Brewers Publications

A division of the Brewers Association

PO Box 1679, Boulder, CO 80306-1679
www.beertown.org

© 2005 by Jeff Sparrow

A ll rights reserved. N o portion of this book may be reproduced in any form

without wri en permission of the publisher. N either the author, editor nor the
publisher assume any responsibility for the use or misuse of information contained in
this book.

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

ISBN-13: 978-0-937381-86-1
ISBN-10: 0-937381-86-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Sparrow, Jeff, 1965-

Wild brews : beer beyond the influence of brewer’s yeast / by J eff S parrow ; with
foreword by Peter Bouckaert.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-937381-86-1
ISBN-10: 0-937381-86-1
1. Beer–Belgium. 2. Brewing. I. Title.
TP577.S645 2005
641.2’3’09493–dc22

2005009055

Publisher: Ray Daniels

Technical Editor: Gordon Strong
Copy Editor: Daria Labinsky
Index: Daria Labinsky
Production & Design Management: Stephanie Johnson
Cover and Interior Design: Julie Korowotny
Cover Illustration: Alicia Buelow
Interior Photos by: Joe Preiser
 Contents

Title Page
Copyright Page
Acknowledgements
Foreword
Introduction
Classic Styles
History
Drinking Wild Beer
Beer-Souring Microorganisms
Production Methods
Wild Fermentation
Fermentation and Maturation Vessels
Finishing the Beer
Do It Yourself
Appendix
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
 Acknowledgements

To Chris, who once convinced me to spare a day and visit this tiny place called
Beersel … and to walk up that blasted hill.
S pecial thanks to the Belgian and D utch brewers and blenders who have shared
with me the many secrets of their age-old art: Yves Benoit from Brouwerij Bavik;
Marina and Marc Limet from Kerkom; Frank Boon from Brouwerij Boon; J ean and
J ean-Pierre Van Roy and Yvan D eBaets from Cantillon; Lieven, S teven, and Pieter from
Cnudde; Karel Goddeau from D e Cam; Kris Herteleer from D e D olle Brouwers
A rmand D eBelder from D rie Fonteinen; Paul Ru en from Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
J ohn Ma hys and S idy Hanssens from Hanssens A rtisanaal; Filip D evolder from
Liefmans; D irk Lindemans from the Brouwerij Lindemans; Tony Brown from
Melbourn Brothers; Bruno Reinders from Mort S ubite; Rudi Ghequire from
Rodenbach; and Karl Verhaeghe from the Verhaeghe Brouwerij. Please support their
art and buy their beers wherever you may find them.
Why do all of these breweries own a cat? To keep the Brettanomyces under control.
Thanks, also, to my friends in the U.S . beer industry whose creativity never ceases
to amaze me: S am Calagione from D ogfish Head Brewing, Mark Edelson from I ron
Hill Brewery, Tomme A rthur from Pizza Port, Phil Markowski from S outhampton
Publick House, Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River Brewing, Ma hias N eidhart of B
United I nternational, Keith Lemke and Lyn Kruger from the S iebel I nstitute, Chri
W hite from W hitelabs, and Les Perkins and my “scientific adviser” D ave Logsdon
from Wyeast Laboratories.
A special thanks to Peter Bouckaert from N ew Belgium Brewing, who teaches me
something new every time we chat. Peter produces many truly unique beers.
To homebrewer Raj Apte, for his graphic approach to wild beers.
To Gordon S trong, whose eagle-eye editing saved me from a few technical
blunders.
A pop of the cork to all of my friends in the Chicago Beer S ociety, whose friendship
and passion are irreplaceable. A special toast to: J oe Preiser, my photographer, driver,
and co-founder of the wild beer fraternity; Ray D aniels, who, if I told him how much
he taught me, would be surprised I paid a ention; Randy Mosher, who discovers the
most radical brewing texts one could imagine.
And to Brett, without whom none of this would be possible.
 Foreword

It was somewhere in 1995 or so. I had shown two brewers, D aryl and D avid from
Boston, around Brouwerij Rodenbach in Belgium. S omehow, we all ended up at my
parents’ home after that. My father had an old bo le of beer in his wine cellar. I t was a
bo le of seison (Flemish for saisori), brewed in 1945 in Kuurne by A ndries—the last
year that brewery had brewed. D aryl somehow convinced my father to open it. Most of
the CO 2 gas had escaped since the cork had dried and shrunk, but the beer had
survived pre y well, flavorwise. My father decided to call the old brewer Ferdinant
while we were drinking it, to ask how he made the beer.
Ferdinant was sick in bed and speaking with difficulty. His first reaction to the
question of how he brewed the beer was, “Your son is brewer, he knows.” A fter we
insisted some more, he opened up to us. “A fter the coolship, the beer went in the
barrels, where some sugar was added after a while.” He also told us that we were crazy
to drink this old stuff. “I s it any good?” He mentioned that his was one of the only
breweries in the area that was able to keep its brewing equipment through the S econd
W orld War. You know, all the normal stuff. “I sn’t your son the brewer at Rodenbach?
Rodenbach was able to brew through the war. He knows.” S ince the brewer had a hard
time speaking, we did not insist any further.
Was this old brewer talking about a lambic? N o, a coolship and wood barrels were
pre y standard in smaller breweries at that time in Belgium. D id he add yeast?
Brewery A ndries was also brewing year-round, different beers, so they might have
used yeast from another brew. Maybe he got something from another brewery in the
beginning of the winter season, maybe not. Were there other microorganisms added
or present? For sure, but it was not really controlled. That was probably why he was
referring to me and Rodenbach. I n his time, Rodenbach was one of the larger local
breweries that focused on wood aging with a mixed yeast culture.
Was this a “Wild Brew”? No, this was just a normal beer, according to Ferdinant.
Louis Pasteur wrote Etudes Sur la Biere (S tudies on Beer) in 1876. Pasteur took a
look under his primitive microscope to examine sick-or foul-smelling beer. He saw
that, beside ellipsoid cells, many other tiny things were present in the sick beer. He
and some other researchers and brewers around this time started to realize that those
ellipsoid cells were crucial for the fermentation of beer.
Before 1876, what would a book with the title Wild Brews have meant? We used to
have a zoo of microorganisms in brewing, but we did not even realize it. The effect of
the other microorganisms was kept under control, with short shelf life, high hop rates,
experience, sometimes more alcohol, and some other tricks.
W hat happened in those one hundred and forty years since Pasteur? We have
learned tons about Saccharomyces cerevisiae. But we learned only limited amounts about
Bre anomyces, Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, or you name it. We learned even less of the
interaction between those cri ers. A nd what about the use of the wood vessels we
keep them in?
A fter Pasteur, the use of single yeast cultures spread like wildfire. A s in every
technological development, there are also late adopters, such as the English ales and
B erliner weisse. The brewer from the A ndries brewery in Kuurne never adapted this
seizoen. A nd then we have the hedgehogs, clinging furiously to the good old stuff,
while the world keeps on turning.
This book talks about the hedgehogs in Chapter O ne. J eff struggles to make sense
of the information from the brewers he talked with. A ll of those brewers are like
Ferdinant from brewery A ndries to an extent. A ll those brewers are making their beer,
in most cases, as their fathers did. W hat are you really asking for, J eff? This is how you
make beer, you know. A ll are relying on their experience of what went wrong and
right. Those brewers are making their beer, not a style. A s J eff writes: “Guilds,
imports, local tastes and terroir were all contributing factors to the individual character
of Belgian beers.”
Chapter Two in Wild Brews is digging up those fossilized beers that used to roam
the world. I ’m amazed at the amount of information in there. Belgian brewing history
is not very well documented. I n the following chapters J eff tastes beer, looks more
closely at the microbiology and the brewing process, and ends with suggestions on
how to recreate those wild brews.
Wild Brews is an a empt to capture the wildest, and if you ask me, the most fun
aspects of brewing. We do not make beer with barley malt, water, and hops! I n the last
one hundred and forty years, most brewers even started consciously using
Saccharomyces cerevisiae or brewing yeast. I t magically became the current workhorse of
beer brewing, winemaking, and bread baking. Real fun only starts when we consider
other things, like fruit and spices and, of course, other critters.
The use of different microorganisms is one of the least studied and (currently) least
practiced fields of brewing. J eff is trying to make sense of a limited amount of
scientific publications and a larger amount of very opinionated brewers. The fact that
those brewers have those opinions is based on their knowledge, experience, and
creativity.
This is exactly what I love about brewing: N othing is absolute. You will gain
knowledge through reading this book. You will gain experience by trying out some of
the recipes. Your creativity will lead you in new directions to your own piece of art.
I hope those three ingredients of brewing (knowledge, experience, and creativity)
may become the ingredients of all your future brews. I hope they become an integral
part of what you unconsciously know. S o that you can say with a straight face as that
old brewer from Kuurne said to my father: “Your son is a brewer, he knows.”
Enjoy!
Peter Bouckaert
Brewmaster
New Belgium Brewing Company
 Introduction

“I t takes a few months to get a drinkable product and a few years to get a nice product and
a lifetime to make the best product.”
–Frank Boon of Brouwerij Boon

I n 1993, travel for me was still something of an extravagance. Two friends and I
were on our “trip of a lifetime” to Europe. Given the well-known lore of German beer,
as well as the dubious draw of a city like A msterdam to three young men, convincing
my fellow travelers to visit Belgium was not a simple task. Fortunately, Belgium
proved only a short detour on the way from Frankfurt to the N etherlands. The number
of beers served even in the smaller cafes dwarfed most anything I had seen in the
United S tates. I t wasn’t really until we got to Brussels, however, that the light started
to come on.
A rmed with the first edition of The Great Beers of Belgium, we found our way to
Chez Moder Lambic in Elsene (now closed). The concept of fifty beers on tap was
staggering, and Moder Lambic did not disappoint. My eyes couldn’t help but wander,
however, to a beer cooler, where a number of colorful-looking bo les grabbed my
a ention. A fter much deliberation, I ordered a lambic, flavored with some odd
tropical fruit. The bartender told me that if I wanted to try a very good beer, to drink
this bo le, which he placed on the bar in front of me. The label featured a compelling
drawing of a naked lady si ing on a fully clothed gentleman’s lap. I was about to
sample my first Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus, and the complexity was beyond anything I
had ever tasted.
A day or so later, we found ourselves in A ntwerp at the famous cafe Kulminator.
Here, someone told the three of us we could find vintages of different beers, or those
from breweries nearly forgo en. O ne of my friends had been questing for a bo le of
Liefmans Goudenband produced before the new owners of the brewery had changed the
recipe (in 1992). The owner of the cafe brought a dusty bo le out of the cellar, lying on
an angle in what could best be described as a narrow wicker basket. Expertly poured,
we sampled the vintage brew. The aged Goudenband was at once malty and refreshingly
tart with an unexpected sherrylike character. I f Belgian ales tasted like these two
examples, I thought, then I had certainly come to the right country. I would go on to
discover that not all Belgian beers are tart, but those that would become my favorites
made amazing use of that “obscure” characteristic.
A brewer at heart, I quite naturally had to learn how the indigenous beers were
produced, and how I could make them at home. S everal days later, Frank Boon
received the three of us for a special brewery tour. I asked Boon how I could produce a
lambic in the United S tates. His answer naturally came back, “You can’t.” Lambic may
only be produced in a specific region of Belgium using centuries-old brewing methods.
O f course, no A merican brewer of the past decade would ever accept that answer. I
have since come to take the response of “you can’t” as both a tribute to the magical
properties of traditional Belgian sour ales and a challenge to see exactly what can be
done both professionally and at home.

At one time, all beers exhibited some level of tart, sour, acidic character. Modern
brewing methods helped to virtually eliminate these characteristics in beer. O nly
several traditional styles of wild beer exist, still brewed using traditional methods in
Flanders, Brussels, and the surrounding countryside.
Lambic, the traditional beer of Brussels, is spontaneously fermented by the
particular combination of microorganisms residing near the valley of the tiny S enne
River and aged in wooden barrels. O nce practiced the world over, Brussels and the
Payo enland—the picturesque area of farmhouses to the west—remain the only
regions where spontaneous fermentation will produce reasonably consistent results,
time after time. The particular “wild” character makes the lambic u erly unique
throughout the brewing world.
But don’t despair; believe it or not, you can spontaneously ferment beer anywhere
in the world. J ean-Pierre Van Roy of the Cantillon brewery in Brussels told me so on
my first visit. I just didn’t know what to make of the statement at the time. S ince then,
Van Roy’s revelation has become a great deal clearer. Van Roy told me you must
develop a taste for your own local lambic, although he never had to taste one result of
his suggestion.
Upon returning from that trip to Belgium in 1993, one of my two fellow pilgrims
decided to spontaneously ferment a beer, open, in his backyard in Hawaii. I t’s very
clean in Hawaii, he mused. His wort fermented, sort of, and the taste was so
indescribable that I will stop describing it right now. W hile possible through a
number of methods to produce a reasonable facsimile of a lambic or even to actually
spontaneously ferment a palatable beer, the process involves far more than a night
under the stars, even in Belgium. I f you aspire to produce a local lambic, by the time
you finish this book, you will have the information necessary to approach that goal.
O ther examples of wild beers include the red-brown acid beers of Flanders.
Flanders red beers do not spontaneously ferment; they mature in oak casks with many
of the same microorganisms present in lambic, albeit with different results. Both
Flanders and lambic brewers blend beer to taste, a key step necessary to produce
consistent results. O ther newer, not-so-classic examples exist, and their production
methods have roots in the traditional practices of Belgium.
Many beer drinkers often define lambic, Flanders red-brown ales, and other related
beers with one primary descriptor: “sour.” The term “sour,” however, lends a
misleading connotation. Pleasingly tart and/or quenchingly acidic, yes, but not overtly
sour. A number of different beers may be described simply as “sour” as a convenient
catchall, and because a li le sourness—one of only four basic tastes—to most people
goes a long way. The beers described in this book are not produced with sourness or
acidity as a single dominant characteristic. S ome wild beers are more sour than others,
but to condense the flavors and aromas into the term “sour ” disregards the complexity
and balance so intensely sought after by the traditional brewers.
The title of this book, Wild Brews, describes the category of beers more definitively
than simply “sour ales.” Fermentation with numerous microorganisms not widely
used by brewers in more than a century truly ties these Belgian and A merican
interpretations together. A tart/acidic character results from the growth of
microorganisms other than common strains of brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces) during
fermentation, namely wild yeast and bacteria that produce a variety of different acids
and esters. Most brewers scrupulously avoid these microorganisms and consider the
result of their unwelcome intrusion an infection when they contribute their character
to a lager or a pale ale.
The character of wild beers arises not so much from the ingredients but from the
environment of the brewery: the air, the walls, the wood, and the casks. A unique
combination of environmental conditions (winemakers call this terroir) present in
every place where beer is produced determines the character of a wild beer. Lambic
brewers will tell you “you can’t” because of the terroir of the region and of the
individual brewery. You will never exactly reproduce one of the classic examples of a
lambic or Flanders red-brown beer. You can learn relevant brewing procedures and
produce your own examples. Traditional brewing procedures retain their importance,
as newer methods and products water down many of the traditional beers of Belgium.
Traditional lambic producers lament that even in the Payo enland, people have
forgo en the characteristics of a traditional gueuze. Beers seen on television and in
the supermarket often profess to be a traditional product. I n reality, industrial, filtered
gueuze may only contain a fraction of actual lambic, the remainder being top-
fermented wheat beer. S accharin and aspartame have both become popular additives,
as they are sweeter than sugar and essentially unfermentable to wild yeast found in
the air and in the barrels. This deluge of commercial products on the market obscures
many traditional Belgian beers, including lambic and Flanders red-brown ales.
The popularity in Belgium of continental-style Pilsener and high-alcohol beers is a
postwar phenomenon. The remaining traditional beers of the Payo enland and
Flanders point to what many beers were like until the la er half of the twentieth
century. The sourish character desirable in beer for centuries throughout much of
Belgium dwindled, as sugar became the dominant taste in food products throughout
Europe and the United S tates. A merican craft beer drinkers rebelled and embraced
the bi erness contributed by hops during the 1990s. At least a portion of A merican
craft beer drinkers also have embraced the traditional Belgian beers. Many traditional
Belgian brewers continue to produce their product to their own tastes, and many
traditional Belgian wild beers still exist due to a boost from American sales.
The traditional producers of wild beers are artists, no less so than painters or poets.
They create world-class beers. I f you sketch a copy of the Mona Lisa, that doesn’t mean
you shouldn’t visit the Louvre to see the original. I hope that many readers, if they
already have not, will become pilgrims and take a journey to the last traditional refuge
of wild beers. Learning to produce your own example is not a substitute for immersing
yourself in the classics or meeting with the producers.
I feel a Payo enland pilgrimage or Flanders fling should be undertaken at least
once (a year). Finding the brewers and blenders can be difficult; searching for the cafes
that serve the products can make Belgium seem like a haystack. I remember once
ge ing the strangest look from a Brussels native while searching for a colorfully
named cafe when I asked him, “Pardon me, can you please help me to find the
Ultimate Hallucination?” To this end, I heartily recommend the bookLambicland
(University Press, 2004) by Tim Webb, Chris Pollard, and J oris Pa yn as your tour
guide, even for veteran travelers. For tours of Flanders and the rest of Belgium, Tim’s
ludicrously accurate Good Beer Guide to Belgium (CA MRA , 2004) is also an essential
companion. Above all, “Don’t Panic.”
I mitation is often considered the sincerest form of fla ery. Consider, then, the
topic of wild fermentation from three vantage points: the history of the beers, the
traditional methods, and how the methods can best be applied to produce beer in less-
than-traditional circumstances. I begin this book with a description of the “classic
styles” and delve into some history. I draw some similarities between these “styles”
and treat them separately when appropriate. I also discuss the relationship to the wild
beers produced in the United States using the application of traditional methods. Most
importantly, I discuss how to produce wild beers, why they are still produced using
traditional methods, and how you can produce your own examples. S ome procedures
require considerable effort, while others allow reasonable shortcuts, but “wild” yeast
and bacteria offer a world of possibilities.
 Classic Styles

“The sweet lambic, the sweet fruit beer, and the sweet gueuze don’t exist. I t’s impossible. I f
it is very sweet there are three possibilities: I t is not a lambic, it has aspartame added, or it is
pasteurized. lambic is a natural product.”
–Jean-Paul Van Roy of the Brasserie-Brouwerij Cantillon

A BEER BY ANY OTHER NAME

A mericans brewers enjoy categorizing beers into styles, particularly for the sake of
competitions. Belgian brewers aren’t terribly obsessed with the concept of style. The
smaller producers create what they like to drink, and larger operations brew what they
think they can sell, hopefully by the truckload. For the traditional producer, with an
ever-diminishing market, producing a beer resembling that of one’s own grandfather
is still a matter of great pride.
Before the advent of planes, trains, and automobiles, transportation was more
difficult (although some will say the auto has made ge ing around Brussels even more
of an ordeal). D istances we might easily cover today took a longer period of time,
especially with a few barrels of beer on the back of the wagon. Brewers from one area
likely did not mix too often with those of another. For centuries, regional guilds
controlled the production of beer in Western Europe and had great influence on the
type of beer produced and imported. Like today, regional beers often grew and
suffered based on the presence of imports. A n imported beer, perhaps produced with
inferior ingredients, would undercut the sales and popularity of the local brews, often
based solely on cost.
People used to drink more of their regional beers in Belgium. People drank one
type of beer for a lifetime (like my father, who has preferred the same brand of mass-
produced A merican lager since he served in the Pacific during the War). Belgians now
drink Pilsener, abbey beers, or the national style du jour. W hat has been a boon to
A merican brewers has had the opposite effect in Belgium. The willingness of the
A merican beer consumer to try new beer styles from new breweries has fueled the
A merican craft beer movement. I n Belgium, this same trait has enabled the decline of
the traditional producer who brewed only his own unique style of beer. Historically,
breweries in Belgium produced one basic type of beer, although today, those who
remain so single-minded are a part of an exclusive community.
A Belgian brewer did not sit down and decide to produce a beer indicative of the
region. Guilds, imports, local tastes, and terroir were all contributing factors to the
individual character of Belgian beers. Today, beers that share similar content and
characteristics are looked at as “styles,” so potential drinkers can understand how they
are likely to taste. Historically, beers of similar characteristics were brewed in the same
region of Belgium, a designation that to some degree still holds true.
Flanders red-brown beers are produced in provincial Flanders and lambic in and to
the west of Brussels, but a regional categorization is too broad for this book. For the
purpose of this book, I categorize East Flanders brown, West Flanders red, and lambic
based on similar taste, aroma, and production methods, wherever the origin. Belgian
brewers consider this an English-language interpretation. A broad selection of flavors
and aromas are possible within the styles of lambic and Flanders red-brown beers,
broader than beer style guidelines might suggest. O ne lambic is more different from
the next than most Pilseners or pale ales.
People often ask the question, “D oes a lambic have to be brewed in or around
Brussels?” The answer depends on the definition. A lambic is a spontaneously
fermented beer produced with unmalted wheat and aged in wood. For most of the
twentieth century, no one ever a empted to produce a lambic outside of the S enne
Valley. S tartup and production costs and uncertain results generally prohibit new
traditional lambic breweries, even in Belgium.
That’s not to say you can only spontaneously ferment and only achieve a beer
resembling a lambic in the S enne Valley; you just won’t achieve the exact same results,
especially without some manual intervention. Consistent results from spontaneous
fermentation along the S enne Valley likely occurred due to conditions fairly
impossible to precisely reproduce. Even in the lambic-producing region, the changes
in certain characteristics have caused some concern as to the long-term viability of
consistent spontaneous fermentation.
Traditional lambic and Flanders red-brown beers have more in common than many
people may realize (or admit). Flavor and aroma characteristics develop due to the
influence of a similar collection of microorganisms, including Brettanomyces,
Pediococcus, Lactobacillus, and Saccharomyces, and the resulting by-products (acids,
alcohol, and esters) of fermentation. Even though production methods of traditional
Flanders beers have changed over time, they were once spontaneously fermented and
are still traditionally aged in wood. The terroir of the brewery, plus the type of wort
produced, and the reuse of yeast in succeeding batches, determine the differences in
character between traditional lambic and Flanders red-brown beers. The terroir of a
brewery must be favorable for fermenting wild beer, whether that includes the flora,
air, roof, walls, and/or the barrels.
Brewers outside of the traditional regions of wild beer production already produce
interesting interpretations. Pure cultures of wild yeast and bacteria have made it
possible to produce a wild beer without waiting a generation for your brewery to
become stably populated with the microorganisms necessary to produce a desirable
and relatively consistent product. A merican and even some newer Belgian brewers
may a empt to recreate a traditional “style” or be quite enthusiastic to develop a new
wrinkle or two in this age-old tradition. Michael J ackson continues to espouse the
creativity of the A merican brewer, and with good reason. Many step beyond the
boundaries of traditional styles. The next sections detailing lambic, Flanders red-
brown beers, and versions of both containing fruit tell us about possibilities, not
limitations.
O verall, I feel you should not get too hung-up on style. I f no brewer ever tried
anything different, many world-class beers would not exist. I also believe brewers
should let go of the concept of “cloning” regarding commercial wild beers, which has
become prevalent when producing many beer styles. You cannot create your own
precise replica of your favorite lambic any more than you could paint your living room
to precisely resemble the Sistine Chapel.
West Flanders Red
Specifications:
Original Gravity: 12 to 14 °P (1.048 to 1.057 SG)
Apparent Final Gravity: 0.5 to 3 °P (1.002 to 1.012 SG)
Alcohol By Volume: 4.6 to 6.5% abv
Apparent Degree of Attenuation: Up to 98%
Malts: Vienna, Munich, light to medium cara-malts, Special “B,” maize
Hops: Belgian, Czech, or German low alpha acid varieties, 10 to 25 IBUs
Organisms: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Acetobacter, Brettanomyces
Primary Fermentation: Up to 1 week at approx. 70° F (21° C)
Secondary Fermentation: Up to 3 years in oak at ambient temperature
Finish: Traditionally bo le-conditioned, now generally filtered, sweetened, and
pasteurized

Traditional Flanders brewers generally produce red beers from moderately kilned
malts and continental or British hops. Low alpha acid varieties are preferred but not
essential. A lternately, some brewers will produce a wort solely from Pilsener malt and
blend with a darker beer at bo ling. The red ales may be originally fermented with a
pure strain of Saccharomyces yeast or a mixed culture containing both yeast and
bacteria. A fter the primary fermentation is complete, resident yeasts and bacteria
acidify the beer in oak barrels over a period of up to three years and it darkens a bit
from exposure to oxygen and wood. Upon the completion of aging, different batches
will be blended to taste, young and old beer, to produce the final product.

Characteristics of Flanders Red Ale

Medium reddish-brown to deep burgundy

Generally clear (any sediment should remain in the bottle)

Moderate carbonation, medium body

 Fluffy, generally lasting white head

Fruity—plum, orange, black cherry, red currant

Vanilla, spices, chocolate (hints of Madeira)

Light perceived bitterness, sometimes a notable sweetness (due to blending)

Sweetness decreases as acidity and alcoholic strength increase

Acidity moderate to high but never oppressive

Tart and often acidic in the finish

Flanders red ales are often called the “Burgundies of Belgium.” Beyond the deep
reddish-brown to burgundy color, resembling a red wine, the similarities are apparent
but less obvious. S ome of the typical, traditional flavors and aromas are akin to those
commonly a ributed to wine. Generally filtered, even when unfiltered the yeast
should flocculate well, so the beers exhibit good clarity. Red beers possess average to
good head retention in spite of long aging. A s with fine red wines the spicy, vanilla
character associated with oak may be present. Tannins add a crisp, tart astringency
and full mouth-feel. A n intense fruitiness is imperative, resembling the flavors of
black cherries, plums, and red currants. A tart, acidic aroma and flavor ranges from
complementary to deep and complex. This defining tartness, with both lactic and
acetic notes, truly defines the style as reminiscent of red wine. N aturally highly
a enuated, due to long aging with wild yeasts, some final products are pasteurized
and blended with sugar or aspartame to add sweetness and body. A lcohol generally
hovers around 6% abv in the final product but approaches 8% abv in some barrels
before blending, unless an exceptional batch is devoted to a special release.
The character of Flanders red ales develops during long aging in old, uncoated
oaken barrels whose resident microorganisms generally contribute more character
than any derived from the actual wood. W ood is a porous environment, where yeast
and bacteria with different oxygen requirements can thrive to meet their own specific
needs. Blending beers of varying ages and colors balances the acidic character
contributed by the microorganisms. Blending produces a complex and consistent beer
generally not possible in a single batch. The palate of the producer, and also, to some
extent, the preference of the customer determines the balance of the blend—ranging
from sweet to acidic but never harsh.
Flanders red brewers freely admit that there is less aged beer going into the final
product, as there appears to be less demand for the acidic character in their beer.
Recently, a pale version or two has been released (without blending with a darker
beer), just to reinforce the point of making a good beer and not a narrow style.
Flanders aged pale, anyone?
East Flanders Brown
Specifications:
Original Gravity: 10 to 18 °P (1.040 to 1.074 SG)
Apparent Final Gravity: 2 to 3 °P (1.008 to 1.012 SG)
Alcohol By Volume: 4 to 8%
Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 80%
Malts: Pilsener malt, dark CaraVienna and CaraMunich, maize
Hops: Belgian, Czech, or German low alpha acid varieties, 25 IBUs
Organisms: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus
Primary Fermentation: Up to 1 week at ambient temperature
Secondary Fermentation: Up to 2 years in stainless steel at 90° F (32° C)
Finish: Traditionally bo le-conditioned, now generally filtered, sweetened, and
pasteurized

Characteristics of East Flanders Brown Ale

Reddish-brown to brown

Generally clear (any sediment should remain in the bottle)

Moderate carbonation, medium to medium-full body

Fluffy, generally lasting white head

Fruity—raisins, plums, figs, dates, black cherries, prunes

Malty—caramel, toffee, orange, treacle, or chocolate

Light perceived bitterness, sometimes a notable sweetness (due to blending)

Sweetness fades, becomes more vinous and sherrylike with age

Often tart and sometimes warming in the finish

East Flanders’ own red-brown beer, sometimes referred to as an oud bruin, exhibits
different characteristics than the red beers of West Flanders. Made from pale malt and
dark CaraMunich and CaraVienna malts with continental or British hops, East
Flanders browns contain about twice as much bi erness as desired in a Flanders red,
though mellowed by a malty sweetness. The Flanders browns may also be fermented
with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria and subsequently aged in stainless steel
tanks at higher temperatures to allow lactic acid-producing bacteria to grow and
acidify the beer. S imilar to the red beers, brewers blend different batches of different
ages, both for balance and consistency in the final product.
O ud bruin is not a precise term; some of the beers that use it are actually Flanders
reds by character, and others exhibit li le tartness. The term literally refers to a
“traditional dark beer produced in Flanders” rather than a beer that meets a specific
style. S imply put, dark, sourish beers were once the rage in Flanders. The distinction
between the beers of East and West Flanders is a modern concept. Blending of young
and aged beer defines both “styles,” but West Flanders red beers are matured in
oaken casks, while the brown beers mature in stainless steel tanks.
At one time, all of the Flanders beers were aged in wood, but this began to change
around 1970. A ging in wooden barrels or stainless steel tanks became a fork in the
road that resulted in beers of different production methods and characteristics.
S tainless steel requires less care and maintenance than wood, but the end result
differs. A wort aged in a warm steel tank will become acidified but never achieve the
same flavors as in oak. The porous nature of the wood and the character of the wood
contribute to the Flanders red but not the brown beer. The tradition of aging in wood
has been lost by some Flanders brewers.
S o what makes an oud bruin besides geography and warm aging in stainless steel
tanks? The East Flanders brown is more solidly brown than its western cousin.
Filtered, the brown beers exhibit good clarity. They possess average to good head
retention in spite of long aging. A n alelike fruitiness with an often-dominant malt
character defines the East Flanders brown, balancing any hop bi erness. The acid-
producing bacteria dominant during fermentation produce different by-products,
largely due to the stainless steel vessels, so the brown becomes sour but never
achieves the crisp, acidic character of the red beers. The tart, vinous character of aged
beer is covered by the malty sweetness of young beer but grows in an East Flanders
brown if aged.
Traditional Lambic
Specifications:
Original Gravity: 12.0 to 14.0 °P (1.048 to 1.057 SG)
Apparent Final Gravity: 0.1 to 2.5 °P (1.001 to 1.010 SG)
 Alcohol By Volume: 5 to 5.5% abv
Apparent Degree of Attenuation: Up to nearly 100%
Malts: 60 to 70% Pilsener malt, 30 to 40% unmalted wheat
Hops: Belgian, Czech, or German low alpha acid varieties aged 3 years
Organisms: Saccharomyces, Pediococcus, Brettanomyces, many others
Fermentation: 6 months to 2+ years, generally at ambient temperature
Finish: Unpasteurized, served from a cask or bottle, less commonly from a keg
The lambic bill consists of malted barley, unmalted wheat, and aged hops,
traditionally mashed and boiled for a considerable period of time as compared to
modern brewing methods. The wort cools overnight, open to the air, in a large shallow
vessel know as a coolship. I n the days before refrigeration, coolships were far more
common as the only method of cooling wort. A fter a night’s rest in the coolship, the
wort is transferred to wooden barrels, where fermentation may last up to three years.
D uring this time, the organisms that inoculated the wort overnight, plus those
resident in the barrel, produce a cornucopia of flavors and aromas. Traditionally
brewed (and blended) beginning in the autumn and continuing into spring, the wild
yeasts and bacteria that ferment and acidify lambic will be too aggressive during the
warmer months.

Characteristics of Lambic

Pale yellow to deep golden

Often cloudy, clearing with age

Uncarbonated unless long aged

Virtually no foam

Often bitter with a lactic sourness, mellowing with age

 May exhibit small degrees of barnyard, earthy, goaty, hay, horsy, and horse
blanket character

Developing characteristics of fruit, oak, honey, and white wine

Complexity increases with age

Bitter and yeasty, fading with age

Relatively full-bodied, drying with age

Lambic presents a most unique sensory experience. I find a seemingly limitless

number of descriptors to express the aroma and flavor, most of which do not apply to
most other beer styles. Lambic is not, however, a free-for-all of strange a ributes (i.e.,
barnyard, horsy, etc.). A cceptable in small amounts, more “funk” and more acid do
not denote a be er lambic. Contrary to some popular beliefs, lambic should not
remind you of a diaper pail or S pot on a rainy day. Characteristics the brewer
considers “offensive,” including a large concentration of acid, provide clues that a
batch of lambic might not be quite ready or may never be ready to blend or serve.
N o traditional brewer intends for a lambic to be overtly sour or exceedingly acidic;
balance is the key. Brewers search for characteristics considered “pleasant” within the
realm of lambic.
The best lambics have some acidity, a bit like white wine, but not much more.
A ccording to Frank Boon, lambic brewers desire the character of Chardonnay. Many
people speak only of acidity and sourness. A reasonable amount is essential to lambic;
too much, and you have only vinegar or cleaning solution for the brew ke le. N o
single answer fits all the producers. The balance they strike depends upon their own
preferences and traditions.
Lambic of less than two years old is “beer in progress"—still undergoing
fermentation. Young lambic of five to six months old has a combination of the
sweetness of the unfermented sugars and some bi erness from both hops and from
yeast still in suspension. Young, cloudy lambic is a completely different beer than a
mature lambic. A fter two years, a lambic can be quite dry and taste almost like a
finished product (ready to blend as a gueuze). J ust as you may keep some wines for
several years, some lambics are good young, while others you must age.
Lambic is flat, since all carbon dioxide produced during lambic fermentation
escapes from the barrel. Packaged young, lambic develops carbonation in a manner
similar to a cask or bo le of real ale. Real ale is casked or bo led at the end of
fermentation with just enough fermentable sugar left in solution to provide a gentle
carbonation. The microorganisms responsible for lambic fermentation can consume
virtually any type of sugar; therefore, the brewer never bo les young lambic. The
fermentation of the remaining sugar in young lambic would produce enough carbon
dioxide to sha er the bo le. Traditionally served on draft from a cask, young lambic
must be consumed quickly, within about three days, or risk oxidization. O ld lambic
lacks virtually any fermentable sugars and may be bo led (or kegged) for later
enjoyment.

Faro was once a blend of different strengths of lambic, produced with several
different runnings (sparges) of the same mash and usually sweetened. Today, brewers
blend dark sugar with lambic to produce faro. Unlike the pasteurized commercial
bo les of faro seen on the shelves, traditional faro must also be served relatively
quickly on draft, or the sugar will begin to ferment, destroying the desired sweetness.
Traditional Gueuze
Specifications:
Original Gravity: 12.0 to 14.0 °P (1.048 to 1.057 SG)
Apparent Final Gravity: Roughly 0.1 °P (1.001 SG)
Alcohol By Volume: 5 to 8% abv
Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 100%
Malts: 60 to 70% Pilsener malt, 30 to 40% unmalted wheat
Hops: Belgian, Czech, or German low alpha acid varieties aged 3 years
Organisms: Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Brettanomyces (and others)
Fermentation: Up to 3 years, generally at ambient temperature
Finish: Traditionally bottle-conditioned

Gueuze is a blend of one-, two-, and three-year-old lambic. Young lambic still has
fermentable sugars and a higher concentration of viable yeasts than old lambic, which
contains more diverse and complex flavors and aromas. Lambic is flat, because the
carbon dioxide produced during fermentation has escaped from the barrels. The
effervescent character of gueuze results from the production of carbon dioxide in the
bo le by fermentation of the sugars remaining in the young lambic. Generally aged
before serving, the wild yeasts in a bo le of gueuze require time to finish
“refermentation.” The carbon dioxide and carbonic acid resulting from fermentation
bring out even very subtle flavors and add to the perception of dryness, acidity, and
tartness. A relatively unpredictable creation, lambic isn’t necessarily ready to blend
when the producer may be ready to blend. O ne of the many secrets of gueuze is
blending with just the correct amount of young lambic to produce a forceful but not
dangerous amount of carbon dioxide.

