New Lambic Brewers and Their (Mostly) Old Ways

Den Herberg and Lambiek Fabriek, Pajottenland’s two newest lambic brewers, are tiny in scale compared to the more established names, but the process they follow closely resembles the traditional method—with a notable exception. Belgian brewers can be guarded when it comes to recipe details, but here is what they were willing to divulge.

The Grist Lambiek Fabriek says it uses about 35 percent raw unmalted wheat, while Den Herberg uses 37.5 percent. The rest is pale barley malt.

The Mash Here is where both new breweries diverge a bit from the traditional path: neither uses the “turbid mash.”

Wait, What’s a Turbid Mash? A turbid mash is an oldfashioned way to get the most out of that grist and give the wild yeast plenty to chew on in the years to come. It involves drawing off a portion of cloudy wort and heating it, then returning it to the main mash to hit a series of temperatures. It produces a starchier, more dextrinous wort despite the high proportion of raw grains. One result is a wort partly unfermentable by Saccharomyces, so there is food left for the wild yeast and bacteria that are integral to the character of lambic. (For more details about a turbid mash and a recipe to try, see “Turbid Mashing,” beerandbrewing .com.)

“Kind-of-turbid” Mash When working at Timmermans, Kloris Devillé

oversees a traditional turbid mash. However, he describes the mash his family does at Den Herberg as “kind of turbid.” At Lambiek Fabriek, Panneels describes a similar process. Both use a multistep mash that is fairly typical for Belgian ales, followed by a long boil of up to 4 hours. Panneels says that Lambiek Fabriek doughs in at 40°C (104°F), then hits steps at 50°C (122°F) and 72°C (161°F) before lautering. Kloris Devillé says they skip the 40°C step because “malts are way ‘better’ malted these days.” They also add a rest at 63°C (145°F). “Pretty classic,” he says.

The Hops As is traditional, both the new brewers use large amounts of aged hops. These are prized for contributing preservative qualities without adding much bitterness. They buy them that way— pre-aged.

The Boil Also traditional: Both Den Herberg and Lambiek Fabriek boil their wort for a long time—3 to 4 hours. Panneels says it’s “poorer” so it can be “better infected by nature.” Brewers elsewhere might say that it’s to coagulate more proteins or extract more compounds

from the hops, but the goal is the same: to better prepare the wort for its long, wild journey into lambichood. Or, to sum it up: To make an unpredictable thing as predictable as possible.

The Coolship Lambiek Fabriek uses a custom-made stainless-steel coolship, installed outdoors under a roof. Den Herberg lacks a coolship for now, though Bart Devillé envisions having one on the rooftop. In the meantime, the Devillés use large squarish plastic containers with the tops left off overnight.

The Aging Both breweries age the wort primarily in 400-liter repurposed French wine barrels, though a few barrels vary in size.

The exercise of asking lambic brewers why they do this or that can be an exercise in contradiction. They tend to offer all sorts of different reasons for why they might do a turbid mash or rest at certain temperatures or boil the wort for so long. The most honest answer is usually, “Because that is way we have always done it.” The only way to evaluate the results is to taste them—in a few years. —Joe Stange