An introduction to Lambic.

In the last week I tried a few Lambic beers.

The apple and peach from Lindemanns and the peach from Castle/St Louis. Is that flavor coming from fruit or is that a syrup?

Can I expect Lambic to be about $5 per 12 ounces?

I looked at Beer Advocate a little and they have some good info but not as in depth as I am interested in. Is there a beer retailer with an informative site or just a place on the net for good info on lambic?

Those are kind of the Mollydookers of Lambics: sweet and very fruity. Try and find some Cantillon or Boon. They will be DRY, have smaller, more integrated bead and more subtle but purer fruit.

$5 per 12 oz is as cheap as you will find any Lambic worth drinking — and most worth drinking range from $8 - $12 per 12 oz, or $12 - $30 for a 750mL.

there’s a ton of information on specific lambic beers on the Shelton Brothers website. This link should bring you directly to their page of lambics and gueuzes that they import - click on any beer for more info: http://www.sheltonbrothers.com/beers/results.asp

another great resource of information is the Cantillon website: http://www.cantillon.be/br/3_1

While not especially a beer person, I’ve been venturing out lately. Yesterday at a cheese warehouse the monger poured a New Glarus Lambic that I enjoyed. I was told it’s a small Wisconsin brewery. The cherry flavors were great; pretty sure this was my first Lambic and I’ll be seeking out others soon.

Need to get back to Belgium. In June 2008, the krieks in Brugge supermarkets were about 1.2 euros for 330ml bottles. Nice markup on the trip to America for sure.

Thanks guys.

I disagree. The ones originally mentioned (Lindemann’s, St Louis) are made with SYRUP rather than fruit. They are terribly sweet, so much as to mask the true flavor of the lambic. They taste, to me, more like soda than beer, and are not, in my opinion, worth drinking. Rather than comparing them to Mollydooker, I would compare them to Mad Dog or Carlo Rossi.

I will second the other comments made and suggest you go get a real lambic to try. It will cost more, but it will be a completely different experience. Anything that says “oud” on the label is made more traditionally (though not every traditional lambic will say that), and if you want the pure experience try a geuze as it wil have no fruit added. Every producer I know of in Belgium besides the two you mentioned makes a more traditional product.

Interesting that they made a beer in the spontaneous ferment style. Appropriately, the brewery doesn’t call this beer “lambic”, but rather says it is made in the “lambic style”. Lambic must come from a specific area in Belgium. It would probably be interesting for you to now try a true lambic and see what similarities and differences you notice between that and this New Glarus beer.

This is a pretty solid brewery Phil. Can’t buy the stuff south of the border however. Some of their large format special realease are well worth the road trip to stock up on…

I agree with what you say here … with one caveat: Lindemann’s “Cuvee Rene” (their gueuze) is worth drinking.

Granted, it is as low as I will go when it comes to gueuze and/or lambics, but I have no problem drinking it when I’m in the mood for a sour, but (1) don’t feel like thinking about it too much, and (2) don’t feel like spending lots of money. Lindemann’s fruit “lambics” (Framboise, Kriek, Cassis, etc…) are nasty, imo.

I haven’t tried St. Louis, so have no comment on their stuff.

Add Morte Subite to the too sweet list…

That’s fair. While the Cuvee Rene is the least interesting lambic I’ve had, I wouldn’t say it’s not worth drinking.

If you cut the Lindemanns Framboise lambic with 50% guinness stout it is tasty. Drinking it right now grilling chicken. (My secret ginger, garlic, pepper, balsamic, sesame marinade.) Guinness and the framboise tastes like cherry chocolate cake and is not a bad chaser. Blind, the Lindemanns Framboise straight is indistinguishable from raspberry soda.

Curiously the main yeast in lambics is brettanomyces. The history of lambics is worth a look if you drink it.

Cantillon is hard to find right now but I have basically been buying anything Lambic or Gueze that I see.

I picked up

Chersih Raspberry Lambic by Brouwerij Van Steenberge N.V.
Oud Beersel Framboise and their Oude Gueze Veille
Girardin Gueze 1882
Castle/St Louis Gueze Fond Tradition
2000 Oudbeitje Lambic by Hansens Artisanal
Lindemans Kriek and Cuvee Rene Gueze.

Having fun with it and will still seek out Cantillon and Boon.

“Oud Beersel Framboise and their Oude Gueze Veille”

LOVE that stuff!

I enjoyed the Framboise this afternoon.

That sounds like a great start, though I’m not familiar with the first one you listed and am wary that it might be the soda style. That Girardin is probably my overall favorite. It has a good bit of the funk (like Hansen’s) while holding on to some elegance and focus (like Cantillon) without costing much more than most others (like Cantillon Lou Pepe Geuze – it’s great, but I’m not sure it’s worth that much more than the classic geuze to me). I had one of the 2000 Hansen’s Oudbeitje a few months ago … what a funk bomb that is. I still have another bottle that I’ve been thinking about opening soon.

If you’re looking for Cantillon, it would make sense to figure out what retailer(s) regularly carry it in your area and asking them to notify you (better yet, set some aside) when it comes in. Their stuff is usually allocated given the small production size. If you can’t find such a retailer, find the distributor and ask them. If you’re really striking out, the Shelton Brothers should be able to tell you whom to contact. (http://www.sheltonbrothers.com/ – I think they have exclusive rights nationwide, but I could be wrong about that) Good luck and enjoy!

Doug,

The Girardin 1882 is stunning! The Hansens Artisanal is pretty damn good also.

The Cherish is cleaner than Oud Beersel and not as sweet as Lindemans, but maybe still not your style but I liked it.

I found Cantillon at a few places in town and just need to get over there.

Cheers guys.

Girardin and Cantillon are very close in style, with Cantillon being slightly more firm and austere by comparison. The St. Louis is a bit of a step back from a purist standpoint, but I like it better than the Cuvee Renee. Another big ups for Beersel; their Kriek is excellent as well.
For the real high quality ones, buy one or two and stash them for a few years, especially the champagne corked ones. They take on a funky, aged Muscadet sort of character, and the acidity softens down a bit. Though I do have some Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus from 1994 that are STILL raging with acidity, and smells like yeasty Rose champagne that’s been poured off a wet dog’s back.

you going to be at Berserkerfest, Matthew?