Gueuze Descriptors

Golden

Generally clear (any sediment should remain in the bottle)

Extremely carbonated and effervescent

(a cork should pop like Champagne)

Thick, lasting, moussey white head

Fruity—citrus, apples, and currants

Sometimes spicy or honeylike

May exhibit small degrees of barnyard, earthy, goaty, hay, horsy, and horse
blanket character

May exhibit oaky, woody, or vanilla notes

Light to moderate bitterness

Light to moderate tannic, astringent character

Complementary to moderate acidity

Rounded, reasonably warming, and very dry in the finish

Traditional lambic producers consider the difference between lambic and wine and
between gueuze and Champagne very small. N aturally occurring yeasts traditionally
ferment both wine and lambic in oak barrels. Champagne and gueuze are both
blended and refermented in the bo le to produce a sparkling product. A superior
vintage of Champagne or lambic may be bo led, unblended, as a “special cuvee.” A
Champagnelike specialty wine can be found anywhere in the world, but the original
product is native to a specific region of France. The original, traditional gueuze hails
from breweries around the S enne Valley in Belgium. N atural fermentation, blending,
and refermentation define the beermaking traditions of Brussels and the
Payottenland.
FRUIT BEERS
Traditional Belgian brewers commonly add fruit to lambic, gueuze, and Flanders
red-brown beers to impart the character of the fruit and produce a different beer. Fruit
can be added to virtually any of the beers discussed in this book. A dding fruit to beer
does not ultimately sweeten a beer (without pasteurization) but changes the flavor of a
beer. Fruit contributes sugar to traditional beer as an additional fermentable. The
acidity, flavor, aroma, and generally the color of a fruit beer will reflect to varying
degrees that of the individual fruit. Wild fruit beers are generally not intended for
aging, as the fruit flavor, aroma, and color will fade over time.
Fruit is sweet, fermented fruit is not. Wild yeasts ferment the sugar contained in
the fruit. The fruit flavor and aroma and additional alcohol remain in the beer, but not
any residual sweetness. A traditional wild fruit beer may often be more tart and acidic
than the original beer due to the contributions of acids and tannins present in varying
degrees in all types of fruit. The best fruits destined for fermentation by wild yeasts
possess minimally a moderate level of acidity in balance with the sugar content.

Lambic and Gueuze Appellation Controlleé

The most recent legal specifications for what may be commercially known as
lambic came from the European Union in J une 1998 at the request the
Confederation of Belgian Brewers, although the end result appears once again
watered down by the influence of the large corporations. A fter 30 years of decrees
and regulations, no real protection for 100% spontaneous fermentation exists.
I expect you may find the specifications somewhat vague; I do as well. W hat
the following appellation does prescribe is that a lambic or gueuze labeled as
“Oude” or “Ville” at least will have a certain flavor and aroma profile, even though
the brewers who produce such beers use 100% spontaneous fermentation. The
text of the appellation, loosely translated, reads as follows:
Beers that meet the following criteria may be called lambic and gueuze and
use the EU symbol of “Special Traditional Guarantee":
A n acid beer with a fragrant profile typical of a maturation in which the
component decisive microflora is constituted from the species Brettanomyces
bruxellensis and/or Brettanomyces lambicus.
• A minimum starting gravity of 12.7 Plato (1.051 S.C.)
 • A maximum pH of 3.8
• A maximum color of 25 EBC (12.5 SRM)
• A maximum bitterness of 20 IBUs

Lambic and Gueuze Appllation Controlleé Cont

The gueuze or the gueuze-lambic is derived from a mixture of lambic in which

the oldest component was ripened in wooden barrels for at least three years.
A fruit lambic is defined as no less than 10% and no greater than 30% of fruit
(25% of cherries) or the equivalent juice or concentrate proportional to the final
product produced in the above manner.
The beers that have, in addition to the above, the following characteristics are
entitled to the indication of “Oude” or “Ville” (and are considered the most
traditional examples of the style):
Beer that is the result of a blend of lambics that have been aged in wooden
barrels, the average age being of at least one year and the oldest being of at least
three years.
The mixture has undergone a refermentation and has been conditioned on
yeast.
Contains a maximum 0.5 ppm isoamylacetate (after six months of maturation
in the bo le) plus a minimum of 50 ppm of ethylacetate, a minimum volatile
acidity of 10 milli-equivalents N aO H (sodium hydroxide) per liter, and a
minimum total acidity of 75 milli-equivalents NaOH per liter.

Peter Bouckaert, the brewer at the N ew Belgium Brewing Company in Colorado

once conducted an enlightening taste test. Bouckaert blended his golden ale with a
cherry lambic from Frank Boon in Belgium. The kriek was “bone” dry; all of the sugar
had been fermented by wild yeast, while the flavor, aroma, and acidity of the cherries
remained. The golden ale was full-bodied, with some residual sweetness from sugar
unfermentable to the Saccharomyces used to ferment the beer. The blend had both the
character of cherries and sweetness, the la er being the contribution of the sugar in
the golden ale. This clearly demonstrated that you could have fruit flavor without
sweetness in beer.
Brewers consider cherries the most popular fruit in the world to blend with
traditional wild beer, and why not? Cherries have a tantalizing aroma, a quenching tart
character, and a pleasing acidity in the best varieties. A wild beer blended with
cherries is known as kriek or a kriek lambic, if lambic is used as the base beer. O ther
fruits added to wild beers within the past century are raspberries
(framboise/framboise lambic), grapes (druivenbier/druiven lambic), apricots,
strawberries, peaches, and black currants, the la er two prevalent in sweeter, filtered,
pasteurized examples.

Popular Fruits in Wild Beers

Fruit Time Frame

Cherries For Hundreds of Years

Raspberries Turn of the Twentieth Century
Grapes Within the Twentieth Century
Black Currants The 1980s
Peaches The 1980s
Apricots The 1990s
Strawberries The 1990s
 History

“All beer was once made by spontaneous fermentation, but those days are lost in the mists
of history.”
–Michael Jackson (the one with two gloves)

Philosopher George S antayana once said, “Those who cannot remember the past
are condemned to repeat it.” I n the case of wild beer, we are not cursed at all, as
science has yet to fully explain why many of the traditional brewing practices work,
much less to improve upon them. The concepts for creating wild beer all have a
historical basis. Examining even their spo y history can help to understand why
certain things are or are not done today. I also hope that any student of beers
fermented with wild yeast and bacteria will find their history quite interesting.
IN THE BEGINNING
O nce was a time when all beers went sour and acidic relatively quickly. Yeast
wasn’t something maintained in a lab and pitched in a specific quantity, it simply
existed wherever a fermentable source of food was found. Beer was fermented, over
time, by wild yeasts that also produced acids that soured the beer. Wild yeast is still
quite prevalent today, but this sort of fermentation is far too unreliable, haphazard,
and probably distasteful for most brewers to consider. O ne goal of brewers
throughout the long, largely forgo en history of beer has been to minimize and even
eliminate the pungent sour character possible with spontaneous fermentation. O nly
then did we find that spontaneous fermentation could be pleasant and desirable if
done correctly.
O ne theory suggests the invention of beer was an accident. A hapless gatherer of
the Middle S tone A ge accidentally left a bowl of grain uncovered in a hot damp or
rainy place. The grain sprouted, and the mixture was inoculated by Lactobacillus on the
grain and wild yeast in the air. This method may not have produced a complete
fermentation but likely would have produced an infected alcoholic “soup.”
Canadian homebrewer and paleontologist Ed Hitchcock put this theory to the test
in 1993, going so far as to pound newly sprouted barley into gruel, mash the paste in
the sun, and leave it out overnight to a ract wild yeasts. This result of this prehistoric
method of both mashing and fermentation was indeed filled with bacterial activity,
insects, mold, and a noxious odor that even the hungriest caveman probably would not
taste.
A nother theory suggests early brewers actually produced bread from sprouted
grain, then mashed it in a sort of “bread soup.” The resident enzymes converted
starches into sugar, which were ready for fermentation. Fermentation most likely
originated due to airborne microorganisms, possibly aided by the addition of fruit,
raw grains, or other ingredients bearing surface yeast and bacteria.
Hitchcock went to lengths to find conditions favorable for the development of an
ancient malted grain-fermented beverage. He made “biscuits” from sprouted grains,
mashed them in hot water with ground-sprouted barley, and fermented the mixture
with yeast cultured from unpasteurized apple cider. Hitchcock described the eventual
beer as cloudy, yeasty, bready, and cidery, and said that it “was good enough to
warrant a second glass.” S pontaneous fermentation was never, therefore, a simple
matter. Steps had to be taken to promote a pleasant outcome.
O ne of the earliest occurrences of a specific wild beer was known as sikaru and is
related to lambic beers. Sikaru was produced about 5,000 years ago in Mesopotamia. A
cuneiform writing reveals the composition of the wort to be virtually identical with
that of lambic—about 60% malt1 and 40% raw grain. Author and microbiologist J ean-
Xavier Guinard notes the spontaneous fermentation of the sikaru wort was a ributed
both to wild Saccharomyces and Schizosaccharomyces, a yeast that reproduces by fission
as opposed to budding and is resistant to high levels of acetic acid, similar to
Brettanomyces.
A nother contribution to the lore of wild beer is heather ale, which comes to us
from the Picts, inhabitants of northern S cotland during pre-Roman times. Wild yeasts
inhabited many places, including heather blossoms, and these would have contributed
fermentative capabilities as well as sugar from the nectar. This wild variation of beer is
sometimes known today simply as Pictish ale. Like many lambic brewers, the Picts
were known to guard their secrets carefully. Legend often has a father and his sons,
the last survivors of their race, being captured and coerced, unsuccessfully, into
revealing the secret of their ancient drink. (I thank the lambic brewers and blenders
for not forcing me to go to such lengths to learn about their trade.)
The warrior-driven Celts were originally meadmakers, although their culture was
already firmly rooted in ale around 3,000 years ago, when they occupied Europe north
of the A lps as well as the British I sles. The Celts are credited with introducing brewing
technology to Western Europe. Hops had not yet found their way into the ke le, so
one major way of flavoring the ale was with a marsh and woodland plant called
meadowsweet. S imilar to the use of hops for certain antibacterial properties, research
has shown this plant would have had a preservative effect on the beers of the day.
The Romans evicted the Celts around 57 B.C., and some historians suspect they
brought with them an already ancient brewing process, perhaps practiced by the
Egyptians, involving spontaneous fermentation. A rcheologists discovered a Roman
villa dating from the third or fourth century with additional buildings they believed
were used to produce beer in the Belgian province of N amur. A mong the relics
uncovered were an assortment of pots and beer glasses that include inscriptions that
clearly refer to beer. A nother advancement contributed by the Romans was the use of
wooden casks, first mentioned in A.D. 21.
 Author and exhaustive researcher Martyn Cornell speaks of the occasional problem
with fermentation of beer in the first few centuries and the reliance on God for
fermentation. O ne account has a fragment of the cross of S aint A ed being dropped
into an apparently impious brew to jump-start fermentation. O f course, you have to
watch what you ask for. A nother account has the brewer in Cloman Elo’s monastic
brewing company asking the patron saint to help with a failed fermentation only to
have a “gushing nonstop fountain of beer as a result.” Coincidentally, the first
(unpasteurized) version of Lindemans Gueuze shipped to the S tates met with the same
result in transit. (Faced with the problem of a batch fermenting too slowly, traditional
lambic brewers simply wait another year.)
A cross parts of Western Europe, early records of towns in the Hanseatic League
during the Middle A ges documented powerful guilds based around white and red
beers that were important for trade. Li le is known about this broad tradition of fresh,
cloudy, low alcohol, sourish beers—the weissbrau (white beer) being principally of
wheat, and the rothbrau (red beer) being of barley. We do know that beer was made in
Brussels as early as the twelfth century, as supplied by its municipal charter made
official in 1229. The use of raw wheat also dates back quite far; in 1137, the dukes of
Brabant granted special water privileges to the brewing class for the crushing of wheat
as well as malt. I n thirteenth century Flanders, brewers still produced local beer with a
spice mix known as gruit, while Hanse merchants were able to ship their beer to
Flanders since they brewed with hops, already known by the brewers of the day for
their ability to retard infection of the wort by various bacteria. I t wasn’t until the end
of the fourteenth century that beer production in Brabant and Flanders changed from
a domestic industry to one producing hopped beer for locals.
The brewers of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had much in common with
twentieth century producers of spontaneously fermented ales. A ccording to unger,
“Brewers usually started work early, even before dawn, so they could get the wort into
the fermentation troughs in the cool of the evening and night. Those troughs would be
in a place open to breezes. Later brewers even had hand-driven fans to push cool air
across the top of the troughs. Brewers had to give careful a ention to the rate of
cooling so the yeast would grow.” I t was not uncommon to restrict brewing and
malting to the cooler months, as they felt both processes needed the cool and even
temperatures.
Centuries ago, beer was produced throughout Flanders and Brabant in tiny
farmhouse breweries (kam). The farmers grew wheat and barley to brew the beer and
feed the animals. Brewing did not happen during the summer months, because the
land demanded the farmers’a ention. The goal of the farm was not to produce beer to
sell but to survive. Beer was produced for consumption by the family and farmhands
and likely used only in trade for necessities the farm could not produce.
I t wasn’t until the mid-fourteenth century that a Flemish recipe book made
mention of adding yeast to beer, although brewers may have been skimming foam off
the top of a fermenting brew to start the next one during the early 1300s. By the
fifteenth century, brewers had an understanding of naturally occurring top-and
bo om-fermenting yeasts. By using the former, the brewer was able to conduct
fermentation in a single cask. The brewer could skim the yeast as it rose to the top of
the cask, through a hole in the barrel. I f the brewer wished to speed the process of
fermentation, the beer was put into smaller barrels, which “put more yeast surfaces in
contact with vegetable ma er.” The bungholes were covered before tapping to keep
the air out of the casks.
D uring the fifteenth century around Brussels there were beers known as walgbaert
and hoppe, white beers made with a blend of raw wheat and oats; roetbier, red beers
made from barley; and zwartzbier, which was black. “All of these, however, with others,
were gradually displaced by the lambic, or strong beer, the mais, or small beer, and
faro, a mixture of each,” notes an early twentieth century text. Ghent, in northern
Flanders, was known for a beer called uitzet or uytzet, brewed to various strengths
using a combination of multiple mashes. Typical was to remove a part of the wort after
five- to six-hour boils and ferment it with an “old yeast.” (A ccording to authors
Perrier-Robert and Fontaine, thirty- to forty-hour boils were perfectly acceptable at the
time. I n hindsight, this may have actually been a “rolling simmer,” due to inefficient
heat sources under large brewing ke les.) I n 1549, Plactomus called beer produced
with wheat “white beer” and beer produced with barley “red beer.” I n broadest terms,
lambic and wit may be remnants of the paler wheat beers, while the Flanders red-
brown beers are the descendants of the red barley beers.
 From the very creation of beer, brewers sought to understand the mystery of
fermentation and exert control over the process whenever possible. Far more than a
haphazard process, spontaneous fermentation requires a source of wild yeast and
favorable circumstances. Brewing was seldom carried out during the summer when
the hot weather promoted the extreme growth of organisms whose by-products made
the beer undrinkable. Prior to the dominance of the hop, other plants were sought for
their antibacterial properties in wort. I ntensely sour, acidic beverages were never
desirable. A truly good beer, at most points throughout history, was no accident.
A key point in the history of fermentation occurred when medieval brewers
learned to skim the foam from a fermenting batch of wort as the start of the next
fermentation, rather than rely on airborne yeast to ferment each and every batch of
beer. This early fork in the road of fermentation led more and more brewers down a
different path, until only the lambic brewers of Brussels still practiced spontaneous
fermentation.
THE BEERS OF BRUSSELS
Brussels and the surrounding countryside remain famous for their lambic beers,
the first wri en documentation dating to around 1320. From this, lambic can lay claim
to being the oldest existing beer style in the world. Farmers surrounding Brussels once
commonly had their own breweries. W hile other brewers slowly went with newer
methods of brewing and fermentation, eventually leading to the use of pure cultures
of yeast, the many brewers in and around Brussels kept the traditional methods,
including spontaneous fermentation.
Up until the time of the French Revolution, lambic was simply “old beer,” but
lambic was the beer that kept the best. A ccording to Frank Boon, most of the other
white and dark top-fermenting beers of that day kept only a week or two and then
became unpleasantly acidic. The methods employed in the brewing and blending of
lambic, however, produced a beer with a more palatable tart character. lambic was a
beer that would keep for years without turning to vinegar. The concept of “good” and
“bad” sour may be foreign to many drinkers, but lambic was a beer whose unique
acidic character was embraced by the local people of Brussels as well as current
aficionados of the style.
The oldest existing beer style, traditional producers consider lambic “the mother of
all beers.” I t is the only purely spontaneously fermented beer style left in the world,
and its history is deeply rooted in Belgian culture. The consumption of rough ale was
at the center of rustic country life in sixteenth-century Belgium. Pieter Bruegel the
Elder’s famous paintings depict the lifestyle (and religion and death) of the Flemish
people. Bruegel depicts peasants enjoying beverages out of stoneware jugs. I dentical
jugs are still used to serve lambic, then called “yellow beer.”
 Bruegel lived to the west of Brussels and often wandered through the villages of
the Payo enland, inspired by the people and the landscapes. A collection of signposts
mark the Bruegel Route, designed to lead the traveler through the villages and
countryside that once served as his muse. S till brewed in a number of villages along
the route, the thirsty traveler can enjoy lambic from a dwindling number of classic
cafes or even directly from the brewers and blenders.
The origin of the lambic name lies, at least in part, in the village of Lembeek. At
one point in this tiny village of roughly 600 lucky inhabitants there were about 43
different breweries, all banded together into a brewers guild. (Currently, the Boon
brewery is the only one for around 4,000 still reasonably fortunate residents). Up until
about 1800, there were no taxes paid. I t was a tax-free zone—a free town between
Brabant and Hainaut. The breweries generally used to both brew beer and distill
genever (gin) in the same plant.
D uke J ean I V of Brabant, in search of a new brew, purportedly had the thought of
macerating and boiling barley and hops in a still. I n French, a still is known as alambic.
To the French, both the town and the beer it was known for was A lambic, or “beer
from stills.” The name lambic may have evolved from this term. Considered very harsh
to the palate, people also may have believed that a lambic was actually a distilled
beverage.
The typical lambic grist consisting of wheat and barley has apparently been around
for at least 400 years. J ean I V decreed in 1420 that all brewers in Brabant were required
to use wheat in order to improve the quality of their beers. Remi le Mercier of Halle
told the brewers of Brabant in 1559 that everyone should use at least 16 “razieren” of
grain, including six “razieren” of wheat and ten “razieren” of barley.
The typical lambic mash traces its origins to a D utch law introduced in 1822, and
subsequently kept by an independent Belgium, that fixed a duty upon the capacity of
the mash tun. This tax led to each brewery installing as small a mash tun as possible
and filling it to the limit for each brew. O nly a small amount of cold liquor could fit
into a mash tun already overflowing with a mixture of raw grain and malted barley.
The well-respected English brewing scientist George Maw J ohnson wrote that any
a empt at approaching what is commonly considered a strike heat would result in a
set mash. The temperature during the early stages of mashing was not sufficient
enough to gelatinize any significant proportion of starch contained in the raw grains.
Portions of the liquid had to periodically be removed and heated in a separate copper.
The mashes of early Belgian brewers were, therefore, turbid. This type of mash, full of
starches and dextrins, is still common in the production of lambic. Brewer G.
Lacambre described the traditional turbid mash of a lambic in his Complete Treaty of
the Manufacture of Beers and Distillation of the Grains (Brussels, 1851).
The size of the mash tun made lower gravity beers more profitable. Mais or mars, at
about 2% abv, was less than half the gravity of lambic and often considered a product
of the second runnings of water through the mash. O ther people believe lambic may
have simply been liquored (watered) down in the cask. Mars did follow the tradition of
having a low-cost and low-alcohol beer, consumed in large quantities, to refresh the
body during a time when manual labor was more prevalent. A lso, diluting the beer
was one way by which brewers could pass on rising costs to their consumers.
I f the drinker found lambic too acidic, he or she commonly added a bit of sugar,
crushed into the glass with a device known as a stoemper (a sort of mortar). Faro, on the
other hand, often came presweetened. Candi sugar, caramel, molasses, and perhaps
even some spice were used, so faro was commonly darker than lambic or mars. Faro
was an everyday beer, just like the lambic, so it may have been served rather quickly,
before the sugar was completely fermented. N ear the end of the nineteenth century
the popularity of faro dropped, so casks often went sour before they were emptied.
Cafe owners remedied this situation by hanging strings of candi sugar crystals in the
cask to “resweeten” the beer.

Essentially a blend of lambic and mars, lambic brewers seldom blended faro for
themselves, They sold lambic and mars to the gereedmaker—perhaps an early version
of a blender—who carried out the task. A ccording to Perrier-Robert and Fontaine, faro
spent up to two years in the barrel. W hen faro was served, it had “a moderately sweet
flavor and beautiful bright appearance.”
lambic was stronger than the low-alcohol beers of the day. J ohnson wrote in 1895,
“The spontaneous beer of which I spoke just now weighs generally about 1063, or as
much as Bass’s Pale Ale for export.” S ome evidence also points to faro once being a
stronger beer than even records may show. A twentieth-century brewing text
discussing faro stated, “Belgian beers are like those of France, rather vinous in nature,
and are often known as a barley wine.” N ot surprisingly, then, faro became a rowdies’
drink as well as the target of abuse, when beers brewed with S enne River water, where
people discharged their waste, were blamed for several cholera epidemics. Faro was
known as “the beer which is drunk twice.”
The origin of gueuze dates back to the early nineteenth century, when the brewers
of Brussels found a way to keep gas in casks and bo les of lambic by applying the
M ethode Champenoise, the classic French method of Champagne production applied to
many sparkling wines. After primary fermentation is complete, a sugar solution (liquor
de tirage) is added to the unfiltered wine. The bo les are then stacked and allowed to
referment (aging sur lie). After a period of at least one year, the bottles are put through
an extensive series of tilts and turns, by which gravity conveys the sediment to the
neck of the bo le (remuage or riddling). The wine is then chilled to around 38° F (4° C)
to minimize loss of carbon dioxide as the bo les are opened and the sediment
removed (disgorgement).
Gueuze was very simply the blend of one-, two-, and three-year-old lambic. The
fermentation of the sugars remaining in the young lambic over a period of roughly one
year produced the high level of carbonation in a bo le or cask similar to that in
Champagne. Gueuze differed from the traditional method of conditioning
Champagne, as the yeast was left in the bo le or cask. A lso, nothing other than 100%
lambic—no sugar—went into a gueuze. There are a number of theories as to the origin
of the term, but the most popular refers to the gas or carbonation in the cask (and
eventually the bo le), which is why it obtained the term, “The Champagne of
Brussels.”

D ocuments a est to the import of gueuze to Constantinople in 1844. O ne of the

first published mentions of gueuze was in A . Laurent’s D ictionnaire de la Brasserie
(Brussels, 1875). The people of Brussels happily consumed large quantities of gueuze
at the Brussels I nternational Exhibition in 1897. O ne hundred years ago, 90 to 95% of
all lambic was sold straight, and gueuze was only a very small volume. I t was quite
customary in Brussels in the late 1800s to meet with friends after work over a glass of
lambic or faro. Today, most people choose gueuze over a simple lambic.
Numerous cafes or pubs in Belgium and the United States routinely offer hundreds
of beers to their customers. Historically, this was not the case. Many years ago, only
the local products were available, and the beer selection was quite limited. Local fruits
were sometimes added to local beers in order to make the beer lists a bit longer.
A dding cherries was quite the rage to the north and west of Brussels at the end of the
nineteenth century. lambic fermented with whole cherries or raspberries, known as
kriek lambic or framboise lambic, were still traditionally dry, as most of the sugars
would have been fermented. To the south and east of Brussels, where lambic brewers
of the day were still firmly entrenched in the valley of the Yssche River, they didn’t
add cherries or raspberries to their beer but rather grapes, which had been cultivated
in the greenhouses of Hoeilaart, Huldenberg, and Overijse.
Fruit was commonly blended with lambic by the cafe owner, not the brewer, to
create a different beer at each different cafe; a tradition that has sadly disappeared.
Cafe keepers traditionally produced fruit beers, such as kriek, during the summer by
adding cherries from their own gardens to a cask of lambic in their cellar. The
resulting kriek was served for one to three weeks in O ctober until the cask was empty.
A kriek was traditionally produced in a very small volume, for variety when the
selection of beers was limited.
The concentration of fruit around Brussels was likely one key contributor to the
success of spontaneous fermentation in that area. Wild yeast likes to inhabit the skins
of fruit. (This is the reason the unpasteurized juice of apples or grapes will ferment
without the addition of any yeast). The famous British brewery Marstons—which also
once fermented in wooden casks—claimed its original yeast strain was found on the
skin of an apple. W hile Brussels’ famous S chaarbeek cherries are all but extinct, the
buildings to the west of Brussels’ historic center retain at least some of the age-old
characteristics ideal for spontaneous fermentation.
lambic producers occasionally brewed or purchased lagers or blonde ales for the
purpose of diluting their lambics, perhaps to stretch a batch. A le makers, likewise,
used to buy lambic to blend with their ales to make a beer more tart, a desirable
characteristic one hundred years ago. A blend of lambic and ale was meant to be
something very balanced and consumed relatively quickly. A ny longer than roughly
three months, and the lambic would overpower the other beer. The blend was poured
straight from a barrel; a bo le could become dangerous. A dding traditional lambic to
a top-or bo om-fermented beer may result in enormous pressure once the wild yeasts
of the lambic ferment the sugars in the ale.
THE BEERS OF FLANDERS
Blending was a common thread among wild brewers. Practitioners of spontaneous
fermentation for centuries, the brewers of Flanders required new ways to cheaply
produce beer with a popular tangy character. Blending provided the key, but opinions
differ on the origin of the Flemish practice.
 A s far back as the early 1700s, the British were blending old and new, mild and
stale beer. The London Chronicle’s O badiah Poundage observed that Londoners could
choose from heavy and sweet ale and more highly hopped beer. London’s brown beers
were becoming hoppier to compete with the burgeoning pale ale brewers of the day.
The tradition grew of allowing beer to age to develop a tart, vinous quality commonly
associated with a traditional Flemish oud bruin. This character was correctly attributed
t o Brettanomyces, commonly found in fully matured examples of both English and
Flemish beers. Customers often preferred a blend of ale and beer.
The brewers of Flanders also blended young and aged beer. I t is difficult to
determine exactly on which side of the English Channel this tradition began. The
people at the classic West Flanders brewery Rodenbach cite the similarity with the
practice of blending in the United Kingdom, and ancestor Eugene Rodenbach was
known to have studied brewing in England. S ome people credit Rodenbach with
bringing the method of tall wooden cask construction and accompanying fermentation
process to Belgium around 1860. S ays Michael J ackson, “S ome people believe that
Rodenbach’s techniques of aging and blending were taken from the porter and stout
brewers of Britain and I reland. I think it was initially the Flemish who taught the
islanders about such ma ers, although knowledge did begin to flow the other way
after the I ndustrial Revolution.” W herever the tradition began, the English and
Flemish traditions are inexorably linked.
J ust as the British taste in ale for many centuries was for low-carbonated, cask-
conditioned ales served directly from the barrel, so the typical beer for much of
Flanders was for centuries a dark, sourish ale that had been aged in casks at the
brewery. (A round Brussels, this same dry, tangy flavor came from lambic-based
beers.) The problem was, fresh ale was cheap and commonplace, while aged beer was
elusive and expensive. I t is reasonable to assume, therefore, that a respectable use for
aged beer was to mix it with new beer to reach a popular taste in a less cost-prohibitive
manner.
D uring the time Rodenbach was in England, a pub owner could purchase fresh
beer directly from the brewery. Traders commonly purchased beer, aged it for several
years, and eventually sold it to a pub for about twice the price. The customer could ask
the publican for a drink of cheap young ale, expensive old ale, or a blend of young and
old. I n Flanders, enterprising third parties also matured beer to sell to the publicans
for blending with their own young beer.
 I n the early 1800s, London porter was commonly matured in large, oaken vats.
O nly about 10% was aged for two years and, according to Cornell, was “helped on its
way to maturity with the addition of everything from returns to pubs of unsold brown
stout to ullage from the bo om of the brewery vessels.” (There are, coincidentally,
some hints that the founder of the Belle-Vue lambic brewery-pub in Brussels was not
well respected and produced his lambic with help from beer discarded from other
breweries and returned from cafes.) The trend in England toward larger and larger
vats, each brewer a empting to outdo his competitors, swiftly ended in 1814, as a vat
belonging to Henry Meux’s brewery, filled with 3,550 barrels of aged porter, gave way,
releasing a torrent of sour beer onto Tottenham Court Road.
 The tradition of conserving (aging) beer to blend with young beer was common in
Flanders in the 1800s. Beer may only have been stable for about two to three weeks
before it went sour, so it had to blended and consumed quickly. This caused the
limited supply of aged ale to be quite expensive. I f a brewer could not age his own
beer, he may have purchased it from another producer, such as Rodenbach, for
blending with his own beer. The advent of modern brewery sanitation helped to
produce beer of greater stability. W hile “cleaner” beer became more available, the
people of Flanders still enjoyed the sourish taste, because it was more refreshing.
A djuncts, primarily maize, were commonly used to produce traditional Flanders
beers. The adjuncts were boiled in a separate ke le and added to the main mash as it
reached saccharification temperature. A tax advantage promoted the use of adjunct
grain. The D utch law of 1822 that fixed a duty upon the capacity of the mash tun had
one loophole. This law made a provision for raw grains not directly mashed with the
malt in the tun, thus giving a financial advantage to the use of corn, oats, or wheat in a
separate cereal cooker.
A ributing a separate style of beer to the provinces of East and West Flanders is a
twentieth-century phenomenon. O nce, the distinction between the red beers of West
Flanders and the brown beers of East Flanders was not so well recognized. The river
S chelde bisects the important East Flanders brewing town of O udenaarde, a division
of historic demarcation. Prior to the establishment of modern Belgium, the Germans
and the French each had ownership of a part of the Flanders fields, with the S chelde
being an early version of an uncrossable line.
A s modern fermentation practices became more prevalent, breweries on the west
side of the river produced sourish ales, while those on the east side did not. Both by
brewing culture and by geography, it should be obvious which country occupied which
bank. This geographic division of beer production still holds true. The distinction
between the beer of West and East Flanders truly diverged when brewers in the east
began fermenting in stainless steel, while those in the west continued to age in wood.
TWENTIETH-CENTURY BLUES
Evidence indicates that spontaneous fermentation survived as far east of Brussels
as D uisseldorf, Germany, until the early 1900s. Between Belgium and Germany lies the
D utch province of Limburg. The principal city of the province, Maastricht, was once
known for a beer called M estreechs Aajt. A relative of the Flanders red-brown,
Mestreechs Aajt hit its height of popularity around 1900.
There was no artificial refrigeration during the late 1800s and early 1900s, so beer
did not keep terribly well. Beer that was too old and could not be sold was put into
open wooden vessels and experienced spontaneous fermentation for three and often
up to twelve months. The aged beer was blended with newer beer, just as brewers and
blenders were doing over the border in Belgium, and was becoming less popular
across the channel in the United Kingdom.
I n Holland, women and children commonly drank Mestreechs A ajt. A beer for the
people, it was not so strong, perhaps 3% abv. Limburg once boasted about 1,600
breweries, although certainly not all produced this remnant of spontaneously
fermented beers. The last brewery that made Mestreechs A ajt, the Marres brewery,
stopped in 1940 during the early days of World War II.
Breweries in eastern Brabant (east of Brussels) once produced traditional white or
wit beers by spontaneous fermentation. The wit beers could be quite sour, so fruit and
herbs were often used in their production. The Peeterman beers of Louvain, similar to
a wit, were produced from raw wheat, malted barley, and old hops (just like lambic),
“yearlings or older.” At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Peeterman and
Louvain white beer, the la er produced with oats, both used a “special yeast” and had
a method of reintroducing yeast to start fermentation. They smelled strongly of ethyl
butyrate (like pineapples), and that hydrogen gas escaping from the cask would flash
blue if a flame was brought into contact.
 The region east of Brussels appeared indicative of wild fermentation. Belgian
brewers of the day knew that special yeasts could be obtained from “frontier towns”
such as Maastricht, one of which fermented free maltose in twenty-four to forty-eight
hours, and the second finished the a enuation in six to eight days and adhered to the
sides of the barrels. A variety of solutions, including fruit, spice, and different yeasts,
were sought to mask the sour character of many local beers.
The lambic of Brussels exhibited a different character than the top-fermented beer
of the region, which went sour due to the contributions of uncontrolled bacteria that
produced unpleasant amounts of acid. With the ability to age gracefully, lambic was
highly sought after for more balanced and mellow flavors. The aging and blending of
the darker Flanders beers, too, sought to balance the acidic character to more pleasant
levels. Too much acid was never entirely desirable, though more so than it is today.
Consider the sour character exhibited by many of the top-fermented beers if the
lambic and Flanders beers of the day were more acidic than today’s traditional
descendants.
 I n spite of the emergence of German lager in Belgium during the 1860s, the
brewers of Flanders and Brabant flourished at the onset of the twentieth century.
N early every village had its own brewery, usually owned by the major of the village.
The political opposition often set up a brewery to compete with that of the major.
S ome villages contained two competing breweries producing as many as ten different
types of beer for a population often less than 500 people. In Flanders, the people drank
dark, somewhat sour, blended top-fermented beers. A round Brussels, the people
drank lambic and gueuze produced at roughly 3,000 breweries. I mports, however, had
found their way into the Belgian cafes and were slowly eroding the market of the
traditional products.
The two W orld Wars were not kind to the Belgian brewing industry. Many brewers
were not allowed to brew, and equipment, particularly those articles made of copper,
were taken for the German war effort. A fter the war, Brussels alone still had more than
50 lambic brewers and blenders, although the stock of gueuze on hand was depleted.
Guinard describes the 1950s as “glorious times,” for the lambic brewers, fathers and
sons, often produced more than fifty batches a year.
From 1950 to 1980 roughly 70% of all breweries in Belgium closed. The increasing
popularity of Pilsener beers, a lingering effect of the war, reduced demand for the
traditional products of Flanders and Brussels. Producers that survived felt they must
export their beers out of the region, and that meant sweetening the beer to meet a
more generic taste and pasteurizing to aid in consistency when shipping. lambic also
was blended with mediocre Pilsener to lower production time and cost.
The 1960s saw the beginning of sweet lambic, gueuze, and fruit beers, not
surprisingly preceded by the introduction of soft drinks into Europe in the 1950s. The
top of the sugar run was in the 1970s and 1980s. S accharin quickly became a popular
alternative to sugar, as it is essentially unfermentable, even to wild yeast. Beginning
with the 1970s, still spurred on by the postwar popularity of Pilsener, many of the
remaining traditional brewers and blenders continued to disappear. lambic was found
only in and to the west of Brussels.

