics into a new beer, which is then bottled for a second fermentation. Because the young lambic is not fully fermented, it contains fermentable sugars, which allow the second fermentation to occur...
, for example, may have occupied space in several different cellars over 6 years or more. The locals are justifiably proud of their unique beer, and recent years have seen an explosion of interest around the world for this unusual beverage despite — or perhaps because of — its complex process of production. While those outside of the area are most likely to find the bottled gueuze and fruit versions, there are a wide variety of styles available to the local drinker, and they are often blended again or sweetened with sugar or flavored syrups before drinking, as some examples can be extremely tart.
Lambic beer is widely consumed in Brussels and environs, and frequently featured as an ingredient in Belgian cuisine
Belgian cuisine
Belgium has been called a nation of gourmands rather than gourmets: a country, in other words, where "big cuisine" comes before "fine cuisine". It has been said that Belgium serves food of French quality in German quantities.-Frieten or frites:...
.
Types of lambic and derived beers
Most, if not all varieties listed below have Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
status.
Lambic (pure)
Unblended lambic is a cloudy, uncarbonated, bracingly sour beverage available on tap in only a few locations. Generally three years old. Bottled offerings from CantillonCantillon Brewery
Cantillon Brewery is a small Belgian traditional family brewery based in Brussels and founded in 1900. Although it has been managed by the Van Roy family after the last Cantillon left it to his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Van Roy, the name Cantillon has been kept.- Overview :Cantillon Brewery brews...
and De Cam can be found outside of Belgium.
Gueuze
A mixture of young (one-year-old) and old (two- and three-year-old) lambics that have been bottled. It undergoes secondary fermentation, producing carbon dioxide, because the young lambics are not yet fully fermented. It keeps in the bottle; a good gueuze will be given a year to referment in the bottle, but can be kept for 10–20 years. An obscure German top-fermenting style, GoseGose
Gose is a top-fermented beer style of Leipzig, Germany.Gose beers are brewed with at least 50% of the grain bill being malted wheat. Because of the use of coriander and salt, Gose does not comply to the Reinheitsgebot. It is allowed an exemption from the rules on the grounds of being a regional...
, is not to be confused with gueuze.
Mars
Mars traditionally referred to a weaker beer made from the second runnings of a lambic brewing. It is no longer commercially produced. In the 1990s, the Boon breweryBoon Brewery
The Boon Brewery is a Belgian brewery situated in Lembeek, near Brussels, that mainly produces geuze and kriek beer of a fairly traditional variety, but using distinctly modern brewing techniques and equipment...
made a modern Mars beer called Lembeek's 2% (the 2% referring to the alcohol content), but its production has since been discontinued.
Faro
Historically, a low-alcohol, sweetened beer made from a blend of lambic and a much lighter, freshly brewed beer (called meertsbier, not necessarily a lambic) to which brown sugarBrown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content, or it is produced by the addition of molasses to refined white...
(or sometimes caramel
Caramel
Caramel is a beige to dark-brown confection made by heating any of a variety of sugars. It is used as a flavoring in puddings and desserts, as a filling in bonbons, and as a topping for ice cream, custard and coffee....
or molasses
Molasses
Molasses is a viscous by-product of the processing of sugar cane, grapes or sugar beets into sugar. The word molasses comes from the Portuguese word melaço, which ultimately comes from mel, the Latin word for "honey". The quality of molasses depends on the maturity of the sugar cane or sugar beet,...
) was added. Sometimes herbs were added as well. The use of the lighter beer (or even water) and of substandard lambic in the blend made this a cheap, light, sweet beer for everyday use. The 19th century French poet Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire
Charles Baudelaire was a French poet who produced notable work as an essayist, art critic, and pioneering translator of Edgar Allan Poe. His most famous work, Les Fleurs du mal expresses the changing nature of beauty in modern, industrializing Paris during the nineteenth century...
commented on Faro's (to him) disagreeable aftertaste, "It's beer that you drink twice", believing that the Faro in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
was brewed from the waters of a river (the Senne
Senné
Senné is a village and municipality in the Veľký Krtíš District of the Banská Bystrica Region of southern Slovakia.-External links:*http://www.statistics.sk/mosmis/eng/run.html...
or Zenne
Zenne
The Zenne or Senne is a small river that flows through Brussels, left tributary of the Dijle/Dyle. Its source is in the municipality of Soignies. It is an indirect tributary of the Scheldt, through the Dijle and the Rupel...
) that was also used as a sewer
Sanitary sewer
A sanitary sewer is a separate underground carriage system specifically for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to treatment or disposal. Sanitary sewers serving industrial areas also carry industrial wastewater...
.
The sugar was originally added shortly before serving, and therefore did not add carbonation or alcohol to the beverage (because the sugar did not have the time to ferment). Modern faro beer is still characterized by the use of brown sugar and lambic, but is not necessarily a light beer. The use of meertsbier has disappeared, and modern faro is not viewed as cheap or light. Modern faro is bottled, sweetened and pasteurized to prevent refermentation in the bottle. Examples are produced by Cantillon
Cantillon Brewery
Cantillon Brewery is a small Belgian traditional family brewery based in Brussels and founded in 1900. Although it has been managed by the Van Roy family after the last Cantillon left it to his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Van Roy, the name Cantillon has been kept.- Overview :Cantillon Brewery brews...
, Boon
Boon Brewery
The Boon Brewery is a Belgian brewery situated in Lembeek, near Brussels, that mainly produces geuze and kriek beer of a fairly traditional variety, but using distinctly modern brewing techniques and equipment...
, Lindemans
Lindemans Brewery
Lindemans Brewery is a Belgian family brewery based in Vlezenbeek, a small town in the Flemish Brabant southwest of Brussels. It produces lambics.-History:...
or Mort Subite.
Kriek
Lambic refermented in the presence of sour cherries (morello cherry)Sour Cherry
Prunus cerasus, or the sour cherry, is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus , native to much of Europe and southwest Asia. It is closely related to the wild cherry Prunus cerasus, or the sour cherry, is a species of Prunus in the subgenus Cerasus (cherries), native to much of Europe and...
and with secondary fermentation in the bottle results in kriek
Kriek
Kriek is a style of Belgian beer, made by fermenting lambic with sour Morello cherries. The name is derived from the Dutch word for this type of cherry . Traditionally "Schaarbeekse krieken" from the area around Brussels are used...
. Traditional versions of kriek are dry and sour, just as traditional geuze.
Fruit
Lambic with the addition of raspberryRaspberry
The raspberry or hindberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus Rubus, most of which are in the subgenus Idaeobatus; the name also applies to these plants themselves...
(framboise
Framboise
Framboise or Frambozenbier is a Belgian lambic beer that is fermented using raspberries. It is one of many modern fruitbeer types that have been inspired by the more traditional kriek beer, made using sour cherries.Framboise is usually served in a small glass that resembles a champagne glass,...
), peach
Peach
The peach tree is a deciduous tree growing to tall and 6 in. in diameter, belonging to the subfamily Prunoideae of the family Rosaceae. It bears an edible juicy fruit called a peach...
(pêche), blackcurrant
Blackcurrant
Blackcurrant, Ribes nigrum, is a species of Ribes berry native to central and northern Europe and northern Asia, and is a perennial....
(cassis), grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
(druif), or strawberry
Strawberry
Fragaria is a genus of flowering plants in the rose family, Rosaceae, commonly known as strawberries for their edible fruits. Although it is commonly thought that strawberries get their name from straw being used as a mulch in cultivating the plants, the etymology of the word is uncertain. There...
(aardbei), as either whole fruit or syrup. Other, rarer fruit lambic flavorings include apple
Apple
The apple is the pomaceous fruit of the apple tree, species Malus domestica in the rose family . It is one of the most widely cultivated tree fruits, and the most widely known of the many members of genus Malus that are used by humans. Apple grow on small, deciduous trees that blossom in the spring...
(pomme), banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
(banane), pineapple
Pineapple
Pineapple is the common name for a tropical plant and its edible fruit, which is actually a multiple fruit consisting of coalesced berries. It was given the name pineapple due to its resemblance to a pine cone. The pineapple is by far the most economically important plant in the Bromeliaceae...
(ananas), apricot
Apricot
The apricot, Prunus armeniaca, is a species of Prunus, classified with the plum in the subgenus Prunus. The native range is somewhat uncertain due to its extensive prehistoric cultivation.- Description :...
(abricotier), plum
Plum
A plum or gage is a stone fruit tree in the genus Prunus, subgenus Prunus. The subgenus is distinguished from other subgenera in the shoots having a terminal bud and solitary side buds , the flowers in groups of one to five together on short stems, and the fruit having a groove running down one...
(prunier), cloudberry
Cloudberry
Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...
(plaquebière), lemon
Lemon
The lemon is both a small evergreen tree native to Asia, and the tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit. The fruit is used for culinary and non-culinary purposes throughout the world – primarily for its juice, though the pulp and rind are also used, mainly in cooking and baking...
(citron), and blueberry
Blueberry
Blueberries are flowering plants of the genus Vaccinium with dark-blue berries and are perennial...
(bleuet). Fruit lambics are usually bottled with secondary fermentation. Although fruit lambics are among the most famous Belgian fruit beers, the use of names such as kriek, framboise or frambozen, cassis, etc. does not necessarily imply that the beer is made from lambic. The fruit beers produced by the Liefmans brewery, for example, actually use a brown ale (Oud Bruin)
Oud bruin
Oud Bruin, also known as Flanders Brown, is a style of beer originating from the Flemish region of Belgium. The name literally translates as "old brown", referring to the long aging process which can take up to a year. It undergoes a secondary fermentation, which takes several weeks to a month,...
, rather than a lambic as a base. Many of the non-traditional fruit beers derived from lambic that were commercialized in the last decades are considered to be low quality products by many beer enthusiasts. These products are typically artificially sweetened and based on syrups instead of fresh fruit, resulting in a taste experience that is quite remote from the traditional products.
Etymology
The name "lambic" entered English via FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, but comes from the Dutch language
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. Lambic is probably derived from the name "Lembeek", referring to the municipality of Lembeek
Lembeek
Lembeek is a village with a population of 7 256 in the municipality of Halle, Belgium.-Location:It is situated to the south-west of the city of Halle, close to the 'language border' - the boundary between the Flemish Region and Wallonia....
near Halle
Halle, Belgium
Halle , is a Belgian city and municipality in the district Halle-Vilvoorde of the province Flemish Brabant. The city is located on the Brussels-Charleroi Canal and on the Flemish side of the language border that separates Flanders and Wallonia...
, close to Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
Use in popular culture
- Lambik is the name given by Willy VandersteenWilly VandersteenWilly Vandersteen was a Belgian creator of comic books. In a career spanning 50 years, he created a large studio and published more than 1,000 comic albums in over 25 series, selling more than 200 million copies worldwide....
to a Belgian character in the comic strip Spike and SuzySpike and SuzySpike and Suzy, the British title for Suske en Wiske in Dutch, is a comics series created by the Belgian comics author Willy Vandersteen. The strip is known as Bob et Bobette in French and Willy and Wanda in the U.S. It was first published in De Nieuwe Standaard in 1945 and soon became popular...
(Suske en Wiske in Dutch) which appeared in Tintin magazineTintin (magazine)Le journal de Tintin or Kuifje , was a weekly Belgian comics magazine of the second half of the 20th century...
.
Belgian lambic breweries
- Belle-Vue owned by InBevInBevInBev is a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev. The company existed independently for several years - since the merger between Interbrew and AmBev and until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch. InBev has operations in over 30 countries and sales in over 130 countries...
(Sweetened – except Sélection lambic), Brussels - Boon (Sweetened & Traditional), LembeekLembeekLembeek is a village with a population of 7 256 in the municipality of Halle, Belgium.-Location:It is situated to the south-west of the city of Halle, close to the 'language border' - the boundary between the Flemish Region and Wallonia....
- Brasserie CantillonCantillon BreweryCantillon Brewery is a small Belgian traditional family brewery based in Brussels and founded in 1900. Although it has been managed by the Van Roy family after the last Cantillon left it to his son-in-law Jean-Pierre Van Roy, the name Cantillon has been kept.- Overview :Cantillon Brewery brews...
(Traditional), Brussels - De Keersmaeker owned by Scottish & NewcastleScottish & NewcastleScottish & Newcastle plc was a "long alcoholic drinks" company with positions in 15 countries, including UK, France and Russia. It was headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. In the last 20 years, S&N expanded significantly from its home base to become an international business with beer...
, better known by its brand name Mort Subite (Sweetened – except Gueuze Fond), KobbegemKobbegemKobbegem is a village that is now part of the municipality of Asse, Flemish Brabant, Belgium.It was an independent agricultural municipality until 1976. In 1997 it had 805 inhabitants and a brewery.... - De Troch who also produce the ChapeauChapeau-Mainland Europe:"Chapeau" is a French term signifying a hat or other covering for the head. In mainland European heraldry, it is used as a mark of ecclesiastical dignity, especially that of cardinals, which is called the red chapeau...
lambics (Sweetened), Wambeek - 3 Fonteinen3 Fonteinen3 Fonteinen is a Belgian brewery, specialized in geuze and kriek. The brewery is situated in Beersel, near Brussels and produces classic versions of both kriek and geuze.- Geuzestekerij :...
(Traditional), BeerselBeerselBeersel is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Alsemberg, Beersel proper, Dworp, Huizingen and Lot. On January 1, 2006 Beersel had a total population of 23,433. The total area is 30.01 km² which gives a population density of 781... - GirardinGirardin BreweryGirardin is a small, family-owned brewery in St. Ulrik's Kapelle, Belgium. The brewery was founded in 1845 and has been owned and operated by the Girardin family since 1882. The brewery specializes in lambic beers.- References :...
(Traditional), St. Ulriks-Kapelle - Lindemans BreweryLindemans BreweryLindemans Brewery is a Belgian family brewery based in Vlezenbeek, a small town in the Flemish Brabant southwest of Brussels. It produces lambics.-History:...
(Sweetened – except Cuvée René), VlezenbeekVlezenbeekVlezenbeek is a small town of 3,324 in the Flemish Brabant southwest of Brussels, Belgium. It is part of the municipality Sint-Pieters-Leeuw. It is the home of Neuhaus, an international exporter of fine Belgian chocolate, as well as Lindemans Brewery, a brewery that produces lambics, a distinctly... - Oud BeerselOud Beersel-History:Oud Beersel is an artisanal Lambic brewery, based in Beersel and founded in 1882 by Henri Vandervelden. His son Louis, and then his grandson Henri, subsequently took over. The brewery remained in the same family until 2002. In 1991, it was taken over by Henri's nephew Danny Draps. In 2002,...
(recently reopened), now brewed by Frank Boon (Traditional), Beersel - Timmermans (Sweetened – except "Traditional" line), ItterbeekItterbeekItterbeek is a village and deelgemeente of Dilbeek.- Toponymy :De community derives its name from the Indo-European words 'eud-' en 'baki' . One of the first mentions dates back to the 12th century, as Itrebecche. In 1176 the village was mentioned as Itterbecca.- History :Itterbeek used to be part...
Belgian lambic blenders
- Tilquin (Traditional), Bierghes
- De Cam a new gueuze blender (Traditional), GooikGooikGooik is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Gooik proper, Kester, Leerbeek and Oetingen. On January 1, 2006 Gooik had a total population of 8,895. The total area is 39.70 km² which gives a population density of 224 inhabitants...
- Hanssens Artisanaal (Traditional), DworpDworpDworp is a small town in the municipality of Beersel, south of Brussels in Belgium. Dworp has an area of 9.61 square kilometers. As of January 1, 2002, it has a population of 5,277 inhabitants.-Things to see:* Town Hall with a pillory beside it* Castle...
- Brouwerij Van Honsebrouck who produce the St. Louis beers (Sweetened – except Gueuze Fond Tradition), IngelmunsterIngelmunsterIngelmunster is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises only the town of Ingelmunster proper. As of January 1, 2006, Ingelmunster had a total population of 10,617. Its total area is 16.16 km²...
Further reading
- H. Verachtert, Lambic and gueuze brewing: mixed cultures in action, Foundation Biotechnical and Industrial Fermentation research, Vol. 7 Finland pp. 243–263.
- Jean-Xavier Guinard, Classic Beerstyle Series nr. 3, Lambic, Brewers Publications, a division of the Association of Brewers (1990).
- Dirk Van Oevelen, Microbiology and biochemistry of the natural wort fermentation in the production of Lambic and gueuze, PhD Thesis, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium (1979)
- Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, and Joris Pattyn. LambicLand/LambikLand. ISBN 0-9547789-0-1
- Jeff Sparrow, Wildbrews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer's yeast, Brewers Publications, a division of the Association of Brewers (2005).
External links
- List of publications about Lambic
- EU Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG) status of Lambic
- Belgian Lambic beer listing
- Peter Van Osta's The Lambic Beers page
- Information on Lambics and American Style Sours
- Lambic Style Guidelines (Beer Judge Certification Program)
- High council for artisanal lambik style beers HORAL