It will come as a surprise to very few regular readers of World of Beer that I am a great fan of the traditional wheat beer of Belgium's Payottenland region, lambic. Dry, teasingly tart, deliciously complex and quite unlike any other kind of beer brewed anywhere in the world, spontaneously fermented lambic is a treasure from another age, a beer that has more in common with the great Champagnes of France than it does with pale ale or pilsner or hefeweizen.
Sadly, it is also a beer with all too limited appeal these days.
When I describe lambic to initiates, I always note that in addition to being a wonderful taste experience, it is also the world of beer's most challenging style. By this I mean that it is so unlike other beers, most people are shocked or even put off completely by their first mouth-puckering sip. And as our western tastes become increasingly inclined towards the sweet and the sugary, lambic becomes ever more difficult to understand.
(Speaking of difficulties in understanding, for those to whom I may as well be writing in a different language for all the sense I am making, I should note that a more complete explanation of lambic is available in the Feature story of the April, 2003 edition of World of Beer.)
Compounding the problem of comprehension is the fact that the vast majority of lambics sold around the world have little if anything to do with the traditional product. The almost sickeningly sweet and cherry-laden Belle-Vue Kriek, for example, certainly bears more resemblance to the sparkling jug wines many North Americans surreptitiously chugged in their youth than to such classic fruit lambics as Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus or Hanssens Kriek. As brands, these beers -- including the fruit juice-flavoured products of Lindemans and the exotic fruit labels of De Troch (Chapeau) -- are successful enough, but as lambics they are a disaster, convincing masses of beer drinkers that the typification of a classic beer style is in fact little more than a 'beer cooler.'
For this reason, I propose that beer aficionados around the world declare 2004 to be the Year of Lambic and go forth to spread the word about these wonderful beers. If you have already discovered the beauty of traditional lambics from Cantillon, De Cam, 3 Fonteinen, Hanssens, Girardin and a handful of others, including the now-closed Oud Beersel, then become a lambic missionary and introduce others to the experience. If you have yet to try one yourself, then find a good beer retailer in your area or get a friend to bring a bottle or two back from some place where they are available, forget everything you know about beer, and have a taste.
The crafting of a classic, labour-intensive and unapologetically artisanal beer is in many ways a thankless job, especially when said brew cannot command the high prices of more universally recognized gastronomic treasures, such as truffles and vintage Bordeaux. For their perseverance, Belgium's dedicated brewers of lambic deserve all the support we can give them. So I invite you to join me in toasting the arrival of 2004 not with Champagne, but with its barley and wheat-based cousin, lambic, and to continue celebrating this magnificent beer all year long, and well beyond.
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