Flanders, too, felt the sting of the sweet tooth. Breweries closed, fewer and fewer
examples of the traditional products were being produced, and less and less aged beer
was being blended with young beer to make those that remained. There seemed li le
market for the traditional tangy, refreshing, even acidic character once found so
desirable in Flanders and Brussels.
S ince the end of the 1980s and beginning of the 1990s, however, some people have
begun to come back to the traditional beers. Many producers in Flanders and the
Payo enland create at least one and often more traditional beers of the region. There
just needs to be a sizeable enough minority to support the traditional product.
Traditional breweries continue to close, unfortunately, due to financial and personal
difficulties. Producing traditional beers in the traditional manner requires time and
money, although the resulting product is well worth the effort.
ACROSS THE POND
The United S tates had no wild beer culture for most of its history, the beer roots
being English, German, and Czech. Much of A merica’s beer culture was seriously
compromised both during and after “The Great Experiment” of the total prohibition of
alcoholic beverages from 1920 to 1933. U.S . craftbrewers gained a knack for adapting
the beer styles of other countries and, in the process, rediscovered parts of their own
beer culture that had been lost. A mericans have come a long way in wild beer
production since the first homebrewer took a beer that got infected and entered it in a
competition as a lambic … and won!
A merican homebrewers first began working with cultures of wild yeast and
bacteria sometime in the late 1980s. Beers of a lambic profile were the goal, and
examples got progressively be er—though far from perfect—as yeast suppliers
became be er versed in the handling of the appropriate microorganisms. Professional
brewers eventually followed suit once brewers got over the phobia of allowing “that
stuff” into the brewery.
A mong the early commercial adopters of wild beer were the Co onwood Brewery
of Boone, N orth Carolina, and J oe’s Brewery of Champaign, I llinois. Brewer J ohn
I senhour gained a “cult status” for his production of beers with a lambic profile in the
mid-1990s using wild yeast and bacteria that he kept active at various stages of the
lambic fermentation cycle. J ohn quite successfully marketed the “I ambic” to his rather
conservative clientele in this central Illinois college town as “Belgian lemonade.”
The twenty-first century has brought everything from a growing selection of one-
off brewery versions of a lambic to nearly full-scale Rodenbach-inspired wood-aged
beers. A few adventurous brewers take wild yeast, bacteria, and fruit to create their
own unique beers inspired only by the Belgian tradition.
Much of the history of wild beer has gone to the grave with our ancestral brewers.
The Belgians did not start the tradition, but theirs is the richest and most firmly rooted
in culture. W hile we can only hope the traditional producers in Belgium cease to
dwindle in number, A mericans are doing their best to continue the broad tradition of
wild beers abroad.
1History professor Richard Linger notes the Mesopotamians malted barley by
soaking it and drying it in the sun for several weeks and would have been prevented
from doing this during the summer months, when the temperatures were too hot.
Brewing was traditionally a seasonal practice. S ummer temperatures still affect
traditional lambic brewers, albeit for different reasons.
 Drinking Wild Beer

“If you do not enjoy my beer, then I say it is a pity for you!”
–Armand DeBelder of the Brouwerij Drie Fonteinen

The traditional beers of Flanders and the Payo enland are unlike any on the
planet. Each beer is more a product of the terroir of the brewery than simply the actual
ingredients. Curiously enough, while most producers would share the details of their
process, few would contribute specifics regarding the ingredients. W hile the nature of
fermentation with wild yeast and bacteria, particularly spontaneous fermentation,
remains much a “magical” process, the brewer directly controls (and guards) malt,
hops, the gravity of the beer, and other related factors. I go into detail regarding
potential ingredients and production methods and try to demystify fermentation in
later chapters. I n this chapter, I explore a number of interpretations of traditional and
not-so-traditional styles.
The traditional styles mentioned in the first chapter are generalizations, while each
product is a unique interpretation. You don’t set out to reproduce a Cantillon Gueuze
or a Rodenbach Grand Cruas you would a empt to clone a popular I ndia pale ale. You
can a empt to slant the variables toward the profile of a particular beer and possibly
produce something reminiscent, but in the end your beer will taste unique. Vive la
difference!
W hen N ew Belgium Brewing of Fort Collins, Colorado, began its program of barre
aging, it respected the Flanders tradition, but the goal was always to make a good,
acidic beer pleasant to the brewer’s palate. The result is something unique. The
traditional beers of Flanders and the S enne Valley set standards to which other
brewers can aspire, especially in the beginning. Producing a quality product out of
style is difficult until you can produce one in style. A merican producers have followed
this path, and several now produce very unique wild beers.
Belgium is filled with both small country pubs and trendy city center cafes that
offer dozens of different beers. S mall, local breweries once owned their own cafes or
sold beer to those in the area. Today, many independent cafes have an exclusive
arrangement with one of a few larger brewery groups. Those cafes carry that group’s
overall line, including a Pilsener, an abbey beer, etc. This tie makes local beers difficult
to find even a moderate distance from the brewery. S urprisingly enough, a number of
wild Belgian beers are more readily available in parts of the United S tates than in their
native land. O ne thing the Belgian and A merican examples have in common is that
usually the best way to find them is to visit the respective brewery.
 First, I discuss some of the traditional Belgian brewers and their products, and
then I move on to some new A merican interpretations. The path to understanding
wild beers runs through the breweries of the people who create them. Their history
covers several hundred years of brewing traditions within Flanders and around
Brussels. The wild beers brewed in the United S tates illustrate just how much is
possible with at least a li le knowledge and a lot of enthusiasm. A ll of the wild beers
produced in Belgium cannot possibly be covered. I mention the beers I find most
representative of traditional characteristics and production methods. I feel all of the
following beers are worth seeking out; many are world class and worth drinking again
and again.
DRINKING IN FLANDERS
Part of the ancient kingdom of Flanders encompasses much of the northern
portion of modern Belgium. Modern Flanders is divided into two provinces. East
Flanders shares a border with the N etherlands to the north and meanders lazily
eastward nearly to Brussels in the center of Belgium. West Flanders shares a common
border with France to the south and contains the 65 kilometers of Belgian coastline
along the English Channel to the northwest. The proximity of the United Kingdom to
the west, across the Channel, speaks volumes about the similarities of drinking
traditions between Flanders and eastern portions of England.
J ust as the British taste in ale for many centuries was low-carbonated, cask-
conditioned ales served directly from the barrel, the traditional beer of Flanders for
centuries was a dark, sourish ale that had been aged in casks at the brewery. Brewers
in both England and Flanders aged some of their beer for up to several years in barrels
where resident microorganisms produced an acidic character. The taste for aged ale
was both popular and expensive. Brewers discovered that this desirable taste could be
achieved sufficiently by blending aged with newer beer. There are some breweries in
Flanders (and in the United Kingdom) that still follow this tradition.
The most widely recognized example of the West Flanders red style comes from the
Brouwerij Rodenbach in Roeselare, located almost in the center of the province, near
many famous W orld War I ba lefields. A lexander Rodenbach purchased what was in
1820 the S t. George Brewery, the namesake of the patron saint of England. S uccessor
Eugene Rodenbach studied brewing in England, and while no records suggest exactly
where, only S uffolk’s Greene King (not far from the Channel) still produces a beer in
England by blending oak-aged and young beer (known as Strong Suffolk). The famous
red beer is not one of many styles of beer produced at Rodenbach, it is the only type of
beer they produce.
The legend of Rodenbach rises from room after room of ceiling-high oaken tuns,
produced and maintained from wood of a specific forest by in-house coopers. The
brewers at Rodenbach age a wort of 1.052 (13 °P) for eighteen to twenty-four months,
until the brewers feel the contents of a particular barrel has achieved the proper
character. A portion of the wood-aged beer is sold unblended (with a touch of sugar)
as Rodenbach Grand Cru(6% abv). A second wort of 1.044 (11 °P) is warm aged for four
to eight months in stainless steel tanks to promote development of lactic acid. This
will be blended with the aged beer and sold as Rodenbach Klassiek (4.6% abv).
Rodenbach once used 33% of the aged beer to produce Rodenbach Klassiek (formerly
Rodenbach), but this percentage has been lowered to 25%, resulting in a sweeter beer.
The traditional kriek, Rodenbach Alexander, sadly was discontinued after the Palm
Brewery Group purchased Rodenbach in 1998.
Moving southeast out of Roeselare, we head for the town of Bavikhove. You can’t
miss the turn; an old brew ke le sits in the middle of the roundabout, marking the
exit. A dolphe D e Brabandere, a farmer, started theBrouwerij Bavik in 1894, while his
son, J osef, created the first brews. Until this time, the D e Brabandere family
concentrated on farming and, like many other families, brewed beer for their personal
consumption. A fter W orld War I I , Bavik expanded to produce a number of
mainstream products, although it still dedicates a portion of the production to
traditional methods.
Until the 1970s, Bavik purchased aged beer from Rodenbach to blend with its very
s weet O ud Bruin to match the classic Flemish taste in beer. A s the number of
producers of the aged, acidic beers of Flanders dried up, Rodenbach was able to sell
less and less beer in order to meet its own production demands. Finally, Bavik saw the
need to purchase several oak tuns to age beer for itself. The brewers added “live” beer,
such as gueuze, to “condition” the wood. The microorganisms in the gueuze took up
residence in the new barrels and, over time, the barrels became quite suitable for the
aging of beer in the Flanders tradition. S ince the barrels are relatively new, beer may
take up to three years to properly acidify.
Bavik actually ages a pale, relatively highly hopped wort (about 33 I BUs) brewed
entirely of Pilsener malt in its barrels. The aged pale beer is blended with its sweet,
top-fermented Oud Bruin to produce Petrus Oud Bruin (5.5% abv). Even blended, Petrus
O ud Bruin is still more bi er than other Flanders beers while still displaying notes of
oak and acidity associated with Flanders acid beers. The aged pale beer has seen only a
limited release (in the United S tates) as Petrus Aged Pale (7.3% abv), with a more
pronounced bi erness, oaky character, and a sharp, acidic bite in the finish. Petrus
Aged Pale may have unintentionally begun a new “style,” if there was such a thing in
Flanders.
Proceeding even farther southeast, nearly to the East Flanders border, we search
for a tiny place called Vichte. D own what resembles an alley, off of a side road, the
most recent Brouwerij Verhaeghe has been in this location since 1880. The
Verhaeghes have been farmhouse brewers since the 1500s, likely brewing for their
personal consumption. The old brewhouse, coolship, and open fermenters stand as a
testament to the history of Flemish brewing, although the accessibility is not for the
faint of heart. The new brewhouse dates from the 1960s, although roughly a dozen oak
tuns, standing in whatever space the buildings can spare, appear much older. The
brewery remains a family-run operation; Karl Verhaeghe handles the business, while
his brother takes care of the brewing chores.
Verhaeghe produces three products from wort aged in oak barrels, which appears
lighter in the wood than the final burgundy color of the beers would suggest. Duchesse
D e Bourgogne (6.2% abv), a blend of young and aged wort, has a pleasant, acidic
character balanced by a sweetness from the young beer and pasteurization. Vichtenaar
(5% abv), essentially unblended though still reddish and fruity with a sharper lactic
and acetic character, be er exemplifies the traditional Flanders taste in beer. Echte
Kriek (6.8% abv), the same base beer as Vichtenaar but fermented with cherries, has
won numerous awards.
Two other breweries in this part of West Flanders producing wood-aged, soured,
blended beers are Brouwerij Bockor of Bellegem and the rather commercial
Brouwerij-Brasserie Van Honsebrouck of I ngelmunster. These two breweries both
produce a form of lambic in West Flanders. Bockor and Van Honsebrouck each keep
their production methods rather secretive, although rumor has it one brewery uses an
oaken coolship that was “inoculated” with lambic beer and both use wooden barrels
for aging and souring. The resulting beer from the barrels is almost exclusively
released as sweetened, pasteurized fruit beers by each brewery. The exception, Van
Honsebrouck’s dominantly lactic St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition,does not use the
traditional appellation. These two breweries also make a beer in the Flanders tradition,
Van Honsebrouck the caramelly, tart Bacchus (4.5% abv), Bockor the tart, fruity,
Bellegems Bruin (5.5% abv). Both breweries use a portion of wood-aged “I ambic” beer
to produce the final blends.
Heading back northwest, in the direction of the English Channel, one remaining
West Flanders brewer deserves a ention. The brewery of D e D olle Brouwers (The
Mad Brewers), in Esen, dates back to 1835 and looks at least that old. A rtist and
historian Kris Herteleer purchased the antique brewhouse around 1980 rather than see
it decay and be demolished. Kris’ beers were never what would be popularly
considered the current “Flanders style.” He has a number of completely different
beers that all developed sourness and acidity over time due to a mixed culture of yeast
obtained from Rodenbach. S hortly after Palm purchased the famous Roeselare
brewery, the supply of yeast was discontinued, resulting in “cleaner” beers from D e
D olle. A new yeast culture that would return the wild character is rumored to be in the
works.
Following in the Flanders tradition, Kris purchased a number of Bordeaux and
Calvados barrels to mature his beers. The first was the amber, massively fruity, and
oaky, Stille N acht Reserva (12% abv)—the highest in alcohol of the wild beers in
Belgium. The second, O erbier Special Reserva (12% abv), is darker, more vinous, cidery,
and dry in the finish. The beers aging in the barrels all taste very different, even if
from an identical wort, and often have one dominant characteristic. The taste of a beer
from one barrel may be predominately oaky, while another may be fruity. N ew
releases continue to reflect the depth resulting from blending beers with differing
characteristics.

A ccording to Filip D evolder, brewery manager atBrouwerij Liefmans, in 1939

there were reportedly eight breweries in East Flanders making the “style” of beer
called oud bruin. Today, the last brewery commonly associated with the East Flanders
tradition is Liefmans of O udenaarde, not quite half the distance from Roeselare to
Brussels. The Liefmans brewery is on the former German-controlled side, when the
S chelde divided German territory from that of France, but started in the center of
O udenaarde in 1679 and moved to a new home on the east bank in 1930. The more
easterly and more stoic Brouwerij Roman also follows the French/German geographic
tradition and never produced sourish, aged, blended ales.
W hen Riva purchased the Liefmans brewery in the early nineties it moved
production to its plant in D entergem. I f you took one look at the old Liefmans
brewhouse, you would understand exactly why. I n addition to a ke le that required
five to six hours to achieve the effect of a standard boil, the mash tuns are
characteristic of the smaller vessels of the 1800s. (I t’s a shame Riva doesn’t see fit to
hold an open house, perhaps once a year, with the old system being fired up.) Riva did
decide that the Liefmans beers would not achieve the same character in D entergem—
although contamination of the primary yeast was also a concern—so it still open
ferments and ages the beers in Oudenaarde.
The example best associated with an East Flanders brown isLiefmans Goudenband
(8% abv) (pronounced who-den-bond), billed as a provision beer for “lying down” in
the cellar. The depth of Goudenband lies in the complex layers of malt, fruitiness, and
alcohol, derived from the blending of different ages of a single dark wort matured in
stainless steel tanks. A ged in stainless steel, Goudenband exhibits a predominantly
lactic tartness. Riva raised the alcohol of Goudenband from the traditional 5.2% abv
after purchasing Liefmans in 1992. The lower alcohol content once put Goudenband
more in line with its West Flanders counterparts and a role as an everyday “session”
beer. Riva maintains a proprietary yeast culture that originally came from Rodenbach
(my, that yeast got around!). Goudenband was formerly the base of the Liefmans Kreik,
Liefmans Framboise, and other fruit beers, but not any longer, as the refermentation of
the fruit in the tanks produced a beer too high in alcohol.
 Liefmans makes a product that never leaves the town—and might not leave the
brewery—called Odnar (4.2% abv). Unblended, only minimally sweetened, drier, and
more lactic than Goudenband, O dnar be er reflects the traditional oud bruin as a
session beer. A n obscure beer, if you ask a local where to find Odnar he may look at
you with amazement, especially if you are standing in the O udenaarde town square.
The local pronunciation of Odnar falls close to that of its traditional home. The beer
actually called Liefmans O ud Bruin (5% abv)—the new base for Liefmans Kreik and
Liefmans Framboise—is slightly stronger and much sweeter. Well, what’s in a name?
The beer truly exemplifying the traditionally local nature of all Flanders beers hails
from the Brouwerij Cnudde (pronounced “ka-nude-eh"), a short hop north of
O udenaarde in Eine (pronounced “a-nay"), and run by three brothers. Their one beer,
only available at pubs (and a barber shop) within the town, simply goes by the name
of the brewery. Cnudde is aged in large, uncoated metal tanks and has a claret color, a
faint tart character, and a refreshing dryness. Made with 100% pale malt, Cnudde
derives color from two shades of syrupy brewers’sugar. Cnudde really doesn’t fit a
style; it just is. O nce a year, the family blends beer with cherries from their own trees
and ages it in the brewery cellar in small, plastic vessels. The resulting kriek ages from
tart and fruity to near portlike. I ntended only for family and friends, the kriek is not
for sale.
Three beers produced in West Flanders appear to typify the current characteristics
and production methods of the eastern beers: Facon O uden Bruin, Paulus, and
Ichtegem’s Oud Bruin.
The family-owned Brouwerij Facon has been in Bellegem since 1874. Facon O uden
Bruin (4.8% abv), a blend of young and aged beers not matured in wood, tastes
somewhat sweet with a pleasant acidity. The Brouwerij Leroy of Boezinge produces a
fruity, sourish example—the color resembling Cnudde—known as Paulus (6% abv).
Fermented with a proprietary yeast culture, Paulus is aged “for years” in metal tanks.
A very odd version comes from the Brouwerij Strubbe in I chtegem, founded in 1830.
I chtegem’s O ud Bruin (5.5% abv), open-aged in metal vessels for eighteen months, is
brewed with licorice root and aged hops.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge (also know as Bios) north of Ghent, in Ertevelde,

produces the sweet and somewhat lactic Vlaamse Bourgogne, a blend of young and aged
beers, the la er from uncoated iron tanks. The grandfather of owner/biologist Paul
von S teenberge, a microbiologist, isolated a culture still in use today at this 200-year-
old brewery.
The brewery that ties Belgium together, or perhaps rewrites the story, is De
Proefbrouwerij, east of Ghent in Lochristi. O ften cited as being responsible for many
familiar beers produced in Belgium both prior to and after the founding of his own
brewery in 1996, brewmaster D irk N audts formerly brewed at the Roman brewery in
O udenaarde. D e Proef may best be described as a Flemish “pilot plant.” N audts
creates, brews, and analyzes different beers for many Belgian and international
brewers. N audts’ willingness to experiment with cultures of wild yeast, a subject
almost taboo throughout Belgium, further separates D e Proef from other Belgian
breweries.
N audts’ first wild yeast brew was Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale(9% abv), a spicy, fruity
ale with a mild Brettanomyces character and the light malt of a tripel. That release
spawned an entirely new series of beers known as Flemish Primitive, all fermented with
strains of Brettanomyces and different varieties of hops. A nother taste of delicious
sacrilege, Zoe uur Flemish Reserve, is N audts’ take on a Flanders red beer. Produced
without the benefit of blending beer aged in wizened wooden tuns, Zoe uur Flemish
Reserve develops a tart, fruity character in stainless steel tanks. N audt uses wild yeast
and bacteria, A merican Tomahawk hops, and a bit of sour black cherry juice to
produce the brew.
DRINKING IN THE PAYOTTENLAND AND BRUSSELS
Prior to the official founding of the city in 1229 by Henri I , D uke of Brabant, beer
was already being produced in Brussels. For centuries, Brussels maintained a tradition
of high fashion, good food … and good beer. To the west, in Flemish Brabant, lies the
Payo enland—flat farmland with a few gently rolling hills that historically provided
food and drink for the citizens of Brussels. Formerly the main waterway in and out of
Brussels, today the S enne River meanders through the occasional farm and alongside
busy highways in the Payo enland, only to be forced underground as it reaches its
ancient destination. Only within a roughly five-hundred-square-kilometer radius in the
“valley” of this tiny river, from Lembeek in the south to Brussels in the east to
Kobbegem in the north, is lambic still consistently produced, as it has been for
centuries. The traditions of lambic and gueuze are still lovingly practiced in the S enne
Valley region by eleven producers and an equally small number of classic cafes.
 Lambic occasionally may be found on draft, and less frequently in bo les
throughout the region. Gueuze is far more common, although some traditional
products can be difficult to find, even in the ancestral homeland. Lambic seldom
travels far from the point of origin around the S enne. To sample this most ancient
beverage, young and old, in the most idyllic of se ings, you must journey to the
source.
Lambic was once an economic decision. Many people preferred beer on draft.
S erving lambic straight from the cask was far simpler and more cost-effective than
blending gueuze. Today, local tastes drive the availability of draft lambic. D o the
people prefer young or old lambic or simply gueuze? S ome people enjoy the slight
sweetness of very young (goenk) lambic, others the mature character of old (vieux)
lambic without the filling carbonation of gueuze.
O nly when the brewing season starts will there be young lambic. O ld lambic may
be available after blending: perhaps one barrel hasn’t been totally emptied. Young
lambic is often served on the English system (handpump) and must be consumed
quickly once prepared for serving, or it will become oxidized. Generally bo led, old
lambic may be aged further. S ome brewers serve young lambic using a “bag in a box
product” or old lambic in stainless steel with an inert gas to reduce the risk of
oxidization.
 Unlike lambic, some form of traditional gueuze can be found all over the world.
I ’ve had a bo le of Cantillon Gueuze as far away as Tokyo, while dining in an indoor
scale replica of Brussels’ famous Grand Place. Historically, independent blenders—
often cafe owners—purchased lambic of one to two days old from different brewers
and aged the beer in their own barrels for the purpose of blending gueuze. The lambic
of a number of different brewers was sought to provide the greatest variety of flavors.
Given the scarcity of independent blenders, only three brewers still provide lambic for
blending: Boon, Girardin, and Lindemans. S ince so few lambics are available, the
blenders purchase and blend with the lambic of all three breweries.
Today, the original producers of the lambic blend most of the gueuze in Belgium.
The brewer ages, blends, packages, and sells his own gueuze to cafes, wholesalers, and
importers. W hile several blenders still exist, they no longer blend gueuze to sell in
their own cafes. N ine brewers and two blenders can be found during a journey that
crosses the length and breadth of the Payo enland and finishes close to the historic
center of Brussels.
I n Lembeek, the southerly cradle of lambic production, is the Brouwerij Boon.
Evidence of a brewery at this site can be traced back to 1680, when J . B. Claes bought a
farm to double as a brewery. Frank Boon began blending in 1975 and in 1978 took over
for blender Rene D e Vits, who had blended in nearby Halle since 1927. Boon opened
the current brewery on this historic site in Lembeek in 1986, and it has grown into a
large operation that still produces a number of traditional products now distributed
by the Palm Brewery Group.
O ne of only three still available to gueuze blenders, the Boon lambic generally
exhibits more bi erness than other lambics. Most of the Boon lambic eventually
becomes gueuze but, primarily as a gesture to the local area, is available on draft in a
couple of cafes. The gueuze, Oude Geuze Boon (6.5% abv) exhibits a spicy character with
a dry, bi er finish. O ude Kriek Boon (6.5% abv) combines the characteristic dryness
with an intense fruity character. O ude Geuze Boon M anage Parfait(8% abv) displays the
considerable depth of old lambic, but perhaps due to the higher gravity, could benefit
from additional aging.
N ortheast of Lembeek lies the town of D worp, home to one of two remaining
lambic blenders, H anssens A rtisanaal. The Mayor of D worp, Bartholome Hanssens,
originally founded Hanssens A rtisanaal in 1896 as the S t. A ntonius Brewery. D uring
W orld War I , German soldiers stole the brewing copper, so the site became used
instead for the blending of gueuze. J ean Hanssens retired in 1997, leaving the duties to
his daughter, S idy, and her husband, J ohn Ma hys, with the stipulation that they keep
their primary jobs and only blend as a hobby. J ohn and S idy blend gueuze with the
lambic of Boon, Girardin, and Lindemans, aged in their own barrels.

H anssens Artisanaal O ude Gueuze(6% abv) maintains an aggressive acidic character

through a dry, tart finish. H anssens Artisanaal O ude Kriek(6% abv) develops additional
acidity from blending with cherries. J ohn and S idy also blend a strawberry lambic
called Oudbeitje (6% abv); not a blend steeped in history but, nonetheless, one that
uses the traditional methods. A blend of young lambic and whole strawberries
matures for one year before being bo led. A delayed secondary fermentation occurs
in the bo le due to absence of fermentable sugars from young lambic, so Oudbeitje is
virtually uncarbonated unless further aged. Unlike cherries or raspberries, the
strawberry lends a very subtle character and no color. You will be hard-pressed to find
the horsy, modestly acidic straight lambic, even locally.
Henri Vandervelden was part of a third generation of lambic brewers from the
town of Beersel, due north of D worp. Vandervelden’s Brouwerij O ud Beersel dated
from 1882 until its unfortunate closure in 2003. Economics played a role, as well as
family issues; Vandervelden and nephew D anny D raps brewed only two or three times
a year. Gone with the brewery is an adjoining lambic cafe of historic proportions
where a tannic, bi er, refreshing eight-month-old lambic was served on draft. A
memorial to some of the most recent brewers and blenders to close, not including Oud
Beersel, remains in front of the former cafe. Hops aged from only one to two years,
along with the English infusion mashing system, were used to produce the O ud
Beersel lambic. S till available commercially, O ud Beersel O ude Geuzecontains layers of
fruits with a modest hop character; likewise, fruitiness rather than acidity contributes
to the profile of Oud Beersel Oude Kriek.
Gaston D eBelder took over theD rie Fonteinen cafe of Beersel in 1953 from J ean-
Baptiste D enaeyer, the mayor and considered the best gueuze blender of the town.
Founded in 1887, the cafe was seat to famous Flemish writers such as Herman
Teirlinck and the literary and artistic group de M izjol. D rie Fonteinen, originally
located around the corner at the now shu ered D rie Bonnen cafe, moved to the
Beersel town square in 1961. D eBelder’s sons, A rmand and Guido, took over operation
of the cafe in 1982. A rmand and his father blended together until the late 1990s, and in
1999, A rmand opened on the site the first new lambic brewery in eighty years. W hile
A rmand still blends gueuze with lambics other than his own, D rie Fonteinen is slowly
becoming a larger portion of each blend. The brewery is now run as a separate
business with the products still prominently featured at the D rie Fonteinen cafe,
where Armand developed a number of the sumptuous traditional Flemish dishes.

The D rie Fonteinen lambic, served in the cafe from English handpumps, is generally
refined and fairly mature, while the kriek lambic may exhibit some touches of
sweetness. Faro may be found on draft with sugar added to old lambic of
indeterminate age. The D rie Fonteinen O ude Gueuze(6.5% abv) bursts with flavors of
citrus and oak, A rmand’s favorite characteristics in a gueuze. The rare Schaarbeekse
Kriek (6% abv), produced with the near-extinct S chaarbeek cherries, lends an
unequalled explosion of cherry flavor; surpassing the dry, tart D rie Fonteinen O ude
Kriek (6% abv).
A rmand’s approach to gueuze is best summed up as uncompromising. He has
gone to great lengths and outlays of cash to produce what he considers a superior
gueuze. Peer into A rmand’s barrel stores, and you will find them spotless and
temperature controlled, conditions once considered impractical and cost-prohibitive to
lambic brewers or blenders. A bsent is an acetic or “barnyard” character many people
associate with gueuze, replaced by the oak and citrus A rmand relates to a fine wine.
A ll gueuze drinkers do not favor this subtlety among gueuze, but if you do not like it,
I refer you to the quote at the beginning of this chapter.
A rmand and brewer Marc Limet of the Brouwerij Kerkom in Kerkom-S t. Truiden
revisited the tradition of blending top-fermented ale with lambic in 2003. Limet
produced a blend called Reuss, part D rie Fonteinen lambic and part Bink Blond. I f you
are near S t. Truiden in August, you may be fortunate enough to catch Reuss, produced
for consumption during an annual summer festival. Q uite volatile, the blend of lambic
and top-fermented beer will not last very long, three months at the longest.
Traveling west, one passes through S t. Pieters-Leeuw, home to the cafe of former
gueuze blender Herberg Moriau. (The cafe of a blender often simply went by the name
of the blender.) O n the outskirts of town is the industrial Belle-Vue brewery, owned by
I nBev, where the production of its commercial gueuze and kriek has been
consolidated. A destination of far more consequence to the traditional lambic and
gueuze drinker lies farther west, in the town of Gooik.
The first new gueuze blender in forty years opened shop in Gooik in 1997. D eCam
was the realization of a dream for Willem van Herreweghen, the brewing director of
Palm, whose father Hubert was a respected writer/lecturer on gueuze. Van
Herreweghen, however, eventually found his position at gueuze. Goddeau fulfilled his
final student project—to brew lambic and top-fermented beers in the same brewery—
at D rie Fonteinen. I n turn, A rmand D eBelder taught Goddeau something of blending
before he agreed to blend the gueuze and kriek at D e Cam. The similarities between
D eBelder and Goddeau include the use of Pilsner Urquell barrels and the production
of a characteristically soft gueuze. Goddeau also brews top-fermented beers up the
road at Slaghmuylder. Blending gueuze for a living sadly does not pay the bills.
Goddeau, like Hanssens, blends with lambic primarily from Boon, Girardin, and
Lindemans. O nce a year he brews lambic at D rie Fonteinen to age in his barrels. O ne
of only two blenders or brewers to regularly bo le an old lambic (the other being
Cantillon), the five-year-old De Cam Oude Lambiek (5% abv) is intensely dry and woody.
D e Cam O ude Geuze(6.5% abv) displays a spicy character with a dry woody finish. Past
vintages of D e Cam O ude Kriek (6.5% abv) were comparatively sweet, while later
releases have become pleasantly tart and dry. A kriek produced with S chaarbeek
cherries, grown in the backyard of Goddeau’s parents, should be released in 2005.

Having strayed far enough from the mighty S enne, we venture northeast to the
town of Vlezenbeek, where brewing was first documented at the Lindemans
farmhouse in 1809. I n 1890, the family brewed only to keep everyone working during
the winter months, but by 1930, brewing was so successful the Lindemanses gave up
farming wheat and barley to concentrate on the production of lambic beers.
Lindemans is another of the three lambics sold to blenders and generally considered
quite fruity. I f fortunate, you may find the draft lambic at a neighboring cafe or two.
The sweetened gueuze and fruit lambics are found all over the world. Patriarch Rene
Lindemans first blended the current traditional gueuze, Lindemans Gueuze Cuvee Rene
(5% abv), in the early 1990s, reportedly under pressure from the U.S . importer. Cuvee
Rene has a powerful citrus character with an expressive bitterness and dry finish.
Continuing north, pay respects to two lambic breweries whose doors were closed in
the 1990s: D e N eve in D ilbeek and the beautiful “brewery on the hill,” Eylenbosch in
S chepdaal. Very near is the Timmermans brewery, purchased by Franz Timmermans
from Paul Walravens in 1911, though founded as early as 1781. The J ohn S mith
beverage distribution group bought the Timmermans brewery in 1993. Timmermans
produces many sweetened products; the one close to traditional is Timmermans Gueuze
Caveau (5.5% abv), a filtered gueuze with some tart character. Timmermans draft lambic
may occasionally be available at a local cafe.

D e T roch, in nearby Wambeek, is often considered the oldest of the surviving

lambic breweries. Pieter D e Troch first owned a brewery on the site sometime in the
eighteenth century, and a land use plan from the nineteenth century mentions a
brewery owned by Petronnella D e Troch. J os Raes, youngest of the four sons of
Raymond and Magdalena D e Troch, took over the family tradition in 1974 and ran the
brewery until 2003, when son Pauwel took over the reins. D e Troch produces a wide
range of sweetened products often blended with some very odd fruits under the
Chapeau label. The mellow, fruity, faintly sour Cuvee Chapeau O ude Gueuze(5.5% abv) is
the one traditional product, making appearances only in the local market.
T he Girardin farmhouse brewery may be one of the most splendid sites in the
Payo enland, the copper ke les rising across the fields, animals grazing nearby, as
you make your approach on a small side road. The brewery and farm in S t. Ulriks-
Kapelle has been family owned and operated since 1882 when founded by Francis
A lexis Girardin. A classic farmhouse of the day the Girardins grew wheat and barley
used both to brew and feed the animals. Francis and son J ean Baptiste both served as
mayor of St. Ulriks-Kapelle.
Louis Girardin took over the brewery in 1962. I n deference to the
commercialization of the industry, he was quoted as saying, “The goal is not to
expand, but just to stay alive.” Beer was sold in the true farmhouse manner—just
enough to support the family. Louis produced the beer, while his sons, Paul and J an,
would make deliveries each weekend to local cafes. A s a small concession to modern
technology, Louis installed a secondhand German brew ke le and I talian bo ling line.
Paul, Jan, and mother Jacqueline continue the family tradition.
A rmand D eBelder called the Girardin brewery, “TheChateau d’Yquem of lambic
breweries in Belgium.” The Girardin lambic is highly sought after by gueuze blenders,
who consider it to have the greatest “lasting properties” of the three available.
Available on draft both “jong” and “oud,” Girardin also blends a rare kriek lambic, in
season. Blending their own gueuze is still a fairly recent undertaking for the Girardin
family but necessary with the decline in the number of blenders. Girardin Gueuze 1882
(5% abv) simply bursts with traditional character but is rumored to leave the brewery
comparatively young so may benefit from additional aging. The gueuze may be
exported to the United S tates on occasions when Paul Girardin believes he has enough
to share.
The farthest north of the lambic breweries, M ort Subite, formerly known as D e
Keersmaeker, lies in the largely inaccessible village of Kobbegem. W ri en records
place a brewery on this site as early as 1686 and in the hands of J ean-Baptist D e
Keersmaeker in 1869, although it was not solely a lambic brewery until A ndre D e
Keersmaeker went in this direction beginning in 1965. I n 1970, D e Keersmaeker made
an arrangement with the famous cafe La Cour Royale in Brussels, owned by the
gueuze blender Theophile Vossen. That cafe would eventually become the famous
Mort S ubite, named after the “sudden death” finish of a local dice game (Pitjesbak).
S ince the year 2000, the brewery has been owned by A lken-Maes, Belgium’s second-
largest brewer. Paul D e Keersmaeker still brewed until his departure in 2001, turning
over full responsibility to longtime brewer Bruno Reinders.

O ne trip to the cellar, and you will know Reinders’ heart lies with the traditional
products. You will not find the unblended lambic in any cafes, although Reinders sells
to locals who show up with a “can"—"five liters, ten liters, no problem.” The Mort
Subite O ude Gueuze(7.2% abv)—soft, balanced, acidic, and bi er with notes of wood—
finally uses the “oude” appellation. Mort S ubite has a wonderfully dry, tart kriek in the
tanks that sadly never sees the Belgian sun in “natural” form; every drop is sweetened
prior to release.
O nly two remain of more than fifty lambic brewers and blenders operating in
Brussels after W orld War I I : theCantillon Brasserie and Brasserie Belle-V ue.
Philemon Vanden S tock began blending gueuze in Brussels in 1913. He acquired the
brewery-pub Belle-Vue in Mollenbeek-S t. lean in 1927. The brewery overlooks the
Brussels-Charleroi Canal, which I once mistook for the S enne, thinking someone had
forgot to brick it over this far from the center of Brussels.
The Belle-Vue brewery, now owned by I nBev (formerly I nterBrew), was responsible
for successfully marketing gueuze beyond the region, and in the process made it a
filtered, sweetened, mass-market product. The barrels are chestnut, as opposed to oak,
and they yield some excellent lambic, but all of the Belle-Vue products are now
produced at the plant in S t. Pieters-Leeuw. The one traditional product from the
historic home of the largest producer of beer called lambic in the world, Belle-Vue
Selection Lambic (5.2% abv), is an aggressive yet balanced gueuze with a very dry finish.
Sadly the most recent vintage of this product appeared in 1999.
N ear to the historic center of Brussels lies the Cantillon brewery, founded in 1900
by gueuze blender Paul Cantillon. Traditional lambic has been produced on this site
since 1937, with a detour in the 1970s when it temporarily fell victim to the trend
toward sweeter gueuze. S ince that time, J ean-Pierre and son J ean Van Roy have
religiously guided the brewery down the path of tradition. They produce a wide variety
of traditional products and promote the brewery as a living museum to the glory of
gueuze.
Cantillon produces a bo led lambic—the only other brewery besides D e Cam—
calle d Grand Cru. Produced from an exemplary batch of three-year-old lambic,
Broucsella (5% abv) is fruity, sharp, dry, and characteristically uncarbonated, although
I have seen it develop carbonation if aged for a period of time. Cantillon Lambic and
Faro, usually made from one-and-a-half-year-old lambic, are available on draft at the
brewery and often at a select few Brussels cafes.
 Cantillon Gueuze (5% abv) has long been the most acidic of gueuzes, intensely tart
and refreshing with a dry, tannic finish. Cantillon Kriek (5% abv) and Rose de Gambrinus
(5% abv) gain additional flavors from the fruit, the kriek sharp and horsy, the
framboise vibrant and acetic. A ll three products have mellowed somewhat in recent
years. Cantillon produces other special gueuzes, including Loerik (5% abv)—literally
“Lazy Boy"—that refermented more slowly in the bo le, producing a soft, well-
rounded character, and Cuvee des Champions (5% abv), a gueuze dry-hopped in the
cask!
Cantillon produces a number of other lambic beers, including St. Lamvinus (5%
abv) and Vigneronne (6% abv), blended with varieties of grapes, Fou Fovne (5% abv),
blended with apricots, and the Lou Pepe (5% abv) series consisting of a gueuze, kriek,
and framboise. Blends of the same two-year-old batches of lambic from different
casks, J ean considers his special beers gueuzes because they are refermented in the
bo le. Candi sugar provides a source of refermentation that still produces natural
carbonation. Young lambic has not diluted the concentration of fruit and old lambic in
the blend. Carbonation may be low in young vintages, so it is best to heed the brewer
and age the bottles before drinking.
Cantillon produces the one spontaneously fermented beer in Belgium that is not a
lambic. Iris (5% abv) is a beer produced with only malted barley—no wheat—50% old
hops and 50% fresh hops at the end of the boil. D ry-hopped with fresh S tyrian
Goldings after two years, Iris contains two distinct tastes, the acidic and the bi er in
this “special cuvee.” More than any other, Iris begins to bridge the gap between the
Belgian and A merican interpretations. I nstead of being bound by tradition, the Van
Roys strive to produce new products with traditional character.
DRINKING IN EUROPE AND THE UNITED KINGDOM
Much of the rest of Europe shuns wild beers.1 Three places where the Belgian
traditions do shine, however, are secretly tucked away within the N etherlands, United
Kingdom, and Italy.
The Gulpener Bierbrouwerij in the D utch city of Gulpen, nestled between Belgium
and Germany, brought back the style of beer known as M estreechs Aajt in the 1980s.
Popular at the turn of the nineteenth century, M estreechs Aajt finally died out during
W orld War Two. I nspired by the reds and gueuzes of Belgium, Gulpener sought
assistance from the people who operated Rodenbach. A moderately dark wort is
spontaneously fermented in wooden barrels in a closed room in the nearby D e Zwarte
Ruiter pub—well away from the brewhouse—for between eleven and thirteen months.
To produce M estreechs Aajt (3.5% abv), the spontaneously fermented beer is
blended with two other beers: a sweet, low-alcohol brown beer called Oud Bruin, and a
lightly hopped pale slightly acidic character typical of some West Flanders beers. “The
taste is so strange that there is very li le market in Holland,” says brewery director
Paul Rutten. “It is for tradition and promotion.”
M estreechs Aajt (5% abv) was first shipped to the United S tates in 2004. A merica,
however, has a negative view of saccharin not shared by Europe. We also tend to
expect our specialty beers to be reasonably high in alcohol. To remedy these issues,
the U.S . version of Mestreechs Aajt was blended without artificially sweetening the Oud
Bruin, leaving a higher alcohol content. This lightened the body, brought the acidic
character more to the forefront, and left a drier finish. S adly, Gulpener stopped
producing Mestreechs Aajt in 2005, due to problems with the barrels.
S nuggled comfortably in the center of England, the present M elbourn Brothers
Brewery in Lincolnshire dates back to 1825, when it began life as the A ll S aints
Brewery. Herbert Wells Melbourn purchased the brewery in 1869, and in the next one
hundred and fifty years it suffered two fires and two resulting closures. The old
brewing equipment was restored in the late 1990s, when S amuel S mith’s O ld Brewery
purchased the venerable tower brewery. The new owner decided the old tower brewery
would be used to make spontaneously fermented fruit beers. Lincolnshire has a
moderate climate that is favorable for growing fruit. The wild yeast present on the
skins of fruit may have been one factor that made it a ractive to practice spontaneous
fermentation at this location.
 Melbourn Brothers Brewery has a coolship surrounded by louvered panels, like
many of the lambic breweries in Belgium, that allows the wort to be exposed to wild
yeast and bacteria in the air. Lambic was, and is, periodically splashed onto the
exposed wood surrounding the coolship to encourage beer-souring microorganisms to
become resident in the coolship room. The wort is fermented for one-and-a-half to
three years in fiberglass tanks previously used to ferment port or in plastic-lined
wooden barrels. O ak chips soaked in beer and exposed to the air to promote
inoculation by wild yeast and bacteria may be added to a tank, if the brewer believes
fermentation is not progressing in a satisfactory manner.
Melbourn Brothers produces an apricot, a strawberry, and a cherry beer (3.4% abv).
Two-to three-year-old hops are added to wort composed of roughly 85% malted barley
and 15% torrefied wheat. W hole fruit is also added to the ke le and boiled with the
wort. At bo ling time, fruit juice increases the appropriate fruit character and color.
A ll three beers are pasteurized and fairly sweet, with the appropriate fruit character
and an acidic background lending a fairly dry finish. S pontaneous fermentation
outside of Belgium makes the Melbourn Brothers beers intriguing.
Closer to the English Channel, in historic Bury S t. Edmunds, lies the Greene King
brewery. The Greene and King families founded this brewery in 1887, although records
show a brewery on that site since at least 1700. The Greene King of the late twentieth
and twenty-first centuries is a regional brewer and pub company. I n the mid-1800s it
was one of many small breweries practicing the methods of aging and blending beer
in tall wooden tuns. Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale remains the only example of that
practice still produced in England.
Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale is a blend of two ales: Old 5X and BPA. O ld 5Xmatures in
1O O -barrel oak barrels for at least two years, where it reaches an alcohol content of
around 12% abv. Reddish, vinous, and acidic, O ld 5X (12% abv) is reminiscent of an
unblended Flemish been S adly, it is seldom seen in that form. O ld 5X is almost
exclusively blended with BPA, a dark, sweet, freshly brewed beer. D ark ruby in color
and fruity. Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale (6% abv) has more tannic and oaky chararter than
most Flanders red beers.
T he Panil brewery in Torrechiara (Parma), I taly, founded by D octor Renzo Losi,
first brewed in 2000. Given the I talian love of wine, perhaps a wood-aged red beer
makes perfect sense. N ot surprisingly, Losi also feels an appreciation for Belgian
beers. Panil Barriquée (8% abv) experiences three fermentations: fifteen days in a
stainless steel tank, ninety days in cognac and Bordeaux barrels, and thirty days in the
bottle. Panil Barriquée is fiuity, vinous, and intensely woody.
DRINKING IN THE STATES
W hile Belgium is a small country, the United S tates is not. Breweries making types
of wild beers stretch from sea to shining sea. Lest you get the impression of a secret
underground society of wild beer producers hundreds of members strong, let me
qualify that last statement by saying that the United S tates has fewer producers than
Belgium has within its considerably tighter borders.
Many unique beers are produced in Belgium by some very obscure breweries. At
first glance, some breweries in the United S tates may appear unlikely producers of
wild ales, but many secrets often lie within both fashionable metropolitan brewpubs
and colorful rural microbreweries. You won’t find any of these products available far
from the brewery of origin. They are almost always available in bo les and often only
at the brewery.
O n the East Coast, and receiving many accolades, isD ogfish H ead Brewing of
Milton, Delaware. This brewery began life as a brewpub in the Atlantic oceanside town
of Rehoboth Beach in J une 1995, before opening as a microbrewery in nearby Lewes
and moving to the current location in 2002. Founder S am Calagione has always
ventured more than a branch off the mainstream and has a ributed D ogfish Head’s
propensity for unusual beers to the desire to drink something interesting during the
rigorous brewing schedule on the original 12-gallon system.
D ogfish Head’s Festina Lente (7% abv) can be loosely described as “a peach neo-
lambic.” A pale beer fermented an additional three months on oak chips with
Brettanomyces and whole, stoned, unsterilized D elaware peaches containing an
indeterminate amount of wild yeast, Festina Lente has a spri y acidity, distinct peach
flavor, and late tartness.
N estled in the vacationland of N ew York City dwellers, theSouthampton Publick
House lies near the tip of Long I sland. Brewer and author Phil Markowski has
consistently experimented with producing unique beers since the brewpub’s inception
in 1996. Markowski has produced characteristically tart and acidic Flanders red ales,
oud bruins, and lambics using both stainless steel and wooden barrels and finds, quite
naturally, the best results come when using wood. Phil feels the typical characteristics
of Brettanomyces better develop with the use of wood.
T he I ron H ill Restaurant and Brewery was founded in N ewark, D elaware, in 1996
and quickly expanded into two additional locations in Pennsylvania. Brewing director
Mark Edelson, having a homebrewer’s background, has always enjoyed producing
unique beers. Mark periodically creates lambics both with and without fruit. The
lambics begin life in a stainless steel tank with a blend of yeast and bacteria, just to
make certain they are active, before finishing in wooden barrels.
N ew Clarus Brewing Companyis located in a small, picturesque S wiss village near
Madison, Wisconsin. From the inception of the brewery in 1993, D an Carey stated he
would brew some type of sourish Belgian-style beer. He did not disappoint with the
production of Wisconsin Belgian Red (5.1% abv), produced with D oor County cherries
and a portion of beer aged in oaken barrels. This ruby red beer offers an intense cherry
character but only modest acidity. Raspberry Tart (4% abv) matures for one year in oak
vats with fresh O regon raspberries, where wild yeast on the skins is allowed to
referment the sugars from the fruit. A more recent brew is New Glarus Brown Ale, aged
in wood, including used port barrels.
At the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, about an hour north of D enver, is Fort
Collins, Colorado, home to N ewBelgium Brewing Company. The brewery was opened
by husband and wife J eff Lebesch and Kim J ordan in their basement in J une 1991. Two
brewhouses later, their monument to the mix of A merican and Belgian culture,
including hand-painted, ceramic cartoon tiles surrounding each brew ke le, and a
brewery powered largely by wind, is a mecca for beer lovers both here and abroad.
Lebesch and J ordan were already quite successful when they hired former Rodenbach
brewer Peter Bouckaert to oversee the brewing operations.
A mong Bouckaert’s numerous contributions was the inception of Flanders-style
aging for beer in large, wooden barrels. La Folie (6% abv), which means “a folly” or
more loosely “a business endeavor on which you will lose money,” is a blend of several
barrels. La Folie features a balanced acidity and lactic dryness missing from many of
the sweetened, pasteurized examples currently produced in Belgium. La Folie may be
pale or dark, depending on Bouckaert’s current projects (or moods). O ne of them is
Biere de Mars (6.2% abv), an ever-changing light, fruity ale that gradually includes more
and more Brettanomyces. A nother is Transatlantique Kriek (6.2% abv), blended from
N ew Belgium Golden Aleand kriek lambic from Frank Boon. Transatlantique Kriek has a
tart character filled with cherry flavor followed by a sweet finish.

T he Bristol Brewing Company in Colorado S prings opened in J une 1994 in the

shadow of Pikes Peak. Brewer J ason Yester and microbiologist Ken A ndrews have
taken the concept of lambic one step closer to its roots. They have isolated three
strains of wild yeast and three strains of lactic acid bacteria from the local sources,
including N orth Cheyenne Canyon, found on the skin of raspberries. A ndrews
produced a “local cocktail” of yeast and bacteria to inoculate both used wine and
whiskey barrels.
Bristol produces six to eight different beers best described as a “skull and bones
series of local lambic styles,” including an oud bruin, Flanders red, aged pale, strong
ale, grand cm, sour wheat, aged I PA , and special czwée. W on fermented with
S accharomyces is added to oak barrels, which originally took two to three years to
produce excellent beers. O ne long-term wish is to open a new brewhouse and dedicate
the current one to the production of aged, wild beers.
A bistro in Austin, Texas, known as the Bitter End, has been an unexpected bastion
of wild ales for many years. The Bi er End has produced the dry and acidicLip Burner
Lamb-Beak as well as the equally acidic and fruity Sour Prick, both roughly in the
lambic-style and both Great American Beer Festival winners.
Russian River Brewing Companywas originally a part of the Korbel Champagne
Cellars in the historic Russian River valley in Guerneville, California. Korbel lost
interest in producing beer and in 2002 sold the name to head brewer Vinnie Cilurzo.
He moved the brewery to the current location in S anta Rosa, which opened in the
spring of 2004. Cilurzo’s close ties to the wine industry drove him to the use of wine
barrels for aging beer and fermentation with the wild yeast Brettanomyces. The aging
cellar is proudly visible from the bar, much to the chagrin of local winemakers, who
seem to live in fear of spreading Brettanomyces in their wineries. To reduce this risk,
Vinnie has offered to allow visiting vintners to burn their clothes upon leaving the
brew-pub.2
The line of Belgian-inspired beers available from Russian River Brewing includes
Temptation, Supplication, D epuration, and Sanctification, at least for starters. Temptation
(8.5% abv)—a Belgian golden ale aged in French oak white wine barrels—was
inoculated with Brettanomyces after primary fermentation and added to barrels that
had previously been used to ferment Chardonnay. Supplication (6% abv) is amber beer
aged in Pinot N oir barrels with cherries and a number of wort-souring
microorganisms, while Depuration is a similar beer aged with Muscat grapes.
Sanctification (6.5% abv) Belgian blonde ale was fermented entirely with three different
strains of Bre anomyces in stainless steel. A s you would expect all four beers exhibit
unique characteristics dependent both upon the relevant microorganisms and upon
the barrels in which they were aged.
The Pacific oceanside town of S olana Beach, California, just north of S an D iego
might remind you more of the north shore of O ahu than of Belgium. Pizza Port was
established here in 1987 as a simple pizza parlor, but a 7-barrel brewhouse was
installed in 1992 and head brewer Tomme A rthur hired a few years later. Rather than
be constrained by style—or anything, for that ma er—A rthur chooses to develop
entirely new tastes in beer.
Perhaps A rthur’s greatest triumph is Cuvee de Tomme. The base wort is the dark
and chewy M other of All Beers (11% abv), a Belgian “quadrupel” aged in used bourbon
barrels with cherries and wild yeast and bacteria. Vintages vary in tartness, acidity,
cherry flavor, oak, and bourbon character. A rthur’s newest creation, produced in
collaboration with Peter Bouckaert of N ew Belgium Brewing, isM o Be a Bre a (6.5%
abv)-a beer of 100% Pilsener malt fermented entirely with one species of Bre anomyces.
M o Be a Bre a exhibits few of the traditional esters or acidity commonly expected
from Brettanomyces. I nstead, this pale, modestly hopped beer projects an extremely
fruity, pineapple character.

A long with Brian Hunt of Moonlight Brewing Company in Windsor, California

A rthur’s latest project delves into the world of spontaneous fermentation. Literally a
“farmhouse brewery,” north of S an Francisco, A rthur and Hunt hope to discover
firsthand the results of spontaneous fermentation in the United States.
1 I have not forgo en Berliner weisse and gose, produced in the eastern part of

Germany, but those styles are beyond the scope of this Belgian-inspired book.
2Brettanomyces is important to the wine industry. S ome winemakers appreciate the

character that subtle amounts can impart, while others live in fear of infection.
 Beer-Souring Microorganisms

“N othing essentially Belgian about it—B re anomyces occurs naturally around the
world.”
—Tomme Arthur of Pizza Port, Solana Beach

Four dominant types of microorganisms commonly ferment and acidify wild beers:
Bre anomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, and Saccharomyces. S everal other important
players also merit a mention, including Acetobacter, Enterobacter, and various oxidative
yeasts. A wide variety of different strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae ferment beer, and
they all have different requirements and characteristics. This same fact applies to wild
yeast and bacteria.
D ifferent strains of wild yeast have different environmental and nutritional
requirements and produce different by-products. There are not one or two varieties of
beer-souring microorganisms but dozens and sometime hundreds of different strains.
S cientists have isolated more than two hundred different organisms at work in the
fermentation of lambic. Many of the same microorganisms are responsible for the
fermentation of Flanders red-brown beers. O nly a few strains have been readily
available to the brewer as pure cultures, but additional strains now exist in the United
States (see Appendix).
Let’s be perfectly clear—beer-souring microorganisms are feared contaminants in
most places that carry out alcoholic fermentation. O nce they take up residence in a
brewery or cellar, they can be virtually impossible to eliminate. But don’t fear,
spontaneous fermentation and top fermentation can successfully be carried out in the
same brewhouse. Foresight, care, and common sense must be exercised to avoid
contamination. I solate equipment used with beer-souring microorganisms from your
other brewing equipment. Thoroughly clean and disinfect everything with which they
come into contact. J ust to be safe, anything porous should be reused only to produce
wild beer or discarded. O nce bacteria infect a porous item, such as a gasket, they
cannot effectively be removed.
I will take a closer look at the lead roles and some of the supporting cast
responsible for wild fermentation before delving into some specifics about differing
methods of wort production and fermentation, and how they affect these
microorganisms, in the next chapters. First, some background on the by-products of
beer-souring microorganisms that contribute the bulk of wild beer character.
ACIDS AND ESTERS
The characteristics of many beers primarily originate from hops and malt. By
contrast, fermentation products, primarily acids, define the flavor and aroma of wild
beers. This is true both due to the attributes of the acids and to the esters derived from
the acids and alcohol. S our flavors and tart, pungent aromas come from acids, while
fruity aromas and flavors originate from esters.
The microorganisms found in wild beer produce both acids and alcohol.1 The acids
most important to wild beers include lactic and acetic acid. A cetic acid, present in
copious amounts in vinegar, is sharp, pungent, and greatly increases the perception of
sourness. Lactic acid, found in spoiled milk, is less objectionable and contributes a
“tangy” character, sometime perceived as “sweet” by brewers in contrast to the other
acids.
Wild beer commonly contains a number of other acids, desirable only in modest
amounts, as their characteristics can be quite dominant. Three of these acids, from a
class called fa y acids, include caproic (hexanoic), capric (decanoic), and caprylic
(octanoic) and share a characteristic described as “goaty” or “zoolike.” S till other fa y
acids are objectionable in all but trace amounts, including butyric and isobutyric acids,
lending a “rancid” or “sweaty” character. The human palate can recognize lactic acid
at 400 parts per million and acetic acid at 175 ppm, while butyric acid requires only 4
ppm to be noticeable in a beer.
The character of a wild beer will be determined both by the blend of acids and by
the total acidity. The total acidity, determined by either pH or TA2, represents the
“amount” of acid present in the beer. A cid increases the perceived sourness of a beer
and is objectionable in higher quantities. The ratio of the different types of acids
present, distinguished by the human palate, also determines the character of the beer.
Lactic acid, considered desirable when dominant in a reasonable concentration, lends
a balancing character to other, sharper acids.
A lcohol (ethanol) will commonly add a pleasant warming sensation, as well as
enhance flavor and add to the perception of sweetness, smoothness, and body of a
beer. A dditionally, beers of a higher alcohol content have a longer shelf life. Ester
production requires the presence of both an acid and alcohol. Esterification only
occurs when yeast provide enzymes (esterases) to act as a catalyst in the presence of
acids and alcohol.
The esters ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate largely contribute the aroma of wild beers,
derived from the respective acids. Ethyl acetate becomes less fruity and more
solventlike—resembling nail polish remover—as the concentration increases. Ethyl
lactate provides a softer, balancing, tart, fruity character. The esters ethyl caproate
(hexanoate), ethyl caprate (decanoate), ethyl caprylate (octanoate), ethyl butyrate, and
ethyl isobutyrate also derive from alcohol and the respective acid, and may contribute
a distinctive, overpowering fruity character in all but modest quantities. The human
palate can detect ethyl butyrate at the minuscule level of 0.2 ppm; conversely, ethyl
lactate requires a concentration of roughly 60 ppm.
A concise description of common characteristics of the acids and esters important
to wild beers, plus a comparison of the alcohol and total acidity of selected alcoholic
beverages, can be found in the following tables.
 ACETOBACTER
Acetobacter species, including A. aceti and Gluconobacter oxydans (formerly A .
suboxydans), are responsible for the production of vinegar, oxidizing ethanol to acetic
acid. Acetobacter sp. can destroy beer or wine they infect by producing excessive
amounts of acetic acid or the derived ester, ethyl acetate, both of which can render a
beverage unpalatable. A sharp, sour acid (some acids are softer), acetic acid is
palatable only in low to moderate quantities in wild beers. Acetobacter sp. largely
contribute the acidic bite to the flavor profile of Flanders red beers, play a smaller role
in the lambic profile, and are generally not evident in Flanders browns.
Many beer-souring microorganisms find the introduction of oxygen or the
production of alcohol during fermentation detrimental to their viability. Acetobacter sp.
require oxygen to convert alcohol to acetic acid. Commonly airborne, Acetobacter sp.
will infect alcoholic beverages anywhere in the world. A good example is the common
smell of an unclean bar. Acetobacter sp. may produce a type of viscosity resembling an
oily or moldy film (pellicle) on the top of wort. Acetobacter sp. can reproduce at
alarming rates in fermenting beer exposed to oxygen for a lengthy period of time;
conversely, the bacteria cannot grow without oxygen.
BRETTANOMYCES
A round 1904, N . Hjelte Claussen, laboratory director for the Carlsberg brewery in
D enmark, discovered a microorganism that caused a slow, secondary fermentation in
English stock ales. Claussen named it Brettanomyces, literally meaning “British brewing
industry fungus.”

Extremely important to wild beer production, Brettanomyces contribute to the

character of lambic, Flanders red ales, and beers that defy style, including newer
A merican beer varieties fermented with only Brettanomyces. Winemakers differ on
whether Brettanomyces are friend or foe. S ome winemakers consider Brettanomyces an
important part of their wine, while others consider it a spoilage organism,
contributing only off-flavors. Brettanomyces are, nevertheless, virtually unavoidable
and considered very typical in some older wineries. For example, Brettanomyces largely
contribute the well-known character of Chateau de Beaucastel, a Chateauneuf-du-Pape.
The five currently recognized species of Brettanomyces include (with several
synonyms): B. anomalus (B. claussenii), B. bnixellensis [B. abstinens, B. custersii, B
intermedins, B. lambicus), B. custersianus, B. naardensis, and B. nanus. Many different
strains of each species exist within the genus Brettanomyces. The strains available from
yeast suppliers such as W yeast Laboratories or W hite Labs often use a synonym to
distinguish each individual product, like a nickname.
The name Dekkera is often used interchangeably with Brettanomyces. A ctually of the
same genus, Dekkera refers to the spore-forming (sporogenous) type of the yeast,
which exhibits moldlike characteristics, while Brettanomyces produce no spores, a
characteristic of yeast. The importance of this designation lies in the speed of
reproduction. I f it grows fast, it isn’t Dekkera. Unfortunately, the identification
between Brettanomyces I Dekkera is seldom clear when obtaining a particular strain.
The species of primary importance to the wild brewer is B. bruxellensis. S trains of
this species produce much of the “wild” character found in lambic, including the
classic “horsy” and “pie cherry” character. B. bruxellensis often refers to a strain
obtained within Bmssels, 6. lambicus to strains cultured in the Payottenland. Individual
strains all exhibit different chararterisstics. Lambic brewers consider strains of
Brettanomyces to be unique to each brewery, just as the different Saccharomyces
available today were once isolated from their brewery of origin.
A much lesser-known species, strains of B. anomalus have been isolated from
several different types of beer. S trains labeled B. claussenii have been a ributed to the
“winelike” character often found in British old ales. S trains labeled simply B.anomalus
have found favor with brewers in the United S tates for rapid fermentation and ester
production. The practice of identifying different strains with common synonyms often
makes it difficult for the layperson to identify a particular beastie. Base the choice of
Brettanomyces on fermentation characteristics. How will the strain be used, how does it
behave, and what will it produce in wort? The complexity of traditional wild beers will
benefit from the use of multiple strains.
Brettanomyces are supera enuating yeasts. They will continue to slowly consume
sugars—even dextrins that are unfermentable to Saccharomyces—for many years. The
behavior of supera enuation is a ributed to, in part, the ability of beta-Glucosidase
inherent in Brettanomyces to break down starch and dextrins and liberate glucose.
Many scientists consider the presence of Pediococcus important to achieve the high level
of a enuation of Flanders red ales and the nearly 100% a enuation found in lambic.
Most but not quite all of the sugars in a beer containing Brettanomyces can be
fermented, given the proper time and conditions. Brettanomyces require a minimal
concentration of sugar to survive so will never consume absolutely all of the available
wort sugars.
Brettanomyces classically ferment best in worts with a lower pH (after primary
fermentation has begun) with or without the presence of oxygen but, unlike
Saccharomyces, prefer aerobic conditions. Brettanomyces will cease to reproduce below a
pH of about 3.4. I mportant by-products of Brettanomyces fermentation include
esterases, acids, esters, volatile phenols, and tetrahydropyridines. Brettanomyces
produce both lactic and acetic acid, the la er only under aerobic conditions.
Brettanomyces esterases will synthesize the esters ethyl acetate and ethyl lactate from
alcohol and acetic and lactic acid, and hydrolyze any isoamyl acetate produced by
Saccharomyces during fermentation into an acid and alcohol. Brettanomyces may
produce, in various quantities, any of the acids and esters mentioned in the table
found earlier in this chapter. I n particular, winemakers consider the volatile phenols 4-
ethyl phenol and 4-ethyl guaiacol indicative of Brettanomyces growth.
A particular off-character known as “mousy,” “mouse taint,” or “horsy” may
appear in wine and beer “infected” with Brettanomyces (although this character may
also be a ributed to certain species of hetero fermentative Lactobacilli).
Tetrahydropyridines produced by Brettanomyces (and Lactobacillus) in the presence of
lysine and ethanol3 contribute a character described in smaller concentrations as
“bready, popcorn, or cracker ” but in larger concentrations as “a most disgusting smell
reminiscent of mouse urine or acetamide” or sometimes “wet horse.” S ome brewers
feel production of enough of the compounds leading to this “mousiness” may be
strain dependent.
Brettanomyces exhibit the odd propensity to form a pellicle—an often thick, lumpy
white coating—on the top of liquid during fermentation.4 The yeast cells form chains
that can float on the top of wort, making use of atmospheric oxygen, characterizing
Brettanomyces as an oxidative yeast. The pellicle will form in the fermenting vessel or
even in a bo le if the Brettanomyces sp. still have a source of sugar to ferment. The
pellicle helps to guard against oxidation during a long fermentation process, as well as
against unwanted mold and Acetobacteria, so should be left intact.
Experts continue to debate exactly how Brettanomyces become established; none are
precisely certain. Brettanomyces commonly reside on the skins of fruit. The cherry
orchards surrounding Brussels served as a home to Brettanomyces, until the orchards’
demise in the la er portion of the twentieth century. Commonly found in the grape
orchards and soil of long-established French wineries, Brettanomyces are spread by
equipment, barrels, and personnel. Brettanomyces may become airborne, and there
have been suggestions that the fruit fly may be able to promote the spread. O nce in
the brewery, exposed wood, including floors, beams, tiles, and especially barrels
provide an ideal environment for growth.
Brettanomyces favor cellobiose, a carbohydrate that occurs as a result of the firing
process that cooperages use to toast barrels. Brettanomyces produce the enzyme beta-
Glucosidase, which allows them to feed and grow by breaking down glucose from
cellobiose. I n a study conducted by a number of California wineries in the early 1990s,
new barrels that came into contact with only sterile wine still experienced growth of
Brettanomyces, thus demonstrating favorable conditions without exposure to infected
wine or barrels. No such growth occurred in stainless steel tanks.
A tour of the Lindemans brewery provided a firsthand experience with this wild
yeast. Customary jars of ingredients found during most brewery tours, including jars
of malt and hops, were supplemented by one marked Brettanomyces. I joked the jar was
empty and was subsequently urged to refill the jar … by opening it and scooping some
out of the air!
ENTEROBACTER
Enterobacter (sometimes called Proteolytic bacteria), including the genera
Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia, Klebsiella, and Hafnia, produce the flavor
compounds traditionally present in young (one-to two-month-old) lambic. Most
species of Enterobacter ferment glucose into acetic and lactic acid and produce ethyl
acetate and other by-products such as dimethyl sulfide. S ome will ferment lactose,
produce carbon dioxide, and grow in the presence of oxygen. Enterobacter produce
many of the flavor and aroma compounds often considered unfavorable in lambic,
including vegetal, smoky, moldy, and the ever-popular baby diaper (O ne lambic
producer asked me, “I n A merica, do you really drink something that smells that
way?") I n a successful fermentation, these by-products will hopefully not be so
evident, and some lambic producers seek to arrest this phase altogether.
Enterobacter can pose health risks to humans (E. coli, Salmonella), but no pathogenic
bacteria affect lambic or survive to see the final product. S usceptible to both rising
levels of acidity and alcohol, Enterobacter survive for a relatively short time during
lambic fermentation, ceasing to reproduce at a pH of 4.3. W hile many of the
contributions of these bacteria to the final product are considered undesirable,
Enterobacter are quite natural and were historically accepted by many practitioners of
spontaneous fermentation.
LACTOBACILLUS
Lactobacillus plays a major role in the fermentation of Flanders beers and a minimal
one (at best) in lambic. A facultative anaerobe, Lactobacillus can ferment both in the
presence or absence of oxygen but prefers reduced levels. By the name it should be
easy to determine that Lactobacillus sp. produce lactic acid, a less objectionable acid
than acetic responsible for some of the pleasant tang found in most wild beers. Pure
lactic acid has li le aroma of its own, although accompanying by-products of
fermentation help to contribute a tart, tangy character. The ester ethyl lactate,
catalyzed from lactic acid, contributes additional tart, fruity aromas.

Lactobacillus delbrueckii, one of the most common species available to U.S . brewers,
was discovered by one of the founding fathers of microbiology, Max D elbriick.
Homofermentative, L. delbrueckii produces one product (lactic acid) from one substrate
(glucose). L. delbrueckii produces only lactic acid (as well as carbon dioxide) as a by-
product of fermentation.
D ifferent heterofermentative species, such as Lactobacillus brevis,5 will produce
several compounds from one substrate. Heterofermentative species may
“bacteriologically” produce acids such as acetic, isovaleric, and isobutyric commonly
a ributed to Brettanomyces, plus diacetyl, sometimes above the palate threshold of
humans. Tetrahydropyridines, contributing a “mousy” character, also may be
synthesized by heterofermentative Lactobacilli in the presence of lysine and ethanol.
Like most bacteria, Lactobacillus prefers higher temperatures, much higher than
normally employed for beer fermentation and aging. Lactobacillus finds 98° F (37° C),
the temperature of the human intestines, ideal for growth. With enough of a food
source and heat, Lactobacillus sp. will grow quite rapidly. I n the presence of other
organisms, or after primary fermentation is complete, growth occurs considerably
more slowly. High levels of alcohol and lactic acid can destroy Lactobacillus. Even
though the microorganism produces lactic acid, Lactobacillus will cease to reproduce at
a ph of around 3.8.
Like most gram-positive6 bacteria, the presence of certain hop acids retards the
growth of most Lactobacillus sp., although this character is strain dependent. Many
strains of L. delbrueckii shiver at the site of a hop cone, while those of L. brevis may be
favored or feared for their resistance to hop acids. S ensitive to alcohol formation, as
the concentration increases Lactobacillus will die. A lcohol and hop acids help to keep
lactic acid production in check in lambic and Flanders beers.
OXIDATIVE YEAST
Yeast of the genera Candida, Cryptococcus, H ansenula, Kloeckera, and Pichia can
produce copious amounts of acetic acid when exposed to oxygen. O xidative yeasts will
float on the surface of beer, along with Brettanomyces (also an oxidative yeast), having
formed a similar series of chains. Considered spoilage organisms to wine, many
species of oxidative yeast grow naturally on the skins of fruits such as grapes.
N aturally, therefore, these oxidative yeasts commonly occur in lambic, given the use of
old wine barrels in lambic fermentation and the former growth of grapes to the east of
B russels. Kloeckera apiculata is of particular interest to the lambic brewer. I t will
ferment glucose but not maltose, impart some highly volatile fruity, floral esters, and
secrete proteases into the wort that can break down proteins. Generally, oxidative
yeasts have minimal contributions to the flavor and aroma of lambic unless the wort
becomes exposed to oxygen.
PEDIOCOCCUS
Responsible for the bulk of lactic acid production in lambic, Pediococcus shares that
responsibility with Lactobacillus in Flanders beers. Pediococcus ferments glucose into
lactic acid but, unlike Lactobacillus, produces no carbon dioxide. A homofer-mentative
bacterium, Pediococcus does Pediococcus not produce tetrahydropyridines or other acids
during fermentation but produces diacetyl at levels well above the palate threshold of
most humans. A ny diacetyl produced generally (and hopefully!) breaks down during
the fermentation of wild beers. A somewhat hop-resilient gram-positive bacterium,
Pediococcus still adversely reacts to rising levels of alcohol.
 Pediococcus is microaerophilic—it ferments poorly if at all in the presence of oxygen.
Frequently called a fastidious organism, Pediococcus grows rather slowly, if at all. I t
grows to low concentrations, even in lambic. Higher concentrations of Pediococcus can
easily produce such high amounts of lactic acid as to make a beer unpalatable.
Pediococcus produces a layer on the top of wort resembling long elastic threads best
described as ropy and a hazy viscosity, a bit like oil. This harmless yet unappealing
slime, composed of carbohydrates, acids, and proteins, plays an important part in the
fermentation cycle of the lambic. The esterase of growing cells of Bre anomyces may
break down (hydrolyze) this slime.
Pediococcus damnosus, sometimes known as Pediococcus cerevisiae, is a specific lactic
acid-producing organism found in the fermentation of lambic and Flanders beers. A
particular species identified in Rodenbach, P. parvulus, can begin to reproduce at a
higher pH and function at a lower temperature than P. damnosus. Pediococcus cease to
reproduce at around 3.4. A ggressive lartic acid producers with somewhat greater
tolerance to hops than many Lactobacillus sp., Pediococcus can be employed in any beer
where high levels of lactic acid are desired.
SACCHAROMYCES
Literally “sugar fungus,” species of the yeast used to ferment beer still play a role
in wild beer production. D espite all of the different microorganisms present in wild
beers, Saccharomyces cerevisiae still ferment most of the available wort sugars, including
maltose, glucose, and maltotriose, into alcohol. I n addition to Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
another member of the species, Saccharomyces bayanus (sometimes called Saccharomyces
globosus), occur naturally in lambic fermentation. O ften used by vintners to make
sparkling wines, S. bayanus can tolerate alcohol concentrations of up to 18% abv and
will restart stuck fermentations. A lso a Saccharomyces sp., sherry yeast exhibit very
high alcohol tolerance and, similar to Brettanomyces, may survive in the walls of a
barrel.

A number of factors influence the growth of beer-souring microorganisms,

including alcohol, acid production, hop acids, oxygen, the presence of starch in the
wort, and temperature. D ifferent microorganisms produce different levels of acid and
require different periods for optimal growth. The following table illustrates a number
of important factors.

1Bacteria excrete by-products during growth and reproduction; yeasts generate by

prc ducts diiriiig tin hol it fernietitation.

2I he acidity of a beer is often measured using iwo methods. The p11 (potential
hydrogen) level indicates the “concentration of the acidity” or “relative acidity”; the
TA (titratable acidity) measures the quantity of the quantity of the acids. The pH is
expressed in numeric values of 1 to 14—a pH of 7 is neutral (the value of pure water at
77° F (25° C); lower values are more acidic, higher values are considered base. TA
(titratable acidity) identifies what amount of a base solution to add to arrive at the
neutral pH of 7.
3Both lysine and ethanol are commonly found in wort once fermentation is under

way.
4Brettanomyces and the pellicle are known collectively to winemakers as a Flor

—“Flower”—“a type of yeast that is able to float on the surface of a wine, while
growing and fermenting.
5“L, brevis is an obligate heterofermentative bacterium. I t is one of the best-studied

beer spoilage bacterium and grows optimally at 30 “C and pM 4 to 6 and is generally

resistant to hop compounds. I t is physiologically versatile and can cause various
problems in beer such as superaitenuation, due to ihe ability to ferment dextrins and
starch.” Professor Kama Sakamoto from his work on L. brevis.
6Gram-positive bacteria are characterized by a blue-violet color reaction to the

gram-staining procedure, because most cell walls contain peptidoglycan. Gram-

negative bacteria reflect the counterstain, because the cell wall is low in peptidoglycan
(and high in lipid content), so the primary blue-violet color escapes from the cell.
 Production Methods

“I t depends on what you want, if you want to brew it with respect to tradition. We respect
the tradition with the equipment of the twenty-first century.”
-Karl Verhaeghe of the Brouwerij Verhaeghe

Having examined the variety of acid beers available and the microorganisms that
sour them, I turn our a ention to their production methods. Lambic beers retain the
most traditional, labor-intensive, and time-consuming procedures of any beer in the
world. S ome shortcuts have been developed, but the traditional methods still produce
the finest beers. Traditional lambic production includes the use of unmalted wheat, a
lengthy, multiple step mash known as “turbid,” a high-temperature sparge, and a very
long boil.
Flanders beers and new A merican examples of wild beer require simpler
procedures, but the type of wort produced is no less important. The won plays an
important role in how the microorganisms behave and their contributions to the flavor
profile of the eventual beer. I ngredients and production methods are one of the few
areas over which the brewer has direct control.
GRAINS
Malted barley makes up at least 60% of the grist of all modern examples of wild
beers. The larger and even some of the smaller producers would have malted their
own barley, as Rodenbach did until 1974. Like many breweries, the larger wild beer
producers now have malt produced to their exact specifications, while the smaller
breweries make use of similar commercially available malt.
Many lambic brewers use Pilsener malt for its availability, price, neutral flavor, and
low resulting color. Pale two-row malted barley may compose 60 to 70% of the grist for
modern lambic beers, although some brewers substitute varying amounts of six-row
malted barley. S ix-row contains a greater amount of diastatic enzymes and thicker
husk than two-row. S ome brewers consider this advantageous, as unmalted wheat
comprises the remainder of the lambic grist, which is both more difficult to lauter and
contains no enzymes of its own. A higher protein content and the potential for a
phenolic taste due to polyphenols in the husk make six-row malted barley problematic
in high concentrations.
 Many breweries often favor malted spring barley. A portion of winter barley—up to
75%—was once commonly used when malted barley made up as li le as 50% of the
lambic grist. Winter barley reportedly contained more “straw” and served as an aid to
lautering. Winter barley matures more quickly than spring, so it can have cost
advantages, particularly in large quantities, although I can see no others. S ome lambic
producers state their preference for spring barley.
The grist of Flanders red and brown beers are composed of 80 to 100% malted
barley. The malt does not contribute to the body of a lambic, while the Flanders beers
may exhibit a smooth, malty palate. Flanders brewers may use medium-kilned malts
such as Vienna and, to a lesser extent, Munich. For color and fruit, S pecial “B” is also
commonly used in moderate quantities. A romatic malt will add both color and malt
aroma. A specific moderately kilned malt from Weyerman S pecialty Malts known as
Carahell will contribute to both body and head retention. The exact grain bill a
“secret,” the specific malts used are tuned to the specifications of each brewery. We
must attempt to mimic the grain bill with what is commercially available.
By all accounts, Rodenbach does not use any Pilsener malt in its classic red beer.
The brewers desire the reduction capacity of the “darker” malts over the life of the
secondary fermentation of the beer in the wood. Bavik, on the other hand, ages a beer
made entirely of Pilsener malt (sometimes released as Petrus Aged Pale) and blends
with a sweet, brown beer to arrive at Petrus O ud Bruin. A common West Flanders
practice involves brewing one beer for the purpose of aging and a different one for the
purpose of blending as a young beer. I n East Flanders, however,Liefmans produces
Goudenband from a single grist of 70% Pilsener malt and 20% of the darkest
CaraVienna and CaraMunich available (plus 10% maize).
O nce a common ingredient in all beer, today, unmalted wheat only composes a
portion of the grist of traditional lambic and wit. Brewers following traditional lambic
production techniques use 30 to 40% unmalted wheat, although at the end of the
nineteenth century, it accounted for as much as 50% of the grist. Flanders red
producers do not traditionally use unmalted wheat, though a few U.S . brewers have
found as much as 25% to be appropriate in reproducing this classic style of beer.
W hile quite commonplace today, malted wheat was once a bit more dear, as the
complex chemical composition made it more difficult to germinate. S imply put,
unmalted grains are less expensive than malted. This was especially true during the
early 1800s, when tax advantages made it profitable for brewers to use unmalted
wheat. W heat proves more difficult to lauter because, unlike barley, it has no husk.
The quantity of wheat in the grist was reduced as a tradeoff to easier lautering.
Brewers consider the soft variety of wheat suitable for brewing, usually white
rather than the red durum variety commonly used today to make certain types of
pasta. More difficult to lauter than red wheat, the softness of the white wheat kernel
significantly contributes to the “gummy” nature of the traditional lambic mash. Wheat
chaff, the part of the plant wrapped around the kernel while on the stalk, was
sometimes used as a lautering aid. Lambic brewers decided the yellow color and
strawlike odor contributed by the chaff when exposed to near boiling liquid during the
mash and sparge was undesirable, so it is no longer used.
W heat contains a higher starch and total nitrogen (protein) content than barley.
W hile being more difficult to lauter, the soft, white varieties generally have a lower
total nitrogen content than red wheat. Brewers consider a high nitrogen content an
undesirable characteristic for a grain used in brewing. The high starch content
remains a key factor in the suitability of unmalted wheat for use in brewing lambic.
A ccording to Frank Boon, unmalted wheat—to some extent wheat, in general—has
many special qualities that help a beer to keep well. Beers brewed with unmalted
wheat will keep longer than those without and may be a contributing factor to the long
aging potential of a gueuze. The starches found in unmalted wheat give the beer more
complex material that will break down more slowly than that of malted grains and will
nurture the yeast and bacteria over a long period of fermentation, particularly those
active during the later phases. This starch is evident by the haze unmalted wheat
contributes to beer. A beer brewed with unmalted wheat takes a very long time to
become bright. A lambic takes at least eight months; more often twelve is the norm.
Brewers who have never crushed unmalted wheat are certainly in for a treat. The
small kernels fall right through the gap in most mills intended for grinding malted
grain. W heat kernels are also very hard and can cause a mill to seize up. A good,
professional mill should suffice. A empting to grind unmalted wheat using
homebrew equipment, such as a hand-turned adjustable roller mill, will be an arduous
task. Purchase or find a friend who has already adapted a motor, set the mill to as fine
a grind as possible, and run the wheat through several times. S ince wheat does not
have a husk, it can be ground a bit finer than barley; just don’t grind the wheat to
powder.
I f working with raw wheat appears too cumbersome, there are several other
options. Good old malted wheat behaves much like malted barley, except it has no
husk. Essentially “puffed” like a breakfast cereal, torrefied wheat lends more solid
consistency within the mash. Flaked wheat is gelatinized (cooked) raw wheat, pressed
through rollers for ease of use. A ll three forms of wheat may be mashed using a
simple infusion mash with a protein rest. Unmalted wheat requires special
consideration, detailed in the next section.
Maize (a.k.a. corn) can comfortably make up around 10% of the grist of a wild beer
and can go as high as 20%, although that amount can cause the lauter to seize up.
Generally used for both economical and flavor considerations, maize will add starch,
considered beneficial to lactic acid bacteria over the course of fermentation. A ccording
to Peter Bouckaert, beer brewed with a starch adjunct such as corn is lighter and more
digestible.

Two types of maize exist: corn grits and refined corn grits. The former is cheaper,
dry milled, and requires cooking times of up to forty-five minutes, while the la er is
wet milled, nearly pure starch (very desirable to bacteria), and requires only about
fifteen minutes. A s a substitute, flaked maize comes already gelatinized and can be
ordered from your brewing supplier, although it will not add as much starch as raw
grain with an adjunct mash. Large breweries generally chose corn grits; the cheaper of
the three forms of maize. Rodenbach uses up to 20% maize for the red beer, while
Liefmans uses 10% in its brown, and Mort Subite adds 10% to its traditional lambic.
EXTRACT
First, the bad news; W yeast Laboratories tested every extract on the market with all
of the commonly available strains of yeast and bacteria used to produce lambic. Beers
made with extract were identified every time when tasted next to those made with an
all-grain wort. Your decision depends on your capabilities and what you wish to
achieve, but if you are trying to make a beer that will age for two to three years, why
take a shortcut of a couple hours on the won? But don't be discouraged (really!) if you
are an extract brewer. I have some suggestions, probably not considered by the folks at
Wyeast, to help overcome certain limitations.
Even a pale liquid extract will produce a resulting won darker than the desired
color for a lambic, although with generally more dextrins than dry extract. Choose a
wheat-based extract of about 30% wheat or an even proportion of barley-and wheat-
based extracts. Use dry extract for lambic to approach the proper color. The traditional
lambic mash produces a high amount of dextrins. O ne way to account for the
fermentability of dry extract may be the addition of maltodextrin powder to the ke le
or the use of a less fermentable dry malt extract such as Laaglander. A mini-mash of a
pound or so of wheat and/or dextrin malt also will add some helpful compounds to
your lambic wort.
Unfortunately, no extract will effectively produce a wort resembling the final color
of a Flanders red ale, although dark extract will approximate a Flanders brown. O ne
issue with extract—darker extract in particular—is you don’t actually know the
content. Many brewers find pale, wheat-based extract beneficial in producing Flanders
beers. A mini-mash of Vienna or Munich malt and flaked maize will help with the
color, add malt character, and add needed starch and melanoidins to extract wort.
HOPS
I n most beers, hops add bi erness to balance the sweetness of the malt. Flanders
beers do not require much bi erness from hops, and lambic requires essentially none
at all. I n addition to contributing bi erness, hops also have an antibacterial quality
towards certain microorganisms whose by-products, in higher concentration, can spoil
a perfectly good wild beer. Hops provide specific antibacterial properties and
preservative qualities to lambic wort.
Hop fields were formerly a more common site in Belgium, although they are now
restricted to the area around the city of Poperinge, in the southwest of Flanders, where
you may visit a museum to the glory of the Belgian hop. O ne hop variety used in the
production of lambic until the late 1950s was Coigneau, sometimes sold as A lost, after
the name of the region in which it was grown. Three different varieties of hops grew in
this region, but 85% of the crop was Coigneau, notable for its low bitterness.
The most commonly known component of hops adds bi erness to beer: alpha
acids. A lpha acids and iso-alpha acids (produced in the boil) also retard the growth of
gram-positive bacteria such as Lactobacillus, and, to a somewhat lesser degree,
Pediococcus. S ome traditional Flanders beers are hopped at a low level (10 I BUs) to
allow Lactobacillus (and Pediococcus) to reproduce more freely. O ther Flanders beers
may be hopped to a much higher degree yet still exhibit a characteristic acidity.
Remember, resistance to hop acids depends on the particular species, and sometimes
even strain, of gram-positive bacteria.

The brewers at Rodenbach use hops to achieve a low bi erness of about 8 to 10

I BUs (and have been known to use hop extract to obtain a consistent I BU level). The
pale wort aged at Bavik begins life significantly more bi er at 33 I BUs but loses about
7 I BUs over the long period of aging. Unlike Rodenbach, Bavik uses a significantly
sweeter and completely unsoured beer for blending with aged beer, so the final
product contains even less overall bi erness. Liefmans Goudenband begins life at 25
I BUs but has quite a bit more residual sweetness in the final blend than the West
Flanders beers.
Brewers use a large amount of aged hops to brew lambic, to maximize the
antibacterial effect while not contributing any noticeable bi erness. A reasonable rule
of thumb for lambic: 0.8 ounces of hops per gallon (6 g/1) of wort or 1.55 pounds per
U.S . barrel (580 g/hl) of two-and often three-year-old hops. A s hops age (without
vacuum sealing), they oxidize. W hen they oxidize, alpha acids lose their bi ering
potential. Four of the factors that determine the condition of hops during storage
include time, temperature, damage, and exposure to oxygen.
Most lambic producers purchase and store hops by the bale. Packing into bales
may crush the lupulin glands of the hops, which contain the relevant bi ering
compounds, decreasing stability during storage. A fter six months at ambient
temperatures without vacuum sealing, hops can lose 25% or more of their alpha acids.
A fter three years at ambient temperature, hops have lost virtually all of their bi ering
power.
Lambic brewers realize that, while aged hops have lost their ability to contribute
bi erness to wort, they have not lost their preservative capabilities. Two other
compounds—beta acids and polyphenols—do not suffer any notable affects (in
context) from aging and oxidation. The beta acids contained in hops also have a
powerful antibacterial effect against the growth of thermophilic gram-positive lactic
acid-producing bacteria, namely those in the genus Lactobacillus. (Lactobacillus,
therefore, plays virtually no role in lambic fermentation. Pediococcus damnosus produces
most of the lactic acid.)
S imilar to alpha acids, beta acids (lupulones) are insoluble in cold water and beer.
Unlike alpha acids, beta acids cannot be isomerized during the boil. The oxidation
products of the beta acids that form as the hops age (hulupones), are quite water-
soluble. O xidation both virtually eliminates the bi er potential of alpha acids and
solubilizes the beneficial components of beta acids, which are much less bi er than
iso-alpha acids.
A s hop resins oxidize, they can produce a cheesy aroma and flavor. S ome people
believe this character represents an important contribution to the flavor of lambic. The
hops I ’ve seen used in lambic production are old and oxidized but not stinking to the
point of hop-cheddar. A ged hops actually may retain a bit of their natural aroma. A ny
aromatic compounds transferred to lambic wort should dissipate during the requisite
long boil.
S ome lambic brewers purchase new hops and age them in the brewery, while
others purchase hops already aged, largely depending on availability and, therefore,
price. Most Belgian wild brewers prefer Belgian hops, partly due to cost, but English,
Czech, or German hops may be used due to limited supply. Many of the traditional
producers prefer hops that begin with a low amount of alpha acids. O ne hop farmer I
spoke with in Washington claims hops with a low level of alpha acids at harvest serve
as a be er “holding hop"—one intended for aging. A lso, while I am aware of no
conclusive studies, hop scientists generally believe that low-alpha acid (aroma) hops
grown in a temperate climate have a higher content of low-molecular polyphenols than
higher alpha acid (bittering) hops or hops from zones with artificial irrigation.
The polyphenols contained in hops—including antho-cyanogens, catechins, and
tannins—contribute another positive characteristic. Most brewers consider
polyphenols an undesirable substance in beer, as they can contribute color, haze, and
astringency. A ged hops lose some but not all of their polyphenols, limiting the
puckering mouthfeel contributed to lambic. Polyphenols act as natural antioxidants,
protecting beer against oxidation and improving stability, a very desirable
characteristic for a beer that will take years to go from ke le to glass. S ome experts
even believe polyphenols help to retard certain health problems.
Traditionally, lambic brewers use whole hop flowers. The Mort S ubite brewery uses
pellet hops aged five to seven years. The reason? Like most breweries, the choice of
pellet over whole hops is a ma er of equipment. Mort S ubite found pellets were easier
to clean, once the brewers began using a whirlpool after the boil was complete. Plant
manager Bruno Reinders says he finds no difference in the taste. (N ow you have a
potential use for any old pellet hops lying around.) The alpha acids in pellets break
down more slowly than those of whole hops, so they must be aged longer before use.
Grinding them up a bit will help to help accelerate the reaction.
I f you choose to age your own hops, increasing surface area can help achieve
consistency. By spreading the hops over a long, shallow container, more air comes in
contact with each cone. The process may also be accelerated, in a pinch, by baking the
hops at a low heat—no greater than 200° F (93° C)—until they begin to turn brown.
These methods may be practical to the homebrewer, although commercial brewers
will probably not be able to age a large enough quantity of hops using either technique
to suit their batch size.
FRUIT
Brewers add fruit to many types of wild beer to produce a completely new beer.
The fruits most commonly used to flavor traditional wild beers include cherries and
raspberries. Traditional lambics also may ferment grapes, strawberries, and apricots,
while some commercial products use peaches and black currants. Rather than being
bound by these selections, use them as a guide, although not all fruits lend themselves
well to wild beer.
 Choosing the proper type of fruit is important. Four factors to consider when
choosing fruit include sugar content, acidity, the type of acid, and the level of tannins
in the fruit.
Without pasteurization, wild yeast will ferment all of the sugars within the fruit, so
brewers consider those with some inherent acidity generally as best suited for use in
wild beer. Fruit with a content of malic acid will undergo a type of secondary
fermentation known as malolartic (covered in a later chapter). Tannins can be pleasant
in wild beer. A s tannins increase, so does the perceived dryness of the beer.
S ometimes when one characteristic of a fruit is high, the others are a bit lower, adding
balance to the character contributed to beer. Fruit with high characteristics across the
board will naturally produce a very aggressive beer.
Traditional wild brewers prefer fresh fruit for its quality, taste and perhaps wild
yeast on the skins. Use of fresh fruit will bind the wild brewer to the cultivating
season. O ften picked prematurely, grocery store fruit rarely offers a flavorful option
for brewing. Be er sources include farmers markets and purchasing directly from
orchards. S ome fresh fruit may be packaged with sugar to help prevent oxidization, so
be aware: You may be ge ing quite an unexpected source of fermentable sugar.
Purchase quality fruit and freeze it rather than se le for an inferior product at a
convenient time.
Winemakers practically obsess over the best time to pick and use fruit. W hy, then,
do many brewers often dump fruit from the first available source into their
fermenters? S electing quality fruit is essential to the quality of your wild beer. The
sugar content of a fruit increases as it matures on the plant, while the acidity
decreases. The earlier the harvest, the lower the amount of sugar, and the higher the
amount of acid the fruit will possess. Too much acid in fruit without enough sugar can
lead to unpleasant acidic characteristics. W hen fruit is full of sugar, it exhibits a
wonderful balance between acidity and sweetness. A ccording to lean Van Roy of
Cantillon, if J une is cool and rainy, you get a fruit with a high water concentration and
more acid. I f june is full of sun and no rain, the fruit will have a high sugar
concentration.
I f fresh fruit simply isn’t an option, then frozen fruit may be a necessary tradeoff.
Brewers consider fruit puree preferable to juice or syrup. Fruit juice and syrup will add
a sweetened flavor without much complexity. Pasteurized, filtered, sweetened beers
are often made with juice, both for ease of use and because the beer be er retains the
color of the fruit.
The cell walls of fruit must be broken down to allow the flavor and aroma
components to mix with the beer. S trains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae used in standard
fermentation cannot do this on their own, so the fruit may be macerated or frozen
before being added to the fermenter in order to break down the skins. The wild yeasts
and bacteria used to ferment wild beers do not face this limitation and will thoroughly
a ack and ferment fruit in a native state. You probably won’t even recognize the fruit
after an extended period of time undergoing a wild fermentation.
Cherries remain the most popular fruit to add to wild beer, be it Flanders red,
Flanders brown, or lambic. For practical reasons, local cherries were used whenever
possible to produce traditional Belgian beer—a contributing factor to the popularity of
S chaarbeek cherries among lambic producers. The classic cherry used to produce kriek
lambic, and even some krieks from Flanders, the mighty S chaarbeek cherry is native to
“suburban” Brussels. Twenty to thirty years ago, the S chaarbeek cherry trees were
quite plentiful, but the orchards succumbed to both blight and urban sprawl. The
S chaarbeek cherries were very much a part of Brussels, the trees a common sight in
the yards, the wild yeast on the skins an important part of the terroir of the region.
The S chaarbeek contributes more color to beer than many other types of cherries.
The S chaarbeek cherry does not have much skin, does have a large pit, and when they
are black they are ripe and ready to pick. The flavor contributed is often described as
vanilla and almond when the pits are included (and they should be) in the
fermentation. Traditional lambic producers still consider the S chaarbeek the best
cherry in the world and the best with which to produce kriek lambic. Today, many of
the cherries for kriek lambic come from a region in the south of Poland known as
Galicia, although the area surrounding St. Truiden is also popular and still has some of
Belgium’s finest cherry orchards.
 Cherries generally come in two types: tart (also called sour) and sweet. The former
variety produces be er kriek. A ccording to mead guru Ken S chramm, the quality of
tart cherries cultivated in the United S tates is not currently on par with those of
Europe. A brewer must determine the tradeoff between fresh, relatively inexpensive
local cherries and more expensive imported varieties that will likely be frozen. The
amount of whole cherries added by the traditional producers of wild beers varies from
brewery to brewery. The amount of cherries used to produce kriek is generally 2 to 2.5
pounds per gallon (240 to 300 grams per liter), although some brewers claim to use as
much as 400 to 600 grams per liter or roughly 3.3 to 5 pounds per gallon. The pulp-to-
pit ratio is generally lower on cherries used to produce kriek lambic than on most
commercial cherries, which could account for a high ratio of fruit to liquid.
More finicky and expensive than cherries, brewers have still used raspberries in
wild beer for around a hundred years. S ome producers lament the effort, because the
raspberries completely decompose during secondary fermentation, leading to
filtration problems. W hen added to an unpasteurized wild beer, raspberries will
increase the perception of dryness and add noticeable acidity and even some
astringency, although not an unpleasant amount.
A number of other fruits, including strawberries, apricots, grapes, peaches, and
black currants, are not as steeped in history as the cherry or even the raspberry but
will produce a pleasant wild beer. Lower in acid content than many other fruits,
strawberries lend li le or no color and a very soft, subtle flavor and aroma that ages
surprisingly well. A pricots will add a turbidity, golden color, and notable acidic
character. Muscat grapes will produce a pleasing astringency and acidity. Purple
grapes, such as the Merlot and Cabernet Franc varieties, result in a lambic with a
reddish-burgundy color and rich, fruity aroma and flavor reminiscent of a fine red
wine.
J uices made from peaches and black currants are used to create sweetened,
pasteurized lambic. O ne A merican producer used whole peaches to add both flavor
and an acidic quality to his lambic, although peaches do not easily contribute flavor
and can often “morph” into other flavors. The highly acidic black currant can give a
drying character to a beer. O ne A merican producer who flavors his lambic with whole
black currants says they can lend a (no fooling) “cat pee” aroma.
Many commercial wild fruit beers contain a ratio of around two pounds of fruit per
gallon of wort. This ratio represents a good starting point until you determine how
much fruit character is suited to your taste as well as the nature of the specific fruit
you select.
WATER
Many popular brewing styles developed because of the suitability of the local water
to a particular characteristic possible in a beer. Pilsener, for instance, developed
largely due to the amazingly clean, soft character of water in the city of Pilsen in the
Czech Republic and its suitability for producing pale, bi er beers. Many breweries in
Belgium traditionally produced only one type of beer, perhaps suited to the character
of the local water.
The water sources in the provinces in Belgium commonly associated with wild beer
production all have a fairly high level of temporary hardness (HCO3), which lends
itself to the production of dark, malty beers. West Flanders has a very high level of
sodium (N a), and East Flanders and Brabant are still relatively high, compared to
other famous brewing cities. S odium can contribute a sour, salty taste to beer. A
reasonable assumption might be that before brewers were knowledgeable about
altering the chemistry of their water, Flanders brewers naturally produced dark,
sourish ale. This assumption does not hold true for Brussels and the Payo enland
(Brabant), where the beers were sourish but not dark and malty.
Traditional wild beer producers often brew using water from their own wells, so
each source may be a bit different but should not deviate to a great extent from the
profiles listed in the chart below, which were taken from a sampling of pumping
stations throughout the regions. lambic and Flanders breweries alike treat their water
to remove temporary hardness. Rodenbach uses calcium hydroxide to remove
temporary hardness as the final step in its water treatment. This process may be too
cumbersome for homebrewers and probably most craftbrewers. S impler methods to
reduce temporary hardness include precipitation and dilution with water from a softer
source. Conversely, if water exhibits too much softness, particularly when brewing a
lambic (a problem encountered at W yeast Laboratories), add some calcium sulfate
(gypsum) to the mash to aid with conversion and keep the pH from dropping too
quickly.

BREWING SEASONS
Traditionally crafted between the beginning of O ctober and the end of A pril,
spontaneously fermented beers still follow the seasons. D uring the summer, brewers
consider the wild yeast and bacteria “too wild” for proper fermentation. S everal
lambic brewers specifically warn of high risk of “thermo-bacteria” when the
temperatures are elevated, particularly at night.
“Thermo-bacteria” refers to thermophilic gram-positive bacteria, the best known
being Lactobacillus sp., including L. delbrueckii and L. brevis. These particular species of
bacteria play a major role in the fermentation of Flanders beers. Very small amounts
of thermo-bacteria are quite natural, but larger counts can be quite detrimental to
lambic, producing a pungent sourness. I somerized alpha acids and hulupones
contributed by the oxidized beta acids of hops inhibit gram-positive thermophilic
bacteria. The use of a high volume of aged hops by lambic brewers demonstrates just
how undesirable they find the byproducts of Lactobacillus sp. The contribution of the
aged hops may not be enough to successfully inhibit certain strains of the heat-
seeking “thermo-bacteria” during the summer months.
Brewing Seasons

“Hence the urgent reason for brewing in the spring season; because, at this
time, both air and water are stored with exhalations from growing vegetables,
which unite with others, especially with those of the same kind; and thus it is that
the particles which float in the air, are, as it were, inhaled by those of the water,
malt, wort, and hops…”
—W. Brande from The Town and Country Brewery Book (London, 1830)
Lactobacillus sp. generally do not pose a problem to aged beer, since Saccharomyces
cerevisiae will have metabolized many of the amino acids in the wort necessary for cell
growth. A problem arises when aging beer has not been separated from autolyzing
yeast sediment, a condition present in traditional lambic fermentation. This sediment
combined with the hot temperatures of summer will provide the “thermo-bacteria”
with enough amino acids to reproduce.
Temperature has long been an important variable no lambic brewer or blender
could control. Even today, that sort of control is beyond the budget of many producers.
A rmand D eBelder of D rie Fonteinen has gone to great lengths to fix the temperature
in his rooms of fermenting barrels at 61° F (16° C). “I t makes the brewing seasons a bit
less meaningful. At 16° C you don’t get that much acidity.” Without reliable
temperature control, however, lambic brewing takes a summer holiday.
High concentrations of “thermo-bacteria” present during spontaneous
fermentation can lead to bad beer O ften considered simply “sour” or “lactic,” Frank
Boon describes the character as “a celery juice and parsnip taste.” Lambic production
also fares be er during dry weather Wild yeast and bacteria do not like too much rain
any more than humans. D amp conditions can cause the growth of mold detrimental to
the flavor and aroma of the beer.
THE MASH
Lambic brewers traditionally use a turbid mash, while other styles, including
Flanders red and brown, are produced with some simpler form of infusion mash. Both
tradition and the components contributed to the wort for use by the wild yeast and
bacteria determine the choice of mash type. The type of mash and subsequent wort
will influence the behavior of the microorganisms in fermentation.
The beginnings of the turbid mash can be traced back to the D utch law of 1822 that
fixed a duty upon the capacity of the mash tun. Given this financial limitation, brewers
constructed small mash tuns and filled them as full as possible with grain. This left
li le room remaining for mash liquor. The liquor was said to be, of necessity, relatively
cold, as a high strike heat would result in a set mash. A small amount of cold liquor
used with raw grains produced a mash liquor with a large amount of ungelatinized
starches and other matter.

The mash, sometimes containing raw grain as well as malted barley, resembled “a
sponge out of which you had to coax some wort.” This was accomplished by pushing a
“brewer’s basket” into the top of the mash. The resulting impression filled with turbid
mash liquor, which was hand-pumped through a tube into a separate ke le. This
liquid portion was boiled and then sprinkled back over the top of the mash. The
process was repeated until the mash liquor clarified, after which the liquor was
pumped into a second ke le. This method left a sizeable amount of dextrins in the
low-alcohol beers of the day.
A shift to the English system of infusion mashing became economical by the repeal
of the mash tun tax in 1885. The problem arose that the low-gravity beers of the day
now tasted thin and lifeless, owing to the higher a enuation possible with the single,
high-temperature English mashing system. The Belgian turbid mashing system,
widely in use in Belgium and northern France by 1915, came about as the result of a
refusal to continue using the English mashing system. The traditional lambic
producers have retained the turbid mash method, as the highly allenuative wild yeasts
find the resulting dextrins quite desirable.
The infusion system of mashing involves doughing-in with the total amount of
liquor at high temperatures and washing out the desired compounds from the grain
relatively quickly to arrive at a clear wort. The turbid system begins with a small
volume of colder liquor, only enough to thoroughly wet all of the grain. Boiling liquor
is added to the mash to raise the temperature to the next rest. A portion of the mash
liquor is removed, heated almost to a boil, and held at that temperature throughout
most of the mash, effectively denaturing any enzymatic activity. These two steps are
repeated to reach the next temperature rest. The mash goes from thick and dry to thin
and soupy, as the additional boiling liquor is added to the tun. A dd more boiling
liquor to reach the third rest, then run off the mash liquor into the primary ke le for
heating. Finally add the original starchy liquid back to the mash for a mash-out rest.
The temperature rests vary somewhat from brewery to brewery. The contents of the
mash tun are recirculated to clear the run-off of husks and chunks before sparging.
The wheat starches in the liquor removed from the tun, boiled, then reintroduced
to reach the final temperature rest have not been modified by the mash. This results in
a turbid, starchy, milky wort at the beginning of the boil. The turbid mashing
procedure breaks down the long-chain proteins of the raw wheat and malted barley
into free amino acids. The resulting low-protein wort will provide less suitable
nutrients for the microorganisms predominantly active during the early stages of
fermentation, and a greater amount of dextrins and starches to nourish those that
grow during the la er stages (even during bo le-conditioning). Without the complex
sugar/starch profile needed for the growth of the microorganisms through the course
of fermentation, the finished beer can appear thin and lifeless. I n judging lambic
beers produced in the United States, I find this one of the most common flaws.
Every traditional lambic brewer has an idea about which mash technique he should
use. A certain technique may have been chosen due largely to economic reasons. S ome
brewers have designed their own specific combination of the two mash systems. The
English-style infusion mash will take fewer resources and less time to produce the
wort, although in the long term, a beer made with the turbid mash will be superior.
A ccording to Frank Boon, “the finest, most traditional lambics are produced from a
turbid mash.”
Turbid Mash Schedule

This mash schedule represents an approximation of the traditional turbid

mash, suitable for small producers.
Assume 2 quarts of H20/pound of grain (1.9 liters/450 grams).

1. D ough-in wheat, and malt with 20% of H2O to achieve 113° F (45° C), rest
for 15 minutes.
2. A dd 20% H2O at 212° F (100° C) to raise mash to 126° F (52° C), rest for 15
minutes.
3. Remove 33% of the liquid, heat in kettle to 190° F (88° C), and hold.
4. A dd 30% H2O at 212° F (100° C) to raise mash to 149° F (65° C), rest for 45
minutes.
5. Remove 50% of the liquid, add to ke le, and reheat to 190° F (88° C), and
hold.
6. A dd 30% H2O at 212° F (100° C) to raise mash to 162° F (72° C), rest for 30
minutes.
7. Transfer most of the liquor in the mash tun—equal to roughly 38% of the
total volume of mash liquor—to the primary kettle and begin to heat.
8. A dd contents of ke le to mash to raise to 172° 1(78° C), rest for 20
minutes.
9. Vorlauf to remove husks and chunks.
 10. Sparge with 1900 1(88° C) H20 until gravity is less than 2 °P (1.008).

Brewers using a turbid mash to produce lambic wort traditionally sparge at

temperatures too high for other beers—around 194° F (90° C). O ne of the common
reasons to sparge is to wash any remaining sugars out of the mash. A turbid mash will
have poor conversion of sugars, and a ho er than normal sparge will help to wash out
remaining dextrins and unconverted starches. The higher temperature also will leach
considerable tannins from the mash, something found undesirable in other beers. The
tannins will precipitate out or break down over the long period of fermentation and do
not contribute to a noticeable astringency in the resulting beer.
I f the turbid mash just sounds too involved, and you still wish for some of the
benefits of raw wheat, it will need to be gelatinized before it can be used in an infusion
mash. The same holds true when using maize—common with Flanders beers. Both
grains have a high gelatinization temperature, so they must be cooked in order to
become soluble within the mash. Boiling allows the enzymes of the mash access to the
starch and fermentable sugar of the grains. Cook a small portion of malted barley
along with the unmalted grain to provide enzymes. First, mix the wheat or maize and
small amount of malted barley (10%) with liquor, raise the temperature, and hold at a
level conducive for saccharification—around 145° F (63° C). Then boil the mixture for
15 to 45 minutes, depending on the type of maize, or for 30 minutes when using wheat.
Wyeast Lambic Mash Schedule

A ssume 2.35 quarts of HiO /pound of grain (2.25 liters/450 grams). The folks at
W yeast Labs brew lambic on their pilot system. This simplified mash will extract
the optimal amount of proteins and starches with a minimal number of rests and
only one kettle.

1. D ough-in wheat with 10% of the barley malt and 75% of H20 at 140° F (60°
C).
2. Increase to 212° F (1000 C), and hold for approximately 30 minutes.
3. A dd the balance of the malt and H20. A djust mash to 70° F (158° C), and
hold for approximately 2 hours, stirring continuously. Rest 30 minutes.
4. Sparge with 203° 1(95° C) H20.

Brewers commonly use an infusion mash to produce most varieties of wild beer.
The infusion mash provides a high fermentable sugar/high protein wort conducive to a
quick start to fermentation. This favors microorganisms dominant during the early
phase of fermentation and reduces those most active during the later phases, mainly
due to nutrient depletion but also to the presence of alcohol. This is one reason the
byproducts of Brettanomyces are so noticeable in traditional lambic but not in Flanders
beers.
Flanders Mash Schedule
 This mash schedule is very similar to the one used at Rodenbach. W hen using
flaked maize you may omit steps 1 and 3.
Assume 1.33 quarts of H20/pound of grain (1.25 liters/450 grams).

1. Mash corn and 10% of malted barley at 145° F (63° C) for 15 minutes.
2. Dough-in grains and H2O to hit 122° F (50° C), and hold for 20 minutes.
3. Add adjunct mash to main mash.
4. Raise to 145° F (63° C), and hold for 40 minutes.
5. Raise to 162° F (72° C), and hold for 30 minutes.
6. Raise to 169° F (76° C), and hold for 10 minutes (mash-out).
7. Sparge with 176° F (80° C) H2O.

The lactic acid-producing bacteria require the starch, present in the adjunct grains,
to produce their requisite by-products. W hen using adjuncts with an infusion mash,
adding the boiling mixture of raw grain and malted barley helps raise the main mash
from one temperature rest to the next during the saccharification phase. A variation
that will provide additional starch to the wort involves adding only a portion of the
adjunct mash at the first step to gain fermentable sugar, and the remainder once the
enzymes have been denatured during the mash-out. A ny beer that requires lactic acid
development can benefit from some starch.
THE BOIL
Tired from all that mashing? W hen most brewers complete their brew day, many
lambic brewers embark on a marathon boil. The Lindemans brewery once boiled wort
for twelve hours, although six hours is now the maximum, and four hours is becoming
increasingly more common. A long boil of five to six hours is traditional among most
lambic producers; each may have their own beliefs as to why a long boil is desirable.
The long, vigorous boil reduces the ke le volume, helps to precipitate excess proteins
and tannins, and extracts compounds from the hops.
Considering the water-to-grist ratio during the mash and sparge, a long boil will
reduce the volume of liquid in the ke le to arrive at the desired starting gravity of the
wort. Boiling also helps to coagulate more of the excess proteins in the wort
contributed by raw wheat. They will simply fall out of solution. Boiling aged hops for a
long period of time will help to extract as much of the antibacterial humulones,
hulupones, and preserving polyphenols as possible. The polyphenolic tannins will
confer some of the dry bi erness customary to the style. Many A merican brewers
probably do not have a large enough ke le for a rolling five-to six-hour boil but should
boil for at least two hours when producing a lambic.
 Brewers in Flanders once boiled (simmered?) their worts for up to thirty hours. N o
producer of Flanders red or brown currently chooses to boil for longer than two hours.
The popular myth that Flanders brewers achieve the color of their beer through a
twelve-hour overnight simmer may have been unintentionally proliferated at the
Liefmans brewery. Before production moved to Riva, boiling the wort did take as long
as twelve hours. This wasn’t simply to darken the color; the boiler was so inefficient, it
took twelve hours to achieve what most ke les do in less than two. For patient
brewers, a long, slow simmer will add a bit of reddish hue to the wort, but it is much
easier and no less authentic to use malt to achieve the color.

COOLING
The boil finally complete, the wort must be cooled. I n many cases some form of
heat exchanger, like in any modern brewery, cools the wort. Prior to refrigeration, a
heat exchanger was a less mechanical device. The hot wort cascaded down over the
surface of a series of copper pipes, connected the long way and turned on their sides
like horizontal bars. Cold water ran through the pipes, resulting in a heat transfer
between the hot wort and the cold water. The most classic cooling method, still in use
today, is the coolship.
A huge, shallow, generally copper vessel, the coolship historically took up the
entire top floor of the brewery. A ll breweries once had to use some form of a coolship.
I t is shallow to promote the greatest contact with the air to induce as rapid a cooling as
possible. Windows or slats in the coolship room, open to the outdoors, allow the cool
outside air to come into contact with the beer. Except for lambic, fermentation begins
so quickly that any organisms that infected the beer during the cooling process do not
have the time to sour the wort before they are “out-competed” for food by
Saccharomyces. “Thermo-bacteria” that produce unpleasant by-products do have an
effect on lambic wort prior to the onset of fermentation (which is covered in depth in
the next chapter). I deally, the wort is cooled to about 68° C (20° F), although on
warmer days it might not drop that low. Trub will separate from the wort and fall to
the bottom, left behind when the wort is transferred to a different vessel.

Summary of Traditional Belgian Wild Beers

Lambic
70% Pilsener malt
30% unmalted white wheat
25 oz/bbi or 0.8 oz/gal (˜6 g/l) of 3-year-old low alpha acid hops Turbid mash
5- to 6-hour boil
Flanders Red
70-80% spring barley malt composed of Vienna, (Munich),
cara-malts, and Special “B”
10-20% maize (or unmalted wheat)
10 IBUs (optionally of low alpha acid hops)
Infusion mash
2-hour boil
Flanders Brown
70% Pilsener malt
 20% CaraVienna and CaraMunich
10% maize
25 IBUs (optionally of low alpha acid hops)
Infusion mash
2-hour boil
Today, many lambic breweries have fans in the coolship room to move the air. Mort
S ubite pumps air into cylindroconical fermenters to saturate the wort rather than
using a coolship. That brewery also uses a wort cooler to chill the wort down to 95° F
(35° C) before this takes place. “Q uick cooling” eliminates the effect of “thermo-
bacteria” on the fresh wort between 95 and 176° F (35 and 80° C). A bit less traditional,
this cooling technique becomes desirable as some lambic brewers seek to avoid the
unwanted by-products of “thermo-bacteria” in their beer (discussed in the next
chapter).
The coolship gives wort intended for spontaneous fermentation the first taste of
wild yeast and bacteria. This method of long, slow cooling also will lead to the
formation of significant amounts of dimethyl sulfate, which will be scrubbed during
the lengthy fermentation process. Contact with the greatest amount of surface area
over a long-enough period of time, generally overnight, is important. The next day, the
brewer racks the wort into a tank to separate it from the trub in the bo om of the
coolship. The destination is sometimes referred to as the “horny tank,” as whatever
was inoculated overnight is now jumping and ready to go!
A ccording to Frank Boon, much of the bacteria and some of the wild yeasts that
ferment lambic come from the air, while Brettanotnyces are generally found living in
the wooden barrels used for fermentation. The concentration of microorganisms in the
air alone, however, is not enough. W hat lives in the bare walls and wooden rafters of
the brewery is of great importance. The concentration of microorganisms found in the
brewery air is far greater than that outside.
S ays Karel Goddeau of the D e Cam Geuzestekerij, “People always think it is the
mystery of the air, but it is more in the building than in the air. The EU says we must
clean up [paint] our walls, but the porous nature is very important. The bacteria live
within the walls. This is what makes the brew of each brewery different, the location of
the cooling vessel [and the barrels].” Many lambic brewers demonstrate near-
superstitious behavior regarding the coolship. The brewers at Cantillon kept the old
ceiling tiles in place when they replaced the roof over the coolship. The Lindemans
brewers still used the old coolship, in the old building, after a new brewhouse was
built. The importance of leaving the terroir of the brewery undisturbed will become
even more evident in the next chapter.
 Wild Fermentation

“The more man intervenes in the process, the less traditional and natural it becomes.”
—John Matthys of Hanssens Artisanaal

I will discuss three types of wild fermentation: inoculated, spontaneous, and

mixed. I noculated fermentation involves introducing a concentration of one or more
varieties of yeast and bacteria to wort to achieve fermentation. The introduction of
various beer-souring microorganisms to mimic the fermentation of a lambic is, in fact,
inoculation. S pontaneous fermentation assumes all of the microorganisms come from
the air in the brewery and any porous materials (i.e. wood) around or in contact with
the wort. Mixed fermentation involves the use of both a culture and microorganisms
that grow in a wooden barrel for fermentation.
The by-products of yeast and bacteria the wild brewer consider friendly can be
terribly distasteful in higher concentration. The producers of spontaneously
fermented beer have no direct control over what actually inoculates the wort.
Practitioners of mixed fermentation control the primary fermentation but lose that
control during secondary fermentation to the microorganisms that reside inside their
barrels. Brewers who inoculate their beer have the greatest—although never complete
—control over fermentation. Pure cultures of wild yeast and bacteria can still exhibit
unpredictable behavior. A n understanding of the procedures surrounding
fermentation with wild yeast and bacteria is essential to the production of a good wild
beer. Let’s consider the three types of fermentation in further detail. Understanding
what occurs during a particular type of fermentation opens the potential to nudge it in
a particular direction.
SPONTANEOUS FERMENTATION
Beer-fermenting and -souring microorganisms occur naturally, conditions favoring,
everywhere in the world. Historically widespread, a number of indigenous fermented
beverages still rely on spontaneous fermentation. Breweries in the United Kingdom
and N etherlands produce spontaneously fermented, Belgian-influenced beer.
Traditional lambic, however, remains the most widespread and consistent
spontaneously fermented beer produced in the world.
S trictly speaking, spontaneous fermentation is easy: S imply allow unfermented
wort to be exposed to wild yeast and bacteria, and then leave it to ferment for a period
of time. Leaving exposed wort in the backyard overnight, however, will not produce a
pleasant spontaneously fermented beer, at least not in most parts of the world. D on’t
be distraught—a batch of beer left open to ferment in Brussels’ Grand Place probably
wouldn’t taste any be er. The challenge of spontaneous fermentation lies in achieving
a product found pleasing. Many variables affect the results, and the brewer only has
control over a few of them. Achieving the desired result occurs only over time.
Fresh Fruit and Fermentation

The use of fresh fruit is a historical and comparatively easy way to I ntroduce
wild yeast to your beer naturally. I f fruit is not boiled or frozen, there will almost
certainly be some wild yeast on the skins that will induce some level of
fermentation. Wine grapes and unpasteurized apple juice ferment without
additional yeast.
The microorganisms residing on fruit may not be enough to completely
ferment wort to a desired level. The best chance will occur when using extremely
fresh fruit. For best results, crush or macerate the fruit prior to use to allow the
sugars of the fruit to fully blend with the wort. S ome tartness and acidity will
definitely be conferred from both the fruit and resident microorganisms.
The addition of fresh, whole fruit to fermented wort will I nduce a “secondary
spontaneous fermentation.” Many brewers of fruit ales freeze or boil their fruit to
avoid this occurrence, preferring only a pure culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae to
perform the fermentation.
A type of secondary fermentation common in wine, malolactic fermentation,
occurs due to the species of bacteria found in grapes. W hile winemakers generally
control malolactic fermentation in order to avoid any “wild” results, resident
bacteria, including Pediococcus and Lactobacillus sp. (though not L. delbrueckil), and
those of Leuconostoc (especially L. oenos) will convert the “sharp” or “harsh” tasting
malic acid present in many fruits into more pleasant lactic acid. The conversion
lowers the total acidity and raises the pH, resulting in a more pleasant and
palatable wine. Q uite common in dry red wines and Chardonnay, wine-makers
avoid malolactic fermentation in sweeter wines where the acidity is needed for
balance. Malolactic fermentation may occur during fermentation with grapes or in
“uncleaned” wine barrels.
French enologist Emile Peynaud noted the presence ofBrettanomyces on the walls
and dirt floors of French wine cellars, and that “the winemaker should imagine the
whole surface of the winery and equipment as being lined with yeasts.” For hundreds
of years, European winemakers have been returning the pressed-out skins of wine
grapes to their vineyards as fertilizer. The naturally selected yeast strains that inhabit
those skins have become so ingrained into the terroir that some wine-makers can
achieve consistent results with the spontaneous fermentation of newly pressed must.
I n the vineyards of the United S tates, however, such consistency, even in vineyards
that have been around for more than a hundred years, may still be centuries away.
The favorable conditions for spontaneous fermentation along the S enne Valley
were also no accident. The concentration of fruit trees and vines, combined with the
abundance of traditional farmhouse breweries around Brussels, made an ideal
environment for the necessary wild yeast and bacteria to become airborne and reside
in the buildings. To add to ma ers, fruit flies and bees have been shown to spread
Breuanomyces and other oxidative yeasts. S uch insects were certainly an unavoidable
part of farmhouse brewing. Lactic acid-producing bacteria live on raw grain and may
be especially prevalent if grain is milled near the other brewing operations. O ne can
only imagine what microorganisms were spread by the animals living in and around
the farmhouse breweries at a time when sanitation was not considered a priority in
brewing.
The brewery buildings in the S enne Valley have always been important to
spontaneous fermentation within the region. The microorganisms necessary for
spontaneous fermentation survive in the exposed wooden beams and floors and
porous whitewashed walls of the lambic brewery. Considering the loss of the
S chaarbeek cherry orchards surrounding Brussels as a continuing source of fresh wild
yeast, the buildings now play a greater role than ever before.
People sometimes ask why there have been no completely new spontaneous
fermentation breweries opened in Brussels or the Payo enland, much less anywhere
else? The problems surrounding a new brewery involve patience and money, and
owners often have neither. The capital required to open a top-or bo om-fermentation
brewery is generally raised with the expectation of a return on investment within a
reasonable period of time. I f everything goes right, a viable lambic product may be
available within a few years and a blended product within five years. I f everything
goes according to plan ….
People serious about spontaneous fermentation should consider a number of
factors. The first: a source of wild yeast. Consider locating your brewery (or home)
downwind of a fruit orchard. A few fruit trees in the backyard may be enough for a
homebrewer. A windy spot is a good idea. (The coolship room at the Melbourn
Brothers brewery, high above the skyline of S tamford, is a bit like a wind tunnel.) I f
you are a fruit grower with a barn or extra wooden shed, you may have an entirely new
opportunity.
S econd, the wild yeast and bacteria necessary for fermentation require an
environment conducive for their development. Porous items such as wooden beams,
floors, ceilings, and unfinished walls do the trick in Belgium. The presence of beer in a
room should eventually induce the “permanent” growth of various beer-fermenting
and -souring microorganisms. To speed the process, splash some “live” beer, such as
gueuze, around the space intended for fermentation. The more beer fermented in the
space, the more the microorganisms will reproduce both in and around the beer.
W hile some brewers produce spontaneously fermented beers without the use of
wooden barrels, they remain a part of the traditional fermentation process because
they are porous and contain additional yeast and bacteria. A ll of the microorganisms
do not come from the air. I discuss the variables involving the use of wooden barrels
and potential substitutes in greater depth in the next chapter on maturation and wood.
 Will following these suggestions result in a beer that tastes like a lambic produced
in the S enne Valley? That question can only be answered on a case-by-case basis. Even
in the Payo enland, a new brewery may not produce a quality lambic, at least not in a
short period of time. The same microorganisms—Pediococcus, Lactobacillus,
Brettanomyces, and even Saccharomyces—infect beer all over the world. With the proper
facilities, it may be surprising how close a beer can come. The question remains, can a
brewer produce a “local lambic” that tastes pleasant?
FERMENTATION CYCLE OF LAMBIC
N ow let’s consider the fermentation cycle of lambic. A mong beers, it is the most
unique in the world. There may be more than 200 different strains of microorganisms
that take more than two years to complete their appointed tasks. That a similar
product results time after time, albeit with a li le help from the producers, virtually
represents a “miracle” of brewing. S cientists and brewers alike have studied lambic
fermentation, noted the by-products the dominant microorganisms produce, and have
ascertained the stages through which a cask of lambic will pass. This teaches us both
what to expect during spontaneous fermentation, and about the microorganisms
necessary to effectively mimic the cycle of lambic fermentation.

The fermentation of lambic occurs in a specific sequence, each microbial species

growing at different rates before reaching a high enough cell count to act, in turn, on
the wort. The depletion of nutrients and oxygen, and the drop in pH caused by
fermentation, results in each type of microorganism being dominant at a different
time during the life cycle. The actual duration of each stage is not absolute but
dependent upon the ambient temperature in the fermentation rooms and the
particular concentration of microorganisms in each cask. These are two reasons why
even the same batch of lambic will taste differently from cask to cask. D r. Hubert
Verachtert and his colleagues at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium
conducted the research involved in determining the lambic fermentation cycle.
A seasonal beer, lambic is brewed and exposed to wild yeast and bacteria while in
the coolship and allowed a “primary fermentation” during the cooler months. The
onset of summer brings an increase in the population of lactic acid-producing bacteria.
The fall brings with it a secondary alcoholic fermentation by highly a enuative yeasts.
At Cantillon they say, “The beer must be inside the barrels for a summer and a
winter.” O nce this time has passed, the young lambic may be served or blended. The
onset of the second summer sees another increase in the population of lactic acid-
producing bacteria. Lambic exhibits a viscosity during the summer that makes it
unsuitable for blending. A fter two years, the lambic is fairly mature, almost a finished
product. A portion will mature an additional year to contribute the well-developed
flavors of an old lambic when blended as gueuze.

Until this century, no producer incurred the expense for direct control over the
temperature at which he fermented his lambic. Traditionally, the seasonal
temperatures affect lambic fermentation. The location of the barrels of fermenting
wort in the cellar, or in buildings with heavy stone walls and floors, resists any
dramatic seasonal temperature changes. I f the temperature stays at one extreme for
too long, however, it can rise in the cellar and pose some problems.
A hot summer will adversely affect a cask of lambic, potentially turning it to
vinegar. The lambic may become too acidic, as the lactic acid-producing bacteria can
grow at alarming rates. A ccording J ean Van Roy at Cantillon, anything above even 75°
F (24° C) in the building is too high for more than one or two weeks. A complete
summer where the temperature regularly reaches 86° F (300 C) may render lambic
undrinkable and even unblendable. Lambic that was exposed to higher temperatures
for an extended period of time may need to be dumped (or used to produce a bit of
faro).
The temperatures in winter, too, can be a factor. Bacteria experience li le growth
and fermentation when the temperature drops below 50° F (10° C). O nce the
temperature reaches 40° F (4° C), the wild yeasts begin to go dormant. The longer the
temperature rests below 40° F (4° C), the longer the current stage of fermentation will
take to complete. The winter temperatures will not damage the lambic, only prolong
the fermentation.
Lambic fermentation begins roughly three to seven days after cooling the wort. The
first stage lasts for about one week. At this time, the dominant organisms are
Enterobacter and strains of the yeast Kloeckera apiculata. W ort left without the suitable
amount of Saccharomyces present during a “common” fermentation serves as an ideal
breeding ground for aggressive microorganisms. Kloeckera apiculata produce a few
volatile esters that likely dissipate during fermentation. S cientists believe the real
contribution of this yeast to lambic fermentation involves breaking down proteins that
did not precipitate out during the boil. Kloeckera apiculata are eventually overgrown by
rising populations of Saccharomyces during the second stage of fermentation.
A s you might expect from an organism commonly associated with food spoilage,
Enterobacter can produce considerable off- flavors frequently characterized as vegetal
or fecal, as well as copious amounts of acetic and even lactic acid. S ome of the off-
flavors and aromas contributed by the Enterobacter are “scrubbed” and dissipate
during fermentation. The rapid growth of the Enterobacter during the early days of
fermentation produces much of the acetic acid and ethyl acetate found in lambic.
A dditionally, according to Verachtert, the rapid consumption of amino acids by
Enterobacter during this phase accounts for the slow start of alcoholic fermentation as
compared to other types of beer.
A ll organisms require certain conditions where they can grow and survive. D uring
fermentation both the composition and pH of the wort change dramatically. A s a
result, the viability of individual species of microorganisms varies as fermentation
progresses. The fast growth of Enterobacter causes the production of acid, resulting in a
significant decrease in the wort pH, from 5.1 to 4.6, according to D r. lean-Xavier
Guinard. Generally absent after two months of fermentation, Enterobacter begins to die
as the wort pH drops. W hile the contributions of Enterobacter are questionable, their
presence in lambic wort is unavoidable without manual intervention.
Many, perhaps all producers seem to find the flavor, aroma, and sometimes-
excessive amount of acid produced by Enterobacter to be undesirable. A dditionally, the
European Union has begun to question the (natural and centuries-old) presence of
“potentially harmful” Enterobacter sp. during fermentation. S ome lambic producers
have chosen to take steps to inhibit the growth of these bacteria and fight their ba les
in other places.
S ome lambic producers have begun to experiment with arresting the enteric stage
of fermentation through the addition of lactic acid to the fresh wort. The addition of
lactic acid will drop the pH of the wort and cause Enterobacter to die before growing to
a significant cell count and producing any undesirable substances.
O ne method of introducing lactic acid involves inoculating wort with enough food-
grade lactic acid to drop the pH to around 4. O ther lambic producers add cultures of
Lactobacillus—L. delbrueckii is generally blended with the wort as it is moved to the
“horny tank.” The lactic acid produced lowers the pH of the wort before too much
proteolytic activity and resulting by-products from the Enterobacter. The introduction
of lactic acid bacteria, as opposed to lactic acid, drops the pH naturally, and does not
lend an acidic character without other balancing by-products. I nhibited by hulupones
and by the falling pH, Lactobacillus delbrueckii also will die before producing any
significant amount of lactic acid relative to the eventual flavor of the lambic.
A rresting the growth of Enterobacter will decrease the acidity of the final product,
primarily acetic but also lactic. A lso, if the Enterobacter do not consume their requisite
nutrients (amino acids), it leaves more for consumption by yeasts such as
Saccharomyces and Brettanomyces. This will presumably allow alcoholic fermentation to
begin more quickly and serve to promote the growth of Brettanomyces. The lambic
producer must decide whether to a empt to avert the eventual off-flavors and acidity
the Enterobacter can cause while interfering with a natural part of fermentation.
Saccharomyces can begin alcoholic fermentation within three days to four weeks of
being racked into the cask. The fermentation time is not absolute; temperature will
influence the growth of S accharomyces. The warmer the wort becomes, the quicker the
alcoholic fermentation will begin and end. S ome lambic breweries get as cold as 32° F
(0° C) at night during the winter. J ean Van Roy told me of one extreme case where a
cask did not begin fermenting for six months, presumably due to cold temperatures.
Generally, the alcoholic fermentation by various Saccharomyces sp. will take about three
or four months. D uring this stage, roughly 60% of the total sugars will be fermented,
and the density of the “average” wort will drop to around 1.022 (5.5 °P). Saccharomyces
and Kloeckera apiculata also will begin to form capric acid, caprylic acid, ethyl caprate,
and ethyl caprylate.

S ince lambic is traditionally fermented in a single vessel, the trub and autolyzed
yeast are not separated from lambic as is common in other brewing practices once
alcoholic fermentation is complete. The nutrients contained within are used by the
lactic acid-producing bacteria and Breuanomyces yeast to reproduce and become
dominant during the next stages of fermentation.
 The lactic acid fermentation occurs after the completion of the primary alcoholic
fermentation: usually after three or four months, sometimes earlier, sometimes later.
Bacteria of the genus Pediococcus perform this phase of fermentation; any growth of
Lactobacillus is retarded by hop acids. The lambic tastes very sour during this phase,
which lasts as li le as three to four and usually no more than six or seven months.
S easonal temperatures play a determining factor in the speed of fermentation. D uring
this stage, the gravity of the “average” wort further lowers to about 1.012 (3 °P) with
roughly 80% of the total sugars being fermented. The substrates produced during the
turbid mash are consumed over time by the lactic acid-producing bacteria and are
essential to their proper growth.
A s they say at Cantillon, “Before S eptember, the beer will be sick.” D uring the first
warm day, certain strains of Pediococcus cerevisiae—sometimes known as Bacillus
viscosus bruxellensis—give the beer viscosity. This condition is described in some texts
as “ropiness” for the long strands of slime produced on the top of the wort. A ll lambic
must be “sick” at some point. “I t’s not bad—you can drink it—but it’s a bit like oil,”
says J ean Van Roy. With the “sickness” comes the production of lactic acid, which
gives the lambic its requisite tartness, and the characteristic ester ethyl lactate, which
contributes fruitiness. The ropy character begins to disappear with the first cold night,
after which the lambic will be ready to serve or blend.
Nineteenth Century Lambic Fermentation

D r. jean-Xavier Guinard mentions that in the mid-nineteenth century, a ropy

character was considered a defect in lambic contributing to this “contamination.”
This being the case, a sizeable portion of the microorganisms would have come
from the casks. George Maw J ohnson wrote in 1917, “The original ferment was
supposed to have been derived from wine lees, by the simple process of allowing
wort to ferment in wine casks. N o yeast was added.” This underscores the
importance of microorganisms from the wood.
Frank Boon on the changing character of lambic during fermentation

Lambic is indeed a funny beer. A fter three to four weeks, it is very full and
very yeasty and has some bi erness. A fter four or five months, it can be very
unpleasant. The bi erness disappears, the first trace of acidity appears, and it has
less esters than the end. At certain moments it is very pleasant, and others it is
not. O ld lambic is similar to white wines, young lambic is similar to German
weizen beers. I n between there is a change where the beer is a bit strange. I t is too
bi er to be old and has too much acidity to be young. There is a lack of esters and
a lack of fullness.
A fter the summer comes and goes, a second alcoholic fermentation begins. The
second alcoholic fermentation belongs to strains of the genus Brettanomyces, which will
ferment nearly all of the remaining sugars. Brettanomyces do not wait for six to eight
months to grow. They have been reproducing since their introduction to the wort and
slowly fed on maltose and glucose before faster-growing populations of Saccharomyces
consumed the bulk of those sugars. The Brettanomyces were not present in enough
quantity to produce any notable by-products until this point in fermentation. S tudies
have shown Brettanomyces are difficult to detect during the early stages of
fermentation, even in wines, when in the presence of other microorganisms.
Brettanomyces contribute many acids and esters important to the final character of
lambic. Levels of lactic acid and ethyl lactate increase, and the amount of acetic acid
and ethyl acetate produced satisfies the palate of most lambic producers. O ther acids
(isovaleric, etc.) and esters (4-ethyl-guaiacol, etc.) are hopefully produced only in
modest quantities. Compounds known as tetrahydropyridines, commonly a ributed
to Brettanomyces but also synthesized by certain strains of Lactobacillus, may contribute
the objectionable “mousy” or “horsy” character. The concentration of these acids
determines whether the character becomes complementary or offensive.
Brettanomyces will ferment for up to sixteen months, generally finishing after the
second summer, at some point dropping the wort pH below 3.5. D uring this time they
will form a characteristic pellicle on the top of the wort, which people believe prevents
oxidation and also guards against Acetobacter while making use of atmospheric oxygen.
Brettanomyces eventually begin to run out of sugars to ferment and will feed on
nutrients present in autolyzed Saccharomyces at the bo om of the barrel. A s time
passes, the liquid in the barrels evaporates, and the wort will be exposed to oxygen and
Acetobacter without the protective covering. This would not be necessary if the cask was
filled every few months, as in winemaking, and some lambic producers may take this
less-than-traditional step to further prevent acetification.
Brettanomyces do not share the dietary restrictions of Saccharomyces and have not
found a sugar to be unfermentable, with the apparent exception of lactose in many
strains. O ver the course of this stage of lambic fermentation, virtually all of the
remaining carbohydrates in the wort will be fermented. O nly the interruption of the
process by pasteurization or the addition of artificial sweetener will result in a sweet
lambic (or gueuze). I dentified by Verachtert as “supera enuation,” a lambic will reach
a final apparent extract as low or lower than 0.1 Plato, nearly 1.000 S G. This condition
is a ributed to fermentation by the highly a enuative Brettanomyces yeasts in the
presence of the other organisms found in lambic wort.
 The Brouwerij Liefmans watches the river Schelde pass by from the eastern bank, as it has
since 1930. Wort is now only fermented and aged at this classic brewery.

The entrance to the revered Brouwerij Rodenbach in Roeselare, West Flanders frames the
historic malthouse, now part of a visitors center

The thoroughly modern Brouwerij Bavik holds dear the Flemish traditions of wood-aged
beer. The beer from many foudres will be blended to create Petrus Oud Bruin.
 Armand D eBelder inspects a freshly cleaned barrel outside one of several barrel
storehouses, all part of the Brouwerij D rie Fonteinen in Beersel, once home to many gueuze
blenders.

lean Van Roy, whose father set Brasserie Cantillon back down the path of traditional
gueuze, prepares to take a sample of lambic from a classic pipe.

The foudres barely clear the ceiling of the cellar at the Brouwerij Verhaeghe in Vichte,
West Flanders. The curved ceiling suggests the room once had a more formal use.
 The coolship was an integral part of the traditional Flemish brewhouse, as is this one at
De Dolle Brouwers in Esen, West Flanders.

The old mash tun and hop boiler are permanent fixtures in a living museum to lambic and
gueuze at the Brasserie Cantillon in urban Brussels.

The neighbors have a front row seat for the copper at the now sizeable M ort Subite brewery
in Kobbegem, the farthest north of the lambic producers.
 The modern coo/ship begins to fill with near-boiling wort at Brouwerij Lindemans in
Viezenbeek. The “cage” beneath the fill pipe is intended to catch hops and other large residue.

The courtyard of the residence and geuzestekehj of Sidy H anssens and J ohn M athys—
Hanssens Artisanaal in Dworp.

The D eBelder family has been serving lambic, traditional Flemish cuisine and other fine
dishes at their cafe in Beersel, south of Brussels, since 1961.
 The cafe and former geuzestekerij of H erberg M oriau, in tfie fiistoric town square of St.
Pieters-Leeuw, where the language of gueuze is still spoken.

The Lindemans’ farmhouse brewery as it has stood for more than 100 years. Behind the
original building stand many newer structures encompassing a very modern brewery.

The gummy remnants of a turbid mash have almost been cleaned out of the tun at
Brouwerij Boon in Lembeek.
 Bre anomyces at work! A pellicle protects the spontaneously fermenting wort at the
Gulpener Bierbrouwerij in the Netherlands, not very far from Brussels.
Floating to the top of the wort with Brettanomyces, other oxidative yeasts may
contribute a modest winy/cidery character. The predominant species Candida lambica
and Pichia fermentans have the ability to produce large quantities of acetic acid and
ethyl acetate when aerated. O xidative yeasts sometimes will become evident during
the fermentation of wine, acting as a harbinger to the development of Bre anomyces.
The vast majority of microbial activity now complete, Lambic will mature and develop
additional character for at least another year.
This “famous” graph (Lactic Fermentation Biochemistry) produced at the Catholic
University of Leuven is still the best illustration of the compounds produced during
traditional lambic fermentation.
MIXED FERMENTATION
Mixed fermentation first involves inoculating wort for primary fermentation,
commonly in a stainless steel vessel. I n some cases the inoculated culture will only
involve Saccharomyces cerevisiae, while in other cases Saccharomyces cerevisiae will be in
combination with beer-souring microorganisms, in what is known as a “mixed
culture.” The fermented beer ages for a period of time in wooden barrels containing
beer-souring organisms to induce a secondary fermentation.
 S ome producers prefer the use of a pure culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae for
primary fermentation. This promotes a cleaner alcoholic fermentation with no
interference from lactic acid-producing bacteria. The souring of the beer occurs solely
as the result of contact with microorganisms living in wood. O ther producers prefer
the use of a mixed culture. This allows souring in metal tanks immediately following
primary fermentation, plus the ability to more closely maintain the balance of what
organisms are in the beer and, therefore, what is introduced into the barrels.
S ome brewers find the use of a mixed culture advantageous, owing to the
possibility of “skimming” yeast from the top (or bo om) of wort during fermentation
to “repitch” into successive batches. Commonly practiced in Flanders (and by less-
than-traditional lambic producers), this centuries-old technique always assures a dose
of the same microorganisms in succeeding batches of beer, even if not in the same
proportions.
Mixed yeast cultures cannot be “repitched” forever. The bacteria eventually will
grow at disproportionate levels to the yeast. W yeast Laboratories found that with each
repitching of its “Roeselare Blend,” the lactic acid production became more
pronounced, until the resulting beer was unpalatable. A ccording to former Rodenbach
brewer Peter Bouckaert, when lactic acid production from the primary Rodenbach
culture became too harsh, it was washed at a pH of 2.1 for one hour to arrive at a lactic
acid bacteria level below 5%. A cid washing of mixed cultures may not be practical to
most small producers, and it may periodically be necessary to obtain a new culture
from a different brewery or yeast company.
FERMENTATION OF FLANDERS RED BEERS
Flanders red beer experiences a mixed fermentation, often begun with a mixed
culture. It undergoes a dual fermentation—a period of alcoholic fermentation followed
by a lactic acid fermentation. W ort initially ferments for up to eight weeks. O nce
complete, the won ages for eighteen months or longer, experiencing further
acidification and fermentation by highly a enuative yeasts and lactic acid-producing
bacteria. Sound simple? Read on.
The research into the fermentation of Flanders red ales is not as extensive as that
into lambic fermentation. D r. 1-lilde Martens, along with Verachtert, performed the
bulk of the research at the Catholic University of Leuven. These studies looked
specifically at beers known as “The A cid A les of Roeselare,” more commonly known
as Rodenbach beers. W hereas lambic follows much the same path through
fermentation, different Flanders red ales vary somewhat more in their fermentation
and aging. I describe some of these different methods while referring specifically to
fermentation as explained by Martens and Verachiert.
 Very li le mystery surrounds the use of a single, pure culture of yeast for
fermentation, at least not when compared to the use of a mixed culture. These mixed
cultures weren’t arbitrarily developed from isolated strains of wild yeast and bacteria.
Rodenbach, like other older breweries, once used a coolship (until 1992). I 'm told at
the brewery that Rodenbach spontaneously fermented beer until around the mid-
nineteenth century. (I ’m also told Rodenbach a empted to make a “gueuze” as
recently as 1970, and then stopped to focus on its primary red beer.) The mixed culture
at Rodenbach was developed from microorganisms that naturally occurred in wort
kept in that coolship.

A ccording to Martens, the Rodenbach culture contains onlySaccharomyces cerevisiae

and lactic acid-producing bacteria—no Brettanomyces or other wild yeasts. Likely when
developing that Rodenbach culture, the microbiologists isolated any naturally
occurring wild yeasts, preferring those microorganisms to come from wooden barrels.
The culture used today by several other Flanders breweries originated from the
Rodenbach culture.
I n spite of the mixed culture, the bulk of alcoholic fermentation still takes less than
a week. Li le acid is produced during this stage. I n fact, the presence of acid-
producing bacteria seems to have no effect as the wort reaches around 75%
a enuation. The precise a enuation depends largely on the a enuative capabilities of
the Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain(s) in the culture.
The time a wort spends in the primary fermenter depends upon the brewery.
Rodenbach ferments the “heavy beer” (1.052, 13 °P) for four weeks—at 71 °F(22 °C)
during primary alcoholic fermentation, and then at 59 °F (15 °C) during a secondary
period of lactic acid formation. The “light beer” (1.044, 11 “Plato), on the other hand,
ferments for up to eight weeks to promote greater lactic acid development (the heavy
beer is aged, the light beer is blended direrctly from the stainless steel tanks). O nce
the primary alcoholic fermentation completes, Saccharomyces cerevisiae give way to
growing populations of Lactobacillus, primarily strains of Lactobacillus delbrueckii. A s
lactic acid fermentation progresses, a noticeable increase in the amount of lactic acid
occurs, and populations of L. delbrueckii give way to those of Pediococcus parvulus.
Lactobacillus delbrueckii appears sensitive to the lactic acid produced, while P. parvulus
has a lesser aversion. The a enuation of both worts may increase by around 5% while
gaining an additional 0.5% abv during this period.
The next stage—tertiary fermentation in wooden vessels—is the most important
stage for all beers experiencing mixed fermentation. D uring this period, many of the
remaining sugars will be fermented by lactic acid-producing bacteria and highly
a enuative yeasts producing alcohol and characteristic acids and esters. Tertiary
fermentation may last from around eighteen months to as many as three years. The
beer in a barrel may stop maturing after two years, and the difference between two
and three, I ’m told, is often negligible. The duration of tertiary fermentation depends
on several factors, including the progress of the microorganisms in a specific barrel,
the decision of the blender as to when the contents of a barrel is ready, and,
economically speaking, how much product must be sold.
The amount of acetic and lactic acid will increase considerably during tertiary
fermentation, as well as the esters ethyl lactate and ethyl acetate, produced by
primarily Brettanomyces (most of the Lactobacillus dies during the earlier stage). The
balance between acetic acid, lactic acid, ethyl acetate, and ethyl lacatate is very
important. Brewers prefer a slower fermentation, as the microorganisms will more
effectively produce acids and esters in balanced amounts over a longer period of time.
Temperature contributes to the speed of wild fermentation. S imply put, warmer beer
matures more quickly, because wild yeast and bacteria prefer warmer temperatures.
Oxygen also influences fermentation. The greater the level of oxygen dissolved into the
wort, the faster the fermentation. The porous nature of a barrel plays a key role in the
amount of oxygen allowed into the wort, which will be covered in depth in the next
chapter.
At some point during tertiary fermentation, the Rodenbach heavy beer may reach
approximately 8% abv, while the pH may dip as low as 3.2. A ll Flanders beers
experiencing mixed fennentation will approach supera enuation, similar to lambic
The Flanders beers will come close to the terminal gravity of a lambic with a potential
final apparent a enuation of 98%. (The sweetness a ributed to some of the products
on the market comes from blending with younger beer or sugar and pasteurization.)
 Comparisons have been drawn between the fermentation cycles of lambic and
Flanders red beers. The development of the major microorganisms during the tertiary
fermentation is similar for both types of beer. O nce the Enterobacter and Saccharomyces
stages of lambic fermentation complete, similar fermentations occur involving
Brettanomyces and Pediococcus Virtually absent from the lambic fermentation is
Lactobacillus, which lambic brewers scrupulously avoid, but plays a key role in the acid
development of Flanders red ales.
Brettanomyces and Pediococcus appear to work best together at the fermentation of
dextrins. Both experience optimal growth when present in the same wort. The
relationship between Brettanomyces and lactic acid-producing bacteria during
fermentation is still poorly understood.
A be er explanation exists for the difference in the behavior of Brettanomyces
between spontaneous and mixed fermentation. The Flanders worts contain a high
concentration of fermentable sugars, most of which are consumed during the early
stages of fermentation by “early adaptors,” including Saccharomyces cerevisiae and lactic
acid-producing bacteria. The supplies of glucose and maltose are quickly depleted,
leaving a wort with fewer dextrins on which the Brettanomyces may feed than in a
lambic wort. By the time Brettanomyces achieve optimal cell growth for fermentation, a
lower amount of carbohydrates remain, thus a smaller amount of by-products. A lso
absent are the nutrients present in autolyzed Saccharomyces, since the Flanders acid
ales are transferred from their primary fermenting vessel after the completion of
primary and secondary fermentation.
The chart below compares a number of key characteristics between gueuze
refermented in the bo le and unblended Flanders red ale (of Roeselare). N ot a precise
account of the composition of these two types of beer, the chart displays an
approximate look at how they compare and differ. Most of the same dominant
microorganisms are responsible for their fermentation and similar by-products for
their flavor and aroma.
 INOCULATION
The most predictable way to make a “wild brew” involves the inoculation of wort
with one or more microorganisms (not of Saccharomyces sp.) capable of fermentation
and acidification. D ifferent types of wort include one of a lambic profile, one that
resembles a Flanders red or brown, or something completely different. Barrels
intended for tertiary aging of wort must, in many cases, still be inoculated with beer
containing fermenting and souring microorganisms that will become resident in the
wood. Exceptions include obtaining a mature barrel from a traditional wild beer
producer (dream on) or aging with the existing microorganisms in a used wine barrel
(more on the second topic in the next chapter).
Unless you are able to practice complete spontaneous fermentation, at some point
you will need to inoculate your wort with some type of culture or “cocktail"—a term
some brewers use to refer to their mixed culture of yeast and bacteria. Many
possibilities exist, including a wort fermented with a strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae,
one fermented with a mixed culture of yeast and bacteria, aged with Brettanomyces or
lactic acid-producing bacteria, or even fermented with only one or more Brettanomyces
sp. (really!).

Pure cultures exist of the dominant yeast and bacteria necessary to reproduce a
lambic (to some degree), a Flanders red-brown beer, or a new variation. Pre-mixed
blends of yeast and bacteria also exist to replicate the balance of microorganisms
needed to produce a lambic or Flanders red. The blends from the two major U.S . yeast
companies—Wyeast Laboratories and White Labs—are detailed in the Appendix.
Yeast blends work under the concept that the cells of the individual
microorganisms will grow proportionately to their original number in the blend, given
the proper nutrients, temperature, and oxygen. The different concentrations of
microorganisms in the blend reflect this balance. I n simplest terms purchase one of
the yeast blends, inoculate your wort, and wait. You may alternately choose to
purchase the proper microorganisms separately to a empt to control the fermentation
of a beer by inoculating (pitching) the microorganisms at different times throughout
fermentation. Before discussing the specifics of inoculation, one of the classic styles
uses this production method: Flanders brown/oud bruin.
FERMENTATION OF FLANDERS BROWN BEERS
Flanders browns remain the simpler of the two Flanders wild ales to ferment. The
brewer inoculates all of the necessary fermenting and acid-producing microorganisms
prior to primary fermentation. Flanders browns ferment for one week, generally in
open square vessels with a mixed culture. (The mixed culture at the classic East
Flanders brewery Liefmans originated at Rodenbach.)

A s wort ferments in an “open square,” some wild microorganisms come into

contact with the wort, most suppressed by healthily fermenting Saccharomyces
cerevisiae. For this reason, breweries in the United Kingdom using “open squares” do
not wind up with sour beer. (Those that do develop that taste due to poor sanitation.)
S imilar to the Flanders red ales, alcoholic fermentation by strains of Saccharomyces
cerevisiae lasts for about one week. The wort will be fermented to within roughly 75%
of the starting gravity. O nce primary fermentation completes, the brewer transfers the
wort to temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for a lengthy secondary
fermentation.
The secondary fermentation consists of acidification performed by populations of
lactic acid-producing bacteria. Populations of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus increase
during a period of warm fermentation for up to two brewing seasons. Higher
temperatures significantly favor lactic acid development. S tainless steel tanks
eliminate the threat of exposure to oxygen or ambient temperature fluctuation.
Heterofermennentative Lactobacillus produces acetic as well as lactic acid, the la er
being the more desirable. The longest aged worts in the tanks at Liefmans are
significantly drier and more lactic than the eventual (blended) product available in
bo les; however, they do not achieve supera enuation without the presence of
Brettanomyces.
INOCULATED LAMBIC
A true lambic must be spontaneously fermented. A brewer pitches
microorganisms dominant during lambic fermentation to effectively “mimic” the
fermentation cycle to produce a beer often called a “pseudo-Iambic.” The first decision
regards the choice between individual commercially available cultures of
Bre anomyces, Pediococcus cerevisiae, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, etc., or the use of a blend.
This choice depends largely upon your desire to “nudge” each different
microorganism by adding them at a specific time or by allowing the microorganisms
to follow the cycle on their own.
I feel if you are going to pitch all of the organisms at once, choose a blend for
microbial balance, ease of use, and lower cost. I am a fan of the laissez-faire doctrine of
pitching. The self-contained fermentative process of lambic cannot be precisely
reproduced by inoculation. I do not, however, dispute the success of brewers using a
“pitching schedule.” Brewers and scientists differ on the best order to pitch each
culture.
O ne schedule mirrors the microbial stages of lambic. Pitch the Saccharomyces
cerevisiae immediately after cooling the wort to 68° F (20° C). A fter the completion of
primary fermentation, add Pediococcus cerevisiae. A pproximately six months later, when
the pH is low, add Brettanomyces. This schedule a empts to introduce the
microorganisms to the wort at a time when conditions favor their growth and
production of their desired by-products.
A different schedule adds Brettanomyces immediately after the end of primary
fermentation, prior to any lactic acid-producing bacteria. A fter six to eight months,
add Pediococcus cerevisiae and wait. The theory behind this schedule is that you can
always acidify the wort later. This may differ from the traditional cycle, but
Brettanomyces grow slowly in lambic wort, and this schedule will give them a chance to
reproduce without acid-producing bacteria competing for nutrients. I f you are not
using a turbid mash, which favors Brettanomyces growth, this schedule may be your
best option.
A second decision regards Enterobacter. Commercially available lambic blends do
not include species of this duly maligned genus of bacteria. (N onpathogenic species
are available by special order from W yeast Laboratories, if you absolutely must have
them.) O ther homemade procedures such as the “kitchen inoculation”1 were
conceived to introduce what was once a largely unknown contributor to lambic
fermentation. Considering the lambic producers’ desire to avoid Enterobacter, in light
of the undesirable effect they can have on lambic, I think it’s best to leave them out of
inoculated lambic. The other microorganisms responsible for fermentation should
produce more than enough acid without objectionable side-effects.
Traditional lambic fermentation involved dozens of different strains of
microorganisms. I noculated lambic does not have this array of microbial diversity.
Homebrewers have found that periodically adding the dregs of a bo le of traditional
lambic to the fermenter will add to the population of microorganisms and promote
complexity.
The final point regarding inoculated lambic: Ferment the wort in a single vessel.
D o not transfer/rack the wort until you are ready to age a portion on fruit or to
blend/bo le. Use of a single vessel during all stages of fermentation allows the
microorganisms to metabolize nutrients present in autolyzed yeasts. Brettanomyces will
feed on these cells during the later phases of fermentation, when the supply of
dextrins has been exhausted. Brettanomyces will grow and produce their by-products
without autolyzed yeast, just not as effectively.
The fermentation of a lambic wort cannot be hurried. Lambic fermentation is the
snail of the brewing world. Given the proper growth factors, the microorganisms will
reproduce, ferment, and acidify the wort. I f a batch doesn’t have the desired
characteristics, wait another six months and take another sample.
INOCULATED FLANDERS RED
The fermentation of a Flanders red does not occur as naturally as a lambic, making
it easier to reproduce. Virtually identical microorganisms—Bre anomyces, Pediococcus,
and Saccharomyces cerevisiae—with the addition of Lactobacillus and Acetobacter to the
“cocktail,” ferment and acidify the wort. A brewer does not inoculate Acetobacter,
however; they “infect” wort via exposure to oxygen through wooden fermentation
vessels or suitable alternative (covered in depth in the next chapter).
First, decide on pure cultures of each microorganism or a commercially available
blend (see Appendix). I f you chose a blend, simply cool the wort and pitch the mixed
culture. I f you choose not to use a blend, ferment your wort with a neutral
Saccharomyces cerevisiae until it achieves the expected apparent a enuation, and pitch
your homemade cocktail with the wort in a secondary fermentation vessel.
Unlike lambic fermentation, rack the wort into a different vessel for the next stage
of fermentation. Brettanomyces only plays a supporting role in the acidification of a
Flanders red, so the wort need not be fermented on top of autolyzed yeast. For the
same reason, the involved pitching schedule of an inoculated lambic is unnecessary.
An equivalent amount of patience, however, is required.
BRETTANOMYCES
The black sheep of the brewing yeast family for centuries, while strain after strain
o f Saccharomyces have been cultured for everyday commercial use, Bre anomyces are
left to the fringe. Bring a beer you’ve made using Brettanomyces to a friend’s brewery,
and you may find yourself and your bo le being suddenly irradiated. Well, the Wild
Ones finally get their day! Brettanomyces can ferment more than a few scraps of
dextrins the Saccharomyces left at the table. Brettanomyces can ferment a wort without
help from their more popular cousins or clean up the scraps once the meal is
complete.
I n other words, Brettanomyces can be used as the only microorganism to ferment a
b eer. Brettanomyces reproduce as readily—albeit more slowly—than Saccharomyces
cerevisiae, conditions favoring. Variables include available oxygen, cell count, choice of
species and strains, available carbohydrates, temperature, and alcohol.
D uring the traditional tertiary fermentation of Belgian wild beers, when
Brettanomyces are most active, li le oxygen is available. A study conducted at the
Catholic University of Leuven found increasing the availability of oxygen increased the
cell count but decreased “overall activity” of Brettanomyces during fermentation.
Brettanomyces behave differently when fully aerated. They propagate faster and
ferment very fast in a standard fermentation environment, sometimes faster than
Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Too much oxygen can stress cell walls though, so don’t go
overboard with aeration.
O ne of the most important factors to a quick start to fermentation appears to be
cell count. Most strains of Brettanomyces reproduce more slowly than Saccharomyces
cerevisiae. Beginning fermentation with a higher cell count than normal appears to
promote a quicker start to fermentation.
The other important factor regarding a successful Brettanomyces fermentation
appears to be species/strain selection. S ome strains may reproduce at a rate similar to
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, some strains will grow more slowly, and others will show no
signs of fermentation in a reasonable period after inoculation. Remember, also,
Dekkera grows more slowly than Brettanomyces. S ome brewers believe the production
of compounds leading to a “mousy” character is strain dependent. The only way to
know how a particular strain will behave comes from experience.
Brettanomyces must compete for nutrients during spontaneous and mixed
fermentation. By the time Brettanomyces achieve a high enough cell count, a low
amount of available carbohydrates—mostly dextrins—remains. I ntroducing
Brettanomyces to unfermented wort without other competing microorganisms provides
a greater amount of carbohydrates to ferment.
Conditions favoring, Brettanomyces can ferment a wort of moderate starting gravity
within a couple points of a “typical” finishing gravity within about one to two weeks.
Temperature will influence the speed of fermentation. Fermentation temperatures as
high as 78° F (26° C) promote a rapid fermentation. Temperatures over 80° F (27° C)
may contribute to unpleasant characteristics. Temperatures under 70° F (21° C)
promote a slower fermentation and give the Brettanomyces more time to form the
requisite by-products.
Brettanomyces do not exhibit supera enuative properties as the only fermenting
microorganisms in wort. They leave a higher amount of sugars unfermented,
exhibiting a behavior similar to Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A s a solo act, Brettanomyces
appear to be satisfied with “fermentable” sugars, at least in the short term. W hile too
new to understand long-term behavior following solo fermentation, a safe assumption
is that Brettanomyces will continue to ferment dextrins at a slow rate.
A lcohol generally does not bother Brettanomyces. Gueuze and Flanders acid ale
ferment to 7 to 8% abv; strong, aged English ales were commonly infected with
Brettanomyces; and they can also live in wine to roughly 18% abv (although in
laboratory tests they die at around 13% abv). The higher concentration of sugar prior
to primary fermentation that is necessary to produce a stronger beer, however, may
have a detrimental effect on the cell walls. Brettanomyces likely will get tired in higher
alcohol beers—similar to Saccharomyces—and take a long time to complete
fermentation or leave a higher finishing gravity.
Brettanomyces will readily form acids and esters during a long, slow fermentation,
but not so easily during a conventional fermentation. Fermentation is a reductive
process. Brettanomyces is an oxidative yeast; the production of acids is an oxidative
process. The nature of each of the two processes is somewhat mutually exclusive.
Brettanomyces will, therefore, produce alcohol more quickly than acid during a
conventional fermentation.
Brewers often favor ethyl lactate, esterified from alcohol and lactic acid, for
characteristically fruity aromas. There may be li le or no lactic acid produced during
primary fermentation by Brettanomyces. S imply adding lactic acid to the fermenter can
contribute a harsh sourness. A s a more desirable solution, add some acidulated malt
to the grist. A nother more natural method—suggested by Peter Bouckaert—involves
taking a portion of the first runnings of the mash and acidifying with Lactobacillus,
then adding the solution to the ke le at the end of the boil. N ot much lactic acid is
required; don’t bother with a sour mash.

Brettanomyces can still fill their role as complementary yeast to Saccharomyces

cerevisiae. O ne or more strains can be added to a beer at bo ling. Wild character will
develop and become stronger over time and can be accelerated a bit by higher
temperatures. Brettanomyces will slowly ferment dextrins, but the beer will not reach
superattenuation.
N o studies have been conducted on Brettanomyces for use as the sole source of
fermentation. More traditional characteristics occur during slower fermentation.
Rushing the fermentation with aeration, higher cell counts, and temperatures may
reduce the traditional “wild” character.
S tudies on yeast strains suitable for the fermentation of beer concentrate on
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, because funding comes from large brewing companies. The
bulk of what we know about Brettanomyces comes from studies on lambic and from the
wine industry. Generally seen as an overall contributor to fermentation, Brettanomyces
generally appear during the later stages of fermentation. O nly very recently a select
few A merican breweries have begun breaking their own ground and trying entirely
new things with Brettanomyces.
LACTIC ACID-PRODUCING BACTERIA
Lactic acid can be pleasant as the only sour character in a beer, though not in more
than a relatively modest quantity. Beers from the Fantome brewery in Belgium often
develop a “house” lactic character, particular to the terroir, that ranges from pleasingly
complementary to terribly oppressive. Lactic acid-producing bacteria can grow out of
control without warning.
Lactobacillus and Pediococcus will produce copious amounts of acid when pitched
with high enough cell counts and at the optimal temperature. I f pitched along with
Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the yeast generally dominate the bacteria. I n most cases
Lactobacillus and Pediococcus do not come into play until most of the simple sugars have
been fermented, and the bacteria must feed on the remaining complex sugars at a
much slower rate.
Lactic acid will develop over time, and production may be accelerated by warmer
temperatures and retarded by alcohol. Lactobacillus and Pediococcus both produce lactic
acid. S ome species of Lactobacillus (i.e., L. delbrueckii) produce only lactic acid but react
negatively to hop acids. O ther species (i.e., L. brevis) have no aversion to hop acids but
produce a number of other acids and diacetyl. Pediococcus damnosus is rather hop-
tolerant and produces not only lactic acid but also high levels of diacetyl.
O ne interesting way of acidifying a beer was proposed by Martens, who suggested
a split fermentation involving the same or similar worts in two fermenting vessels.
I noculate one fermentation vessel with a Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the other with
Lactobacillus and/or Pediococcus. Blend the eventual beers (to taste) to make the final
product. To increase the amount of lactic acid produced, ferment the batch containing
lactic acid-producing bacteria at a warmer temperature, as high as 98° F (37° C). This
technique is sometimes used in the production of Berliner weisse. A split
fermentation, however, concentrates on lactic acid production without other flavor and
aroma components, including acetic acid, ethyl acetate, and ethyl lactate.
 D on’t feel that the addition of lactic acid to a beer will lend a character comparable
to that contributed by lactic acid-producing bacteria. The flavors resulting from the
addition of lactic acid, on its own, have been described as harsh and medicinal without
other balancing by-products produced by bacteria. This book is about wild brews, not
sour beers.
1The ‘kitchen inoculation’involves exposing wort to Enterobacter commonly found
where raw food is prepared. I do not recommend this procedure.
 Fermentation and Maturation Vessels

“They [the barrels] keep secrets even I do not know.”

—Rudi Ghequire of Brouwerij Rodenbach

Most brewers find the choice of a fermentation vessel a simple one. Commercial
brewers generally choose stainless steel cylindroconical tanks. The homebrewer
commonly chooses glass—a 5-gallon glass carboy. W ood is extremely important to
wild brewers. Most traditional producers of wild beers age at least a portion of the
final product in wooden barrels for several years.
W hile the wild brewer may desire the flavors and aromas that may be imparted
from the wood, more importantly, the wooden barrel provides beer-souring
microorganisms with a place to live and breed. Many of these microorganisms require
at least small amounts of oxygen to live and propagate. Brettanomyces, in particular,
ferments be er in the presence of oxygen. W ood’s porousness, both for the potential
for “infection” by microorganisms and for permeability to small amounts of oxygen,
accounts for its value in transforming the flavor and aroma of wort.
Anatomy of a Barrel

Stave A narrow strip of wood forming part of the sides.

Stave The point where two staves meet. Sometimes sealed with reeds or
Joint attached with dowels (wooden pegs), particularly in larger barrels.
Hoop Metal ring(s) that hold the barrel together.
Head The round(ed) sections, one on either end.
Croze Groove in the staves that receives the head.
Bung Small round opening on a side and/or in the head of a barrel through
Hole which liquid is poured or drained.
Bung Wooden stopper used to seal the bung hole.
Opening at the base of larger barrels through which can pass liquid or
Entryway
people (not at the same time).
A small “faucet” placed in the bunghole of a cask for the removal of
Spigot
liquid.
Wooden peg used to repair “end grain” leaks, usually near the croze, or
Spile
to plug up a bung that has been breached.
Wedge Angled piece of wood used to repair a leak in a head or stave.
The Lambic brewers consider the microorganisms living in the barrels as
important as those that inoculate wort overnight in the coolship. For Flanders beers,
many, if not all, species of microorganisms—save perhaps Saccharomyces cerevisiae—
live in the wood. A ccording to Frank Boon, “The finestBrettanomyces survive in the
wood.”
W ooden barrels hold a special relationship to the fermentation and maturation of
traditional and not-so-traditional wild beers. Key points to learn about barrels include
the different types, the wood used in construction, level of toast or char, flavor, and
aroma contributed to a beer, and how a barrel has been used. O nce familiar with those
points, it’s time to learn about selection, cleaning, usage, and ongoing care of a barrel.
But don’t be discouraged if you feel the use of wooden barrels is beyond your current
desire or capabilities. I also discuss alternatives such as oak chips and glass, plastic,
and stainless steel fermenters that will achieve credible if not precisely comparable
results. First, onto wood!
CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOD AND BARRELS
Factors including the type of wood, method of production, size, and prior use will
affect the amount of character imparted from a barrel to the liquid stored within. A
brewer must first understand these factors in order to properly select a barrel for the
fermentation and/or maturation of a wild brew.
Traditional brewers favor oak as the primary wood used to produce their barrels
for its strength, resistance to decay, and general ease of use. O ak will always impart
some of its own character to a beer. The wild brewer desires barrels already used to
age an alcoholic beverage, as the character contributed by a new barrel will be
oppressive.
The designation “oaky” refers to the aroma or flavor of a liquid that has interacted
with the oak while in a barrel. More than 200 components of wood may directly
contribute to an alcoholic beverage, although only about a dozen are detectable by the
human palate, and three deserve closer a ention. O ne of the primary compounds
contributed is vanillin. This compound will lend a vanillalike aroma and
corresponding sweetness, even in barely detectable amounts. O ak also contributes
tannins. This compound adds a drying, astringent, acidic character often present in
red wines. A third—the unique spicy character contributed by methyloctalactones—
differs according to the origin (country, region, and even forest) of the wood.
The classic wood for the production of wine barrels comes from French oak—either
the fragile European oak (Q uercus sessiliflora) or the English oak (Q uercus robur), also
known as “common oak” to arborists. I deal for its high level of tannin, French oak
exhibits a highly porous nature. A dditionally, the forests (some of which date back to
the time of N apoleon) are close to the great wine-producing regions. The oak from
different French forests each lend slightly different “spice” characteristics. The high
production costs associated with French oak mean the barrels will generally be
expensive.
Finally gaining acceptance around the world for wine barrel production, the strong
N orth A merican oak (Q uercus alba) or white oak is commonly used to make barrels
destined for Kentucky or Tennessee to age bourbon or whiskey. Barrels made from
A merican oak will contribute a high degree of vanilla and toastiness. “S pice” flavors
contributed by A merican oak vary more widely from different states and different
forests than do those contributed by French oak. Barrels made from A merican oak
typically cost less than half the price of French oak barrels.
The perception of A merican oak as inferior to French oak was once accredited to a
problem with the wood. Experts now a ribute the cause to the preparation of the
wood and method of barrel construction. The traditional French method of producing
barrels involves air-drying the wood for at least twenty-four months to a ain the
necessary seasoning. The newer A merican method, which uses a kiln to dry the wood,
is more suited to whiskey and bourbon than wine. A dditionally, the staves for whiskey
and bourbon barrels are sawn, while French barrelmakers split the wood along the
grain. These two differences in the French method produce barrels with a more subtle
effect on wine.
The way the wood is treated exhibits a great deal of influence on the amount of
character the barrel will impart. D uring construction, a cooper places a partially
assembled barrel over a wood fire. D uring this step, the inside of the barrel will be
“charred” in a kiln to produce whiskey and bourbon barrels or “toasted” over a fire for
use with wine. Essentially produced with light, medium, or heavy toast/char, the
amount or depth has an effect on the eventual contents of the barrel. The heavier the
toast/char, the greater the character imparted. The decision on the level of toast for
wine barrels depends on the grape variety and style of wine to be produced. A merican
whiskey or bourbon producers often prefer a heavy char to impart greater oak and
often a “burnt” character to their liquor.
By the middle of the twentieth century, most barrels used to hold beer were
“pitched"—lined with an organic resin or wax to isolate the beer from the actual wood.
This served to effectively eliminate any sour character imparted from microorganisms
living in the barrel. I t also eliminated any character the wood imparted to the beer.
Producers of other alcoholic beverages generally did not follow this practice, as they
desired the contributions from the wood.
The contributions of oak aging are considered essential to many fine wines.
Producers of specialty wines, including cognac, port, and sherry, consider oak barrels
an irreplaceable part of their production. D istillers commonly age S cotch, other
whiskeys, and bourbon for more than a decade in oak. Even beer was once commonly
fermented and aged in barrels, but that is now reserved for only a select number of
products. A ging one of these alcoholic beverages in an oak barrel will extract some of
the compounds, rendering the effects of the oak less pronounced on succeeding
batches;1 eventually, this process leaves a barrel well suited for use by the wild brewer.
Each batch of alcoholic liquid matured in a barrel extracts tannins and other
compounds, leaving less and less in the wood, until the barrel has li le to contribute.
A barrel used to mature six batches of wine, for instance, will have less character to
contribute than one used only three times. The age of the barrel is also important. O ne
cooperage in Bordeaux states a barrel will contribute aromatic compounds to a wine
for two years and allow fermentation for another three, before sediment and oxidation
will end its useful life for the winemaker.
Used barrels have li le use to winemakers. To remedy this, barrels may be
subjected to a reconditioning or “retoasting” process, which cleans the barrel and
replaces the toast lost during the previous fermentations. This process involves
disassembling, stripping off a portion of the wood, toasting, and reassembling the
barrel. O ne Bordeaux cooperage warns of using “retoasted” barrels, saying they can
contribute a “burnt character.” This appears largely dependent on the actual process;
some are less abusive to the barrel than others. The reconditioning processes “revive”
the oak character subdued by years of aging wine by stripping the inner surface of the
barrel to reveal fresher oak underneath. The oak character will be more aggressive,
and the barrel staves thinner, as a result, neither of which is desirable to the wild
brewer.

SIZES OF BARRELS
Barrels come in many different styles. Most of the famous wine-making regions
(e.g., Bordeaux, Burgundy) have traditional shapes to their barrels (and bo les).
Barrels come in different sizes and have variations in the thickness of the staves. You
may find a barrel as small as 5 or 10 gallons (˜20–40 liters), although the beginning
(standard) size for a commercial wine or whiskey barrel in the United S tates is 53
gallons (200 liters). Many larger variations exist up to the type known as foudres,
ceiling-high barrels of varying capacity, as large as nearly 8,000 gallons (300
hectoliters).
Traditional brewers consider size an important factor in the fermentation and
maturation of beer. S imply put, larger barrels produce more complex wild beer. The
surface-to-volume ratio—the contact between the inner surface of the barrel and the
volume of the wort—contributes to the speed of fermentation.
 The surface-to-volume ratio gets smaller, as the size of the barrel increases. I n a
small barrel, you have a low volume of wort, but it is proportionally in contact with a
greater amount of wood. A s the size of the barrel increases, less liquid actually comes
in contact with wood. W ood is porous—permeable to oxygen. The lower the surface-to-
volume ratio, the less oxygen diffused into the beer.
The thickness of the barrel staves also influences the amount of oxygen diffused
into the beer. The thickness of the staves increases with the size of the barrel. Thicker
staves allow less oxygen to pass into the beer. The larger the barrel, the less
proportional oxygen diffused into the beer.
O xygen speeds fermentation by Brettanomyces, which ferment be er in the
presence of oxygen. A cid and ester production, however, do not proportionally
increase with the speed offer-mentation. O xygen also promotes the growth of
Acetobacter and retards the growth of Pediococcus and Lactobacillus. Higher levels of
oxygen will cause acetic acid and ethyl acetate to be produced more quickly than
balancing lactic acid and ethyl lactate. Too much acetic acid, and you have vinegar, not
a quality product.
 O xygen also speeds the fermentation of a wild beer and promotes growth of only
certain microorganisms. S lower fermentation produces a more complex beer of
potentially higher quality. The microorganisms in a barrel take time to produce their
respective by-products, which must be in balance and contribute to the complexity of
the beer. A dditionally, exposure of the wort to more oxygen increases the risk of
oxidation, a flaw in any beer.
The size of the barrel also helps to determine how much the changes in ambient
temperature will affect the beer. A liquid can only absorb and lose so much heat at a
time. The amount of time required for wort to gain or lose heat increases with the
volume of the wort. A larger volume of liquid will maintain a consistent temperature
longer than a smaller volume. Temperature extremes throughout the year do not
concern brewers with larger barrels as much as those with smaller barrels.
SELECTING BARRELS
Many choices confront the wild brewer when selecting one or more barrels. They
include the type of wood, toast or char level, size, prior use, and condition. The brewer
also must decide what he/she expects from a barrel. D o you desire only the microbial
contents, a pleasant oaky character, or one of heavy char and whiskey flavor? D on’t be
limited to only one broad characteristic. The importance of a number of barrels with
different characteristics will become evident during the chapter on blending. W hile
reading this section, consider all of the potential options and characteristics available
when selecting one or more barrels.
Traditional wild beers generally receive minimal contributions from the actual oak.
S till, as one Flanders brewer mentioned, “O ak stays oak; you will never entirely lose
that character.” D epending on the character you find pleasant in a lambic, Flanders
acid ale, or unique interpretation, a complementary oaky character may be desirable.
Producers of wild beers consider the character imparted by a new barrel, however, to
be quite oppressive. You will want to choose a used barrel from a number of possible
sources.
Preferred for Lambic and Flanders acid ales, wine barrels present both a mellow
character and microorganisms already resident in the wood. S pecialty wine barrels,
such as those used to ferment cognac or port, maintain a unique character contributed
to the wood by the specific wine. W hiskey and bourbon barrels will contribute a
powerful character, although it is generally considered too dominant for traditional
wild beers. O ther less aggressive distilled spirits leave barrels acceptable for many
styles of wild beer. Two traditional gueuze blenders prefer used beer barrels, although
few breweries use barrels any longer to age beer.

How extensively a barrel was used also determines residual character. The
potential character imparted from the wood to a beer decreases with each “filling.”
Conversely, the character imparted from the previous contents of a barrel increases
with time and use. Cleaning the barrel directly influences residual character, which is
discussed in the next section.

The level of toast also has a direct effect on how much the barrel will influence its
contents. Lambic and Flanders red brewers generally prefer medium toast; for other
types of beer, it depends on how much wood character the brewer desires in a beer. A
higher toast will lend a more aggressive, oaky character. I mentioned brewers consider
the heavy char of bourbon and whiskey barrels too assertive for the traditional wild
beers. I f one of these barrels is your best option, don’t fret; some potential solutions
are described in the next section on cleaning the barrel.
The type of oak is an important factor in selection. W hile the debate over the
character contributed by French and A merican oak rages on, the wild brewer
considers French oak ideal for a different reason. French oak is generally thought to be
more porous than A merican oak, which aids in oxygen diffusion. Many of the resident
microbes require small amounts of oxygen to feed and propagate. A merican oak,
meanwhile, has more “water channels” that can block the air. The small producer,
however, must often face a compromise based on availability and cost.
Five- or 10-gallon (˜20–40 liter) barrels appear very compatible with the batch size
of a homebrewer, but wineries and distilleries consider them impractical. S mall
barrels can be found at shops that cater to home winemakers, but they’ll generally be
new and quite expensive. The price of a barrel does not drop in proportion to the size.
The most common size in the United S tates will be the 60-gallon (227-liter) wine barrel
or 53-gallon (200-liter) bourbon barrel. A winery or distillery may be looking to unload
a used barrel at a fraction of the original cost. W hile larger barrels produce more
complex results, the small producer and homebrewer also must consider availability
and the ability to fill and cellar a particular size of barrel.
S maller casks do present a few advantages to the smaller producer. First, they are
more manageable. S maller barrels are easier to move and to cellar; require less beer to
fill and less effort to empty. S econd, if time is a factor, beer in smaller barrels will
mature more quickly. I n the long run, the beer might not have the same complexity,
but you will have a finished product sooner using smaller barrels. Third, you
potentially have a greater variety of flavors and aromas when it comes time to blend.
S ince each barrel is unique, using the same volume of beer in a number of smaller
casks offers greater possibilities than using fewer larger casks.
Reconditioned barrels do not present an ideal option. I have never heard any of the
producers I speak with mention the use of reconditioned barrels (and they often feign
ignorance of the process). Traditional producers have their own cleaning process,
which is more applicable to fermenting and aging wild beer. A lso, do not select a
pitched barrel, which is effectively sealed from any microbial growth, or you will have
to remove the pitch before using the barrel.
W hether you purchase a used car or a used barrel, the condition is of utmost
importance. How was it treated, and how will it perform once you are the owner?
There are, of course, a number of factors to consider. Avoid barrels with any off-
aromas, as they may be evidence of harmful bacteria and/or mold that you may not be
able to remove. A n obvious ring or clumps of sediment around the inside of the barrel
also may be evidence of unwanted growth and be difficult to clean effectively. A sk
when the barrel was last emptied—that affects the condition of the wood. A freshly
emptied barrel will be more likely to be “watertight” and less likely to have mold
growth.
A ny growth inside the barrel may also signal the presence of oxygen due to a leak
or because the barrel has dried out. Check the condition of the wood and joints. The
barrel should be free of any small holes or bores (from insects), spiles or wedges, or
other obvious repairs. These may jeopardize the barrel’s ability to hold liquid without
leaking over a long period of time. Check the heads. They should fit cleanly into the
croze without any obvious gaps. D on’t be afraid to kick the tires. I f the barrel is big
enough, climb in and poke around a bit. I f not, give the barrel a good inspection with a
flashlight. Don’t wind up with a lemon!
BARRELS AND MICROORGANISMS
W ooden barrels present an ideal breeding ground for wild yeast and bacteria. But
how do they get in there, and how do we know they will produce a tasteful product?
The answer to the first question is rather concise: You put them there. The second
answer is also short but a bit harder to accept: You don’t know until your wort has
completed fermentation and maturation. The long answer to both questions can swing
a few variables in the brewer’s favor.
O K, I simplified a bit; microorganisms likely already live in used barrels. Wine
(and beer) barrels certainly have a plethora of microbes more than happy to at least
partially ferment and acidify wort. Brettanomyces find their way into even fresh barrels
containing unfermented wine. D istillers’ barrels will not contain any microorganisms
due to the presence of greater amounts of alcohol in the aging spirits. Empty that or
any barrel, let the alcohol evaporate, and allow it to dry, and colonies of lactic acid-
producing bacteria will feel quite at home. Microbes that grow after a barrel has been
emptied are usually not terribly friendly toward beer. A process of preparation and
inoculation will help stabilize the unknown ecosystem of a used barrel.
W hen I say “you put them there,” I mean remove the residue and microorganisms
that live on the inner surface of the barrel and replace them with the microorganisms
that were inoculated into a beer. By filling a barrel with inoculated, unfermented wort,
the brewer exposes the barrel to the microorganisms in the wort, which will make a
(hopefully) happy home of the “new” barrel. But before filling a “new” barrel, it
should be cleaned.
O utsiders frequently mistake the conditions surrounding the barrels in many “wild
breweries” as a disregard for hygiene and sanitation. This is not true. I believe the wild
brewer has more to consider about hygiene than any other type of brewer in the world.
Most brewers use a combination of chemicals to hopefully rid the brewery of all
microorganisms. The chemicals designed to clean the modern brewery are
unacceptable for cleaning barrels, as they will have a negative effect on and will leach
into the wood and, eventually, your beer.
 The wild brewer fights to keep wild yeast and bacteria at bay, while never
completely destroying them. W ood is porous and virtually impossible to totally
disinfect. Besides, the wild brewer doesn’t want to disinfect a barrel completely. The
wild brewer wishes to eliminate the “weaker,” more plentiful microorganisms while
allowing the “stronger” ones to survive. Generally, good, strong microorganisms that
produce a “pleasant” character live deeper in the wood. The cleaning regimen of the
traditional producer rids the barrels of residue and promotes “the survival of the
fittest.”
I don’t wish to discount the brewers who use unrinsed wine barrels. The lees
present in a freshly emptied wine barrel can help to age a very pleasant beer. I
emphasize the word “fresh.” Wait very long, and the barrel will be ripe with unwanted
growth of bacteria and mold. Ridding the barrel of unknown yeast and bacteria before
replacing them with microorganisms present in your own beer simply represents a
more predictable solution.
PREPARING A BARREL FOR FIRST USE
A fresh barrel arrives at your doorstep. Time to roll up your sleeves. The steps
necessary to prepare a barrel for use include rinsing, scraping, and “disinfecting” the
barrel.
S ome producers start with a cold-water rinse of the barrel, while others prefer
warm water of not more than 140° F (60° C). S ome wineries recommend water as hot as
170° F (77° C), although many traditional producers feel the use of very hot water may
cause the wood to warp and promote leaks. Wineries and breweries use both low-
pressure and high-pressure rinses, although some producers believe a high-pressure
rinse may damage the wood. S ome form of rinsing is necessary to remove most of the
residue from the previous contents of the barrel.
The pores of the wood have been closed by the years of fermentation and aging of
alcoholic liquid in the barrel. They must be reopened to promote oxygen diffusion and
the growth of yeast and bacteria. You also need to remove winestone and beerstone2
from the inner surface. S ome Lambic brewers have a machine that rotates sharp
chains through the barrels to perform this task. O thers brewers use stiff, sharp
brushes to scrape the insides of their barrels. I f your barrel is large enough, you can
just hop in and scrape away. I t is usually only necessary to remove a millimeter or less
of inner surface wood, so a paint scraper or similar tool is adequate. The most difficult,
traditional method is to partially or completely disassemble a barrel3 and shave the
inner surface, often with some type of wood planer. I f you have acquired a barrel with
a heavy char layer and wish to reproduce the classic styles, you may need to
disassemble it to effectively remove that layer. (O ne U.S . brewer tells me a strong, hot
water spray will remove a portion of the layer of heavy char.)
A fter rinsing and scraping, sulfur dioxide will eliminate mold, yeast, and bacteria
remaining on the inner surface but not the ones deeper in the wood. Yeast and
bacteria can penetrate 6 to 7 millimeters (approximately one-quarter inch) into the
inner surface of the barrel. Burning a sulfur stick suspended on a wire through the
bunghole into the barrel releases sulfur dioxide. Careful, it’s very hot and harmful to
inhale! A nother option—use a solution of cold water and potassium metabisulfite or
sodium bisulfite, which release sulfur dioxide when dissolved in liquid. These
compounds are commonly used in the wine industry and are available from
winemaking resources. I f the barrel has dried or it will dry before you are ready to use
it, store the barrel with a sulfite solution, which will retard the formation of mold and
other contaminants.
S ome brewers and winemakers choose steam as an alternative cleaning and
sanitizing method. S team will expand to touch the entire inner surface of the barrel.
S team contains energy, known as the heat of vaporization that was necessary to
change water from a liquid to a gas. A s the steam comes in contact with the inner
surface, it condenses to liquid and transfers that energy, effectively removing the
residue and heating the inner surface. S team burns skin nearly on contact, as it will
almost instantly transfer heat of vaporization to the skin.
S team generally does not present a cost-effective option to merit its use for
occasional cleaning. The size of a barrel should also be considered. The larger the
barrel, the more time and energy required to raise the temperature of the wood to an
adequate level. For a foudre, the wood is too thick to raise the temperature to an
acceptable level over a reasonable period of time.
A fter cleaning, there should be no residue on the inner surface of the barrel. The
only remaining microorganisms survive within the wood. The aroma of what was
previously in the barrel may still be evident. The characteristics of the previous
contents are commonly noticeable in the first batch or two of beer aged in the barrel.
This character will diminish with use, and blending with beers from older barrels will
minimize the effect in the final product (covered in the next chapter).
INOCULATING BARRELS
Time to put those microorganisms into the barrel. The microbes still residing in
the wood after cleaning will not sufficienly ferment the first batch. Most wild brews
enter the barrel with some portion of the microorganisms necessary to ferment and
acidify. The new wild brewer must choose whether to follow the example of the lambic
or of the Flanders acid ale producers.
Lambic wort becomes inoculated (overnight, in the cool-ship) with many of the
species of microorganisms necessary to ferment and acidify. W hether wort has been
spontaneously inoculated or done so with one or more cultures of yeast and bacteria, it
has a population of microorganisms ready for fermentation. A dd your wort to the
barrel, and be (very) patient.
A fter a barrel in a Flanders brewery has been cleaned, it is customary to add a
portion of “older” wort—around 10%—from an “established” barrel. This means
using wort nearing the end of its maturation cycle from a barrel that has been
producing consistent results. This wort will pass along the microorganisms
responsible for a “quality” batch of beer to the new wort and barrel. “Old” beer should
be used, as younger beer likely will not contain large enough populations of
microorganisms to effectively reproduce in the fresh wort and inoculate the barrel.
Traditional producers of Lambic and Flanders acid ales alike desire a barrel that
will have a consistent effect on the beer, time after time. Brewers desire the correct
combination of microorganisms in a barrel that will produce a consistent, pleasant
b eer. A foudre, given the slow diffusion of oxygen and slower resulting speed of
fermentation, will achieve greater consistency than smaller barrels.
Beer from a large established barrel represents an excellent source of healthy
microorganisms for fresh wort and new barrels. This technique has been practiced for
centuries by the brewers of Flanders, but historically is considered taboo in the world
of spontaneously fermented traditional Lambic. N o longer unheard of in Lambic
production, the use of old beer to promote consistent fermentation presents one
solution to the reported problems with the microflora surrounding Brussels.

A small U.S . producer may never achieve the consistency of the traditional Belgian
producers, at least not without devoting many years, many dollars, and many barrels
to the cause. Even in Belgium, one barrel seldom produces a product ideal for
consumption without blending. S till, the perfectionists in Flanders, the Payo enland,
and Fort Collins did not develop overnight. Beginning wild brewers first must simply
strive to produce an enjoyable product without comparing the result to the beers of a
hundred-year-old Belgian brewery.
MAINTAINING BARRELS
S imilar to wine or spirits, each batch of beer aged in a barrel has a cumulative
effect on the wood. S ucceeding batches of beer, aged in a barrel, will have a
detrimental effect. Wild yeast and bacteria multiply as beer ages in the wood. A cid-
producing bacteria tend to grow at a faster rate than other microorganisms, which
naturally results in higher and higher levels of acid production. O ver time, the beer
aged in a barrel can become too acidic for consumption. A lso, beerstone will form on
the inner surface of the barrel, as it will on any surface left in contact with beer.
Beerstone eventually can lead to a partial or total blockage of the pores of me wood,
thereby cu ing off the microorganisms from oxygen, reducing the effectiveness of the
barrel.
The continuing growth of microorganisms within a barrel prohibits indefinite use
without proper care. The traditional producers religiously clean their barrels. Lambic
producers may put a barrel through the regimen of rinsing, scraping, and disinfecting
prior to every new filling. Flanders brewers go through this process as often as every
two fillings. The coopers at Rodenbach will completely disassemble and clean afoudre
at least once every twenty years. The size of the barrel influences the cleaning
schedule. Afoudre producing consistent beer likely will do so for a longer period of
time than will a smaller barrel, largely due to the diffusion of less oxygen and slower
resulting growth of Acetobacter and production of acetic acid.
The small producer’s cleaning schedule should be based primarily on the quality of
beer coming from a barrel and, realistically, how much effort he/she wishes to expend
at any given time. I ’ve met brewers in the United S tates who initially prepare their
barrels and then accept whatever effect the wood and resident microorganisms have
on the beer. O ver time, the resulting product can become highly acidic (even for my
palate). Too much acid and you have vinegar, not a quality wild beer.
Try not to let a barrel run dry between fillings. This leads to the growth of mold
and unwanted bacteria that will unpleasantly acidify beer. (I speak from experience!)
I f a barrel runs dry, give it a thorough cleaning, particularly a filling with a potassium
metabisulfite or sodium bisulfite solution.
With proper care, a barrel might outlast its owner. D oes a barrel ever need to be
retired? O nly the owner can make that decision. High levels of acidic liquid stored for
long periods of time can permanently damage wood. The brewer ultimately must be
happy with the character a barrel gives to beer. I f not, and the problem cannot be
corrected with a thorough cleaning, then it may be time to feed the campfire or add a
new planter to the patio.
Solera for Brewers
 The traditional method of aging sherry, known as the sherry solera, can give
the brewer some new ideas about aging wild beer. The solera—a series of casks-
can vary in number. The sherry producer blends the final product from multiple
casks, similar to lambic and Flanders red-brown beers. Blended sherry contains no
more than one-third of the old-est product. W hen the sherry blender removes a
portion of the oldest cask, he or she replaces it with sherry from the next oldest
cask, and so on until the youngest cask receives only new wine. The presence of
old sherry significantly affects the newer sherry while in the barrel. A pplied to
wild beer, a solera will not maintain the consistent taste desired by traditional
blenders. Peter Bouckaert states that with each filling, even with as li le as 10%
old beer, the taste of a cask can be quite dif-ferent. To the new wild brewer,
however, a solera represents yet another option to produce interesting beer.
OXYGEN IN THE BARREL
Beer-souring microorganisms require small amounts of oxygen, diffused into the
wort through the barrel staves. A ny additional oxygen can be detrimental to the beer.
More oxygen diffuses through thinner, smaller barrels than thicker, larger ones. Head
space—the layer of air between the top of the wort and the top of the inner layer of the
barrel—also will expose the wort to oxygen.
Head space inevitably increases as wort evaporates. This happens over time to any
liquid exposed to air. Head space also increases when the brewer removes beer from
the barrel for tasting or serving. Tasting maturing beer is a mixed bag. Beer must be
tasted in order to determine its “readiness,” but the process creates more head space
and introduces more oxygen into the barrel. This leaves the beer open to oxidization
and the influence of acetic acid. Too much acetic acid combined with ethanol, oxidized
into acetaldehyde, and you have only vinegar.
Brettanomyces (and other oxidative yeasts) will essentially protect a Lambic from air
in the cask by forming the characteristic pellicle on the top of the wort. (W hile
Brettanomyces also play a role in the fermentation of Flanders acid ales, no mention is
ever made of the pellicle.) This white layer of yeasts will use available oxygen during
the fermentative process and not allow it to diffuse into the wort. D ue to the pellicle,
Lambic brewers do not traditionally “top-off” a cask with additional wort—common
with must during the aging of wine. The pellicle plays an important role during the
long fermentation of a cask of Lambic.
Removing beer through the bunghole using a “wine thief” will disturb the
protective layer of oxidative yeasts and introduce oxygen directly into the wort. The
pellicle can “reseal” to some extent, so be careful to produce as small a hole as
possible. Without the pellicle, traditional producers will blend or bottle the beer.
The traditional brewer prefers to remove beer through a spigot, which leaves the
pellicle completely intact. A spigot can be added to a barrel that doesn’t already have
one. D rill the proper-sized hole into the head but be careful; not to large or it will leak.
S ome producers keep a cork in the hole during fermentation, preferring to drive the
cork into the liquid when time to bottle, like a keystone on a cask of real ale.
Flanders brewers cover the top of the wort in the barrel with a quantity of aged
hops—a sort of manmade pellicle—to reduce acetic acid and oxidization from head
space. This layer of hops will not only protect the wort from oxidation but will also
block any fungus that might grow in the head space from making contact with the
wort. Examination of this layer on a beer after an extended period of aging reveals a
white substance, likely mold, growing on the top.
Note on the Manufacture of Vingar-1917

There was another process in Belgium by which they sometimes made vinegar
unintentionally. I n Flanders they had a curious beer called “Lambic,” which was a
hopped malt-and- wheat wort allowed to ferment “spontaneously” in casks. The
original ferment was supposed to have been derived from wine lees, by the simple
process of allowing wort to ferment in wine casks. N o yeast was added. The casks,
of course, were not sterilized, and so the “wine ferment” started the fermentation.
Lambic took from two to three years to ferment, and one of the great enemies was
mother vinegar. O ccasionally, they got a cask apparently half filled with that
tenacious growth, and when a cask started making vinegar, it did not make beer.
The strange thing was that the vinegar and the alcoholic fermentation appeared to
go on simultaneously, or in any case alternately, acetifying following
fermentation.
C. Ainsworth Mitchell, B.A., F.I.C.
From a discussion by George Maw Johnson
Topping-off a barrel with fresh or even partially fermented wort presents a
tradeoff. Topping-off will reduce the effects of oxygen and Acetobacter but can change
the character of fermenting wort. Common among wine producers, Flanders brewers
(and even the occasional lambic producer, if no one is looking) sometimes employ this
technique. A dding a layer of CO2 on top of the beer represents a short-term solution
to head space. The CO2 will eventually diffuse, but is heavier than O 2 and should hang
out on top of the beer for a while.
THE LAMBIC CELLAR
The lambic cellar is a place most revered—and rightly so—in the world of
fermentation. D ozens of different strains of microorganisms busily go about their
work inside each oak cask, from the smallest barrel to the largest foudre. A term for the
room(s) filled with barrels, the cellar can be any room in the brewery (or blendery).
Condition often comes to mind when people think of the Lambic cellar. I mages of
dirty places where undisturbed cobwebs and spider webs and insects and spiders are
necessary for fermentation spring to mind. More of a practical issue than a necessity,
the dark, damp environment of most any cellar promotes the growth of cobwebs. S ays
Frank Boon, “I f you clean off the cobwebs they come back in two or three weeks. I t is
best to put efforts in other areas.” Brewers do respect the spider, since they eat
unwanted insects that often gather wherever fermentation occurs. N o Lambic brewer
would step on a spider!
Fermentation runs rampant throughout the Lambic cellar during the brewing
season. The kraeusen of fermentation bubbles freely up and out of the bungholes of
recently filled casks. N o blowoff tube here; fermentation is au naturel. The yeast foam
rising from the cask plays an important role, as it will solidify around the bunghole,
effectively sealing the cask. S ome producers have become dissatisfied with this
closure, preferring to bung the cask when obvious signs of fermentation begin to slow.
Barrels of all sizes may adorn the cellar. Foudres require large rooms with tall
ceilings. These “airplane hangars” of the Lambic world may contain more than two
dozen of the monstrous casks. That’s a lot of Lambic! S maller casks are staggered,
stacked two (sometimes three) high by two across in long rows. The brewer or blender
(and lucky guests) may periodically taste these casks during the course of
fermentation to check their progress.
Lambic blenders have wort from several different breweries in their cellars. I t’s not
unheard of to find the stray barrel of a different lambic even in a brewery, just for
variety during blending. S ymbols on the casks denote the brewery of origin. A single
letter often denotes the brewing season when the wort was produced.
Casks represent a great moving puzzle to the producer. W hat casks are ready, how
much do I need to blend, and where is there space for fresh wort? The brewer/blender
prefers to empty and fill a cask all at once to avoid introduction of oxygen, but this
may not be practical. Afoudre generally takes more than one batch of wort to fill.
I magine blending with that much lambic! Even one smaller barrel might be filled with
just one batch or two or more, depending on how much room remains.
A barrel must not be left partially empty for long. O xygen is the bane of every
brewer once fermentation has begun. Beyond the small amount diffused through the
wood, additional oxygen during the aging or transfer of wort will have a detrimental
effect. I t can oxidize the lambic and help turn it to vinegar. Frank Boon has gone to the
length of equipping his foudres with stainless steel pipes to allow the transfer of wort
without any oxygen coming into contact with his beer.
A brewery will commonly add new barrels both for additional capacity and to
account for normal wear and tear on older casks. W hen a Lambic brewery adds new
casks, they actually mean used casks from a winery, distillery, or top/bo om-
fermentation brewery. N ew barrels are well cleaned but will still add flavor to the
resulting beer for at least one filling before the original character ages out in favor of
the Lambic. Reportedly, some Lambic connoisseurs can identify the character of a new
distinctive barrel, such as a port or cognac barrel, in a blend, J ean Van Roy of Cantillon
tells me a “real Lambic” is produced in a cask used many times. I t often takes two to
four fillings before a cask produces a beer with the particular “house character ” of the
brewery. Perhaps it’s a Brussels thing: Cantillon and Belle-Vue have barrels
constructed of chestnut in addition to those of oak. The cellar is truly the heart of the
Lambic brewery.
ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS
Most traditional producers of wild brews believe you cannot produce their product
without wooden casks. The most successful U.S . producers also use oak barrels to
ferment and age their beer. I do believe a long aging in wood imparts a complexity—
which may or may not include an oaky character—largely absent with other methods.
W ooden barrels, however, may be impractical for some brewers. A lternatives to the
use of wooden casks by both commercial and homebrewers include fermenting and
aging in stainless steel, plastic, glass, and the use of pieces of oak.
S ome Belgian brewers produce Flanders red and Lambic in stainless steel tanks.
D irk Lindemans of the Lindemans brewery lists less risk of oxidation, a consistent
temperature, and ease of cleaning as advantages over oak barrels. Beers produced in
stainless steel never appear to quite reach the same level of complexity or a enuation
as those aged in wood. Very credible examples of Lambic and Flanders red may be
fermented and aged in stainless steel, but they will not have characteristics identical to
those aged in wood.
O ne problem with stainless steel tanks is that they have a smooth, solid inner
surface with no place for microorganisms to live and breed. By design, stainless steel
tanks effectively keep air away from the fermenting beer. Brewers who use stainless
steel fermenters largely ignore the topic of oxygen. The oxygen-poor environment of a
cylindroconical tank favors bacterial growth at the expense of wild yeast.
The commercial brewer must consider how long he or she must tie up valuable
tank space. Traditional Belgian Lambics and Flanders acid ales age for several years, a
long time to take a tank out of commission. This may be one reason why Lambic and
Flanders red ales aged in stainless steel are aged for less time than those aged in
wood. The quicker fermentation time needed for a beer fermented entirely with
Brettanomyces, however, makes that type of beer an ideal candidate for a stainless steel
fermenter.

The glass carboy is to the homebrewer what the cylindroconical tank is to the
commercial brewer. Glass, too, does not allow oxygen to diffuse into the contents nor
microorganisms to breed within the walls. A glass carboy does, however, have an
opening on the top through which oxygen will diffuse at different rates depending on
the type of stopper (see chart). Glass represents an excellent alternative to the wild
homebrewer lacking any inclination towards using barrels. Glass also allows the
brewer to view the pellicle formed by Brettanomyces (providing hours of entertainment
on cold winter nights).
Plastic fermentation vessels, designed for the wine industry, start at five gallons
and rise in size to many hundreds of gallons. Commonly made from standard food-
grade high-density polyethylene (HD PE), plastic fermenters exhibit a high
permeability to oxygen—actually too permeable for wild fermentation. W hile plastic
has the reputation of allowing bacteria to live in surface scratches, that potential
characteristic does not effectively mimic the staves of a barrel.
The chart below illustrates the amount of oxygen diffused through a number of
popular fermentation/maturation vessels. The data represents vessels used by both
commercial and home brewers. W hile a 10-gallon oak barrel allows roughly three
times the oxygen that a “standard” wine barrel does, this pales in comparison to the
average plastic homebrew fermenter. A lso note that a small (10-gallon) oak barrel
compares favorably to a significantly larger HD PE vessel Based primarily on oxygen
diffusion, a glass carboy (or small oak barrel) presents be er options for fermentation
than a plastic fermenter.

S everal commercial brewers and plenty of homebrewers add oak chips, oak cubes,
or chunks of (French) oak barrel staves to their fermenters to account for the absence
of wood. But why are pieces of wood in the fermenter desirable or even necessary?
Traditional producers use oak barrels for their porous surface and permeability to
oxygen rather than flavor and aroma contributions of the oak. How will a small
amount of oak chips immersed in liquid fulfill that role? The answer is, it won’t, but
oak in wort will give a few other contributions.
Pieces of oak will, of course, actually contribute some oak character to wort, if you
desire those traits in your beer. S ome of the same considerations apply here as when
using oak barrels. Chips, cubes, and segments generally come in medium or heavy
toast, with medium preferred. New oak will contribute a far too aggressive character to
your beer. S ome brewers recommend boiling the oak chips in a few changes of water
to remove the tannins. A lcohol, however, can leach out tannins that boiling water or
even chemicals will not. From personal experience, I know that you cannot age a beer
for years on boiled new oak chips without the oak character becoming too dominant.
The best results come from first aging them in beer, any kind of beer, to minimize that
character.
Pieces of oak can also be used to give a “spontaneous” boost to sluggish
fermentation. S oak some oak in beer, and leave it exposed, overnight, near your
coolship (or equivalent) to become inoculated with the resident microorganisms. The
next day, add them to your fermenter. The oak will provide additional microorganisms
for fermentation where the current populations in the wort are not sufficient.
O ak still provides a contribution to Brettanomyces, even without oxygen.
Brettanomyces will metabolize cellubiose from toasted wood. Even though oak chips at
the bo om of a fermenter will not provide oxygen, they will provide a valuable
carbohydrate for Brettanomyces.
Solera for Homebrewers

Homebrewer J eff Renner conceived a method of souring beer in a single vessel

he called solera. Begin with a vessel of beer, and let it age. A fter a period of time,
remove a portion (to consume), and replace it with new beer of a different style.
At some point very early in the solera, add a reasonably dark beer. The reduction
capacity of dark malts may help the beer to age more gracefully. O ver time, the
beer will develop “aged” flavors from the introduction of new beer. Unless
completely sterile, bacteria will be introduced and grow in the beer. Autolyzed
yeasts will provide nutrients, so filtered beer should be avoided. J eff uses a
stainless steel keg, and the resulting fermentations do produce C02, so the keg
must periodically be vented to purge the gas.
The appropriate quantity of oak to add to wort varies by form. A value of 0.5 ounces
per gallon (3.75 grams/liter) or roughly one pound per U.S . barrel (385 g/hl) of oak
cubes or chips is often considered “new barrel’ extraction rates for wine. The
extraction goes a bit slower on the staves, which contain less “end-grain” wood, so
generally about 1.5 ounces per gallon or three pounds per U.S . barrel (1.2 kg/hl) Many
red wines contain more oak character than commonly desirable in a wild beer, so err
on the side of caution, particularly when using fresh or boiled wood. Most brewers
find “new barrel” character undesirable in many wild beers.

1S ome distilled beverages (bourbon, for instance) are required by law to use only
new barrels for aging.
2Beerstone is an inorganic, insoluble, scalelike deposit composed primarily of
calcium oxalate (C: Ca04) that accumulates in beer-storage vessels. Winestone is a
similar insoluble deposit composed of tartar and potassium tartrate.
3This book cannot do justice to the specific details of disassembling and

reassembling a barrel. I f you choose to undertake this task, I recommend you consult
resources on coopering—the art of building and maintaining barrels.
 Finishing the Beer

“You must know by heart what all the barrels are doing, like a painter knows all of his
colors.”
—Frank Boon of Brouwerij Boon

The traditional producers of wild beers in Belgium don’t have much direct control
over fermentation. Even the newer producers in Belgium and the United S tates, who
have adapted some modern brewing practices, often find unexpected results when
working with Brettanomyces and lactic acid-producing bacteria. I dentically produced
worts may have different characteristics following fermentation and maturation.
A single batch of wild beer can be very different in the bo le as compared to
immediately following maturation. The decision to serve one batch as a finished
product, blend and further age all or a part of that batch with fruit, or blend with a
number of other different batches gives the wild brewer some control over the product
offered to the consumer. Refermentation in the bo le, too, will change the character of
the beer. These decisions all come into play once the wild brewer decides when a beer
is ready to serve or blend.
WHEN IS THE BEER “READY”?
Producers of lambic age beers for roughly one to three years, while Flanders acid
ale producers age their beers for eighteen to twenty-four months. These “standard”
periods regarding lambic and Flanders acid ales are approximations based on
traditional processes and materials over centuries of experience. Taken away from the
natural se ing, the processes may be incomplete, the yeasts and bacteria may behave
differently. A predefined time required for complete fermentation and flavor and
aroma production does not exist. The brewer must rely on tasting to best determine
the readiness of a beer both in N orth A merica and in Belgium. D oes the batch of beer
exhibit the desired characteristics?
A beer is ready when it tastes ready. The meat of that statement lies in the use of
the word “ready.” To determine when a batch of beer is ready is to know what you will
do next with the beer. For example, a lambic that is only one year old may be ready to
serve on draft in a cafe. That same lambic may also be ready to blend as a portion of a
gueuze but requires older beer as a part of the blend. O ur young lambic will not be
ready to blend with fruit, nor is it ready for bo ling. The wild brewer must understand
how different characteristics and finishing steps go hand-in-hand to produce a
finished product.
BLENDING 101
The art of lambic and Flanders acid ales, blending was popular throughout
England in the 1800s, a signature of the classic Ballantine A le in the United S tates
during W orld War I I , and an essential production step in larger breweries. Blending is
the brother of assemblage: “The blending together of component wine lots to form a
final composite intended for bottling, for aging, for sparkling wine production or some
other use by the winemaker.” A brewer blends beer for two basic reasons: to change
the character of the beer and/or to produce a consistent result not possible from a
single batch. S ometimes the traditional producer finds the occasional exemplary batch
of beer. He will bo le the standout as a “special Cuvée.” Most often, however, only the
result of a blend or several batches produces a truly sublime result. A single batch of
beer will taste different from the batch in the next barrel or in the one down the row
and to the right. Differing characteristics make blending possible.
Here the artisanal brewer and the mass-producer do something for one of the same
reasons: consistency. W hether brewed in Brussels or S t. Louis, every single batch of
beer will not taste exactly the same each and every time. O nly by blending several
batches can a consistent result be achieved. With so many variables involving beer-
souring organisms, this hold exponentially true with wild brews.
A nheuser-Busch carefully controls every step of the brewing process and still
blends to achieve an extremely high level of consistency. Traditional Belgian producers
don’t try to achieve that same level of control but still blend to reach a level of
consistency that is sufficient for “brand identity.”
The traditional producer blends a beer with his “signature” that the consumer will
recognize and enjoy, time after time. S maller producers and homebrewers, however,
do not have to be so bound to consistency. Many craft beer drinkers consider the
differences of a seasonal beer offering a part of the fun of visiting a brewpub in the
United S tates. W hile many beer consumers in the United S tates turn up their noses at
inconsistency, aficionados of wild beers usually revel in differences from vintage to
vintage.
Beyond consistency, the wild brewer blends to achieve a complexity not possible
from a single fermentation of beer. Blending does not simply disguise inferior batches,
a misconception sometimes held in the United S tates; blending achieves the creation
of new, unique products. Consider four basics when determining the components of a
blend: different casks produce different results, “young” beer and “old” beer each
contribute something different to a blend, fruit will completely change the character of
a beer, and not all characteristics of beer and/or fruit blend well together.
 BLENDING WITH FRUIT
Fruit and beer have gone together almost since beer was invented. Fruit
contributes wild yeast, fermentable sugar, and new flavors and aromas when blended
to create a completely different beer.
Belgian producers traditionally brewed only one type of beer. This limited the
selection of beers available at the local cafe. The cafe owner blended fruit with beer to
create a new beer. Belgian breweries and brewery groups that produce an entire range
of different beers only surfaced in the twentieth century. D espite the vast selection of
different beers available at many specialty beer bars and cafes, people still enjoy the
taste of fruit in beer.
O ne common misconception regarding traditional wild ales is that fruit is added to
sweeten beer. This does hold true regarding modern examples of kriek, framboise, and
other fruit beers. Large breweries add fruit, or more commonly, fruit syrup, and
pasteurize the resulting blend. Without yeast to start a refermentation, the sugars
from the fruit remain in the very sweet end product often more reminiscent of fruit
juice than actual beer. Live yeast present in traditional wild beer will completely
ferment the sugars in the fruit.
The resulting fermentation occurs in every traditional wild beer. S ugar plays a key
role in the characteristics of fruit. The blender considers balance between sweetness
and acidity essential to a pleasant fruit. That same sweetness can overpower the
character of the resulting beer. The refermentation changes the sugars into alcohol
and carbon dioxide. The carbon dioxide escapes from the fermenting beer. The
alcohol, along with the remaining flavor and aroma components of the fruit, produce
new characteristics in the beer. The marriage of flavors, fruit, and beer, as a result of
the refermentation, contributes a complexity not achieved by the addition of fruit
syrup.
Consider the characteristics of the available beers and the fruit when deciding on
the components of a blend. The blender searches for a “soft beer"; the beer chosen to
blend with fruit should not have too much bi erness, which does not complement
fruit flavor. The traditional producer will not put too much “character beer” with the
fruit. “Character beer” refers to the more aggressive, acidic batches, which may
overpower the fruit character, and is traditionally reserved for blending without fruit.
 Consideration also must be given to acidity when blending. Both the beer and fruit
contain acid; neither should be overtly acidic. A cidity increases as the blend matures.
Too much acid produced will result in vinegar come bo ling time. A cool temperature
during refermentation will help control acid production. For a truly excellent blend,
the character of the beer, the fruit, and the acidity must be in balance. The judgment
of what constitutes “in balance,” however, is very subjective, and a part of the art of
blending.
The blender must also consider the age of a beer. A nother common misconception
exists among U.S . brewers regarding when to add fruit to beer. Fruit should not be
added to very young beer. Consider the lessons regarding the bi erness, acidity, and
character of beer ideal for blending with fruit. The brewer cannot predict the eventual
character of young beer. Enough time must pass for the wild yeasts and bacteria to
produce acids and esters before adding fruit. The acidity contributed by the fruit may
harm the microorganisms before they can produce their requisite by-products.
lambic producers wait at least one year, and often two, before blending fruit with
their beer. Flanders acid ale producers will wait at least six months, and even eighteen
to twenty-four months, when the fermentation cycle is complete, before blending fruit.
A portion of young beer may be used to encourage fermentation of the sugars in the
fruit. O ne producer uses as much as 35 to 40% of young (one-year-old) lambic—which
contains a higher concentration of wild yeasts than older lambic—as a component of a
blend.
The thought of adding fruit to wooden barrels is quite romantic though not terribly
practical. W orking with hundreds of pounds of cherries in a space as small as a
standard wine barrel presents an arduous task. Think of it as stuffing a bowl of
popcorn into a gallon milk jug. Many homebrewers can empathize by considering the
task of ge ing 10 to 20 pounds of cherries through the opening of a standard 5-gallon
carboy. Additionally, fruit will contribute flavor to wood that is not easily removed.
Even traditional Belgian brewers generally referment beer with fruit in stainless
steel tanks. Tanks are easier to access and clean than barrels and leave li le worry of
oxidation. S mall producers in the United S tates may choose to directly add fruit to the
barrel and undertake some extra cleaning after the completion of fermentation or
devote that barrel to the specific production of fruit beer. Plastic fermenters of various
sizes may be used, although their permeability to oxygen should be taken into
consideration. Homebrewers will find carboys with larger openings the ideal choice.
The lessons on head space and exposure to air from the previous chapter remain
applicable. Excessive air space can promote the growth of Acetobacteria and cause beer
to turn to vinegar. The volume of liquid should be as close to the capacity of the
secondary fermenter as possible. Refermentation will not be as vigorous as primary
fermentation so does not require any notable head space.
The traditional brewer generally allows the beer and fruit to ferment from six to
nine months. By the end of the refermentation, the fruit may be virtually
unidentifiable. Generally, no more than 5%—often less—of the sugar from the fruit
left remains in solution. S ix to nine months should be ample time for the wild yeast
and bacteria to sufficiently reduce the amount of sugar. Without the equipment for a
precise reading, a simple gravity reading and taste test should be sufficient as to the
readiness of a beer. The beer should have virtually no noticeable sweetness and be
extremely dry on the palate. The gravity must be very low, an important factor when
considering the total amount of sugar available for refermentation in the bottle.

The fruit may be lightly pressed to extract any remaining character, but carefully,
so as not to extract any bi erness. The residue of the fruit contains juice as well as
polyphenolic ma er, which contributes to the taste and color of the lambic. Without
these compounds, some homebrewed examples do not always exhibit the expected
character of the fruit. The beer may be lightly filtered to remove pulp and skins but
not any microorganisms. The fruit lambic may be served “as-is” or blended with
young lambic for carbonation once the microorganisms have finished fermenting the
sugar contributed by the fruit.
BLENDING lambic
“We are beermakers in the brewhouse, but here we are more winemakers,” says
Bruno Reinders, plant manager at Mort S ubite, regarding the blending of lambic.
S imilar to the blending of Champagne from different batches of wine, the blender
combines different batches of lambic to produce gueuze. S imply put, a gueuze
contains a blend of one-, two-, and three-year-old lambic. O ld lambic contains a well-
developed profile of acids and esters, while young lambic provides fermentable sugars
and active yeasts to ferment sugar and produce carbonation in the bo le. Young
lambic also may be blended with fruit lambic to provide that same carbonation.
Gueuze blending is an art. The traditional gueuze blender expresses himself using
a liquid media the same way a painter uses paint and a canvas. The goal of the gueuze
blender is to either accentuate or soften characteristics of the available batches of
lambic to suit the blender’s palate. Less romantically, the blender also provides sugar
as a source of refermentation. To accomplish these goals, the gueuze blender makes
use of the different characteristics of one-, two-, and three-year-old batches of lambic.
The “young” one-year-old lambic has not completed fermentation. The young
lambic still contains sugars that will be fermented in the bo le, producing carbon
dioxide (and alcohol). The use of young lambic in the blend gives gueuze the
characteristic high level of carbonation. The amount of young lambic blended for
refermentation differs from brewery to brewery. O ne producer may use as li le as
10%, while others use a more even proportion to “old” lambic. The amount of sugar
remaining in the lambic determines the