Make Your Best Lambic-style Beer and Ordinary Bitter
Lambics might be easier to get today than they were a generation ago, but they’re still definitely uncommon. Given that, why not brew your own take on the style? Style: Some beer styles are invented (hello, Black IPA). Some beer styles are preserved (how’s it going, Classic Rauchbier?). Some beer styles just are. This last category is where we find the Lambic, which is what it is because that was what you got when you brewed beer in the Senne River Valley in Belgium, thanks to the local microbiota. Comprising a combination of Pilsner malt and wheat with virtually no hops character, these are light-bodied, sour, and dry, with complementary funky flavors that should not include smoke/ash or vinegar-like flavors. They are also typically served uncarbonated. A blend of souring bacteria and yeast keeps the beers from being one-dimensional, though, and the flavors usually develop more complexity with time. Recipe: This beer is easiest (and best) as an extract recipe. Equal amounts of Pilsner and wheat liquid malt extract (LME) stirred into about 6 gallons (22.7 l) of warm water does the trick. You’ll need a specialized hops product at the top of the boil: debittered, aged, or “lambic” hops, which have been aged and abused in a controlled setting to yield a product with the preservative qualities of hops but none of their flavor or bittering potential from alpha acids. Once upon a time, we had to “make” these ourselves, but now you can buy them pre-treated (and dirt cheap—i get them for about 25 cents an ounce). This beer is all about bugs. Start out with a pitch of Wyeast 1007 German Ale yeast and then add the Wyeast 3728 Belgian Lambic Blend. Process: Since this is an extract beer, fill your kettle with water and stir the extract into warm water until fully dissolved. Bring to a boil, add your hops, and boil for 90 minutes. Chill and pitch the German Ale yeast, and ferment for a week at 66°F (19°C). At that point, pitch the bug blend and move your fermentor (glass, if you have it, to minimize oxygen pickup during extended aging) to a quiet, temperature-stable space. If you have a spot under a stairwell in a basement, that’ll be perfect. Otherwise, a walk-in closet or guest bedroom—really anywhere with few drafts and without big daily swings in temperature. Don’t worry about it being too warm, so long as the temperature is relatively stable at somewhere between 62° and 80°F (17–27°C). You’ll see a pellicle (a thick, snotty, bubbling layer) form on top of the wort within 8 to 12 weeks, and you’ll age the beer for at least 9 months, preferably about year. Then package and serve. There’s no need to carbonate it; a very small amount of residual fermentation might make your bottled and aged samples slightly pétillant (kind of half-carbonated).