One of our very first gateway beers into the realm of American craft brewing was Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. It seems a lot of folks had the same enlightenmnet with the same bottle, and for good reason. That was 12 years ago for us, and still today a bottle of the Nevada tastes oh so good. What it did though, was create the phenomenon of Hop Heads, as they are now known. We think it’s time for the Sour Batch Kids. Fans of Lambic, let’s rejoice.
In the evolution of our beer education, we followed our hop with an inundation of Porters and Stouts, and being of OffDaBoat German descent, legitimate Pilsners, which are still the favorite today. But we recently have fallen in hardcoresexlove with Lambics. Sure we’ve had them before, but a renewed effort of tastings has made us believers. Big believers. Worship at the Church Of Cantillon, and confess your shitty drinking habits.
This is the Wine-drinkers beer, and the Beer-drinkers wine. A partnership, a courtship, and a bacchanalian existence created this sensuous liquid. Malt, mash, sour fruit, wine barrels, and Spontaneous Fermentation. An Act Of God the brewer cannot force with an open kettle and wild strains of yeast.
With many substyles in the world of Lambic, you need to find your sweet spot. We recently had the Lou Pepe Kriek, and were enamored with the sour cherry and vinegary nature of the frizzy fellow. Gueuze is probably the most popular, and you can find Tom Peters’ version of this style at Monk’s, which has the longest list of Lambics in the city.
As Spring and Summer arrive, we implore you to find a sunny spot and pop a chilly Lambic. Sip the sour in a long stemmed wine goblet. While we wait on the crazy concoctions of posturing bartenders across the city, the Belgians have been at work for decades perfecting this delicate beauty. Op uw gezondheid.
changed my life. all hail.
No mention of the superlative Ithaca Brewing Company “Brute”? For shame.
Ithaca Brute is well loved by Phoodie. We promise.
I do not like beer….repeat, do not like beer. But i have fallen in love with Lambic.
YEP: I dont know how to tell you this, but…lambic is a style of beer.
I don’t know if Tiedhouse is pouring it but Gen Laffeyette makes a good cherry lambic.
General Lafayette’s cherry beer is not a lambic, nor is Ithaca Brute. The only brewery in the U.S. with a traditional, spontaneously fermented lambic in process is Allagash (ME). Allagash’s lambic is aging in barrels and will possibly be available in one or two years, depending on how it tastes.
A true lambic must be at least 30% unmalted wheat, has hops aged at least one year added for preservation, is spontaneously fermented in a open vessel (koelship), and is aged in oak barrels for at least one year. Geueze is blended lambic.
Beers can be soured by the addition of wild yeasts and bacterias (Brettanomyces, pedicoccus) or by contact with a wood barrel. These are the most common types of tart beers made by American brewers in the last few years.
Rosè de Gambrinus is the best beer ever!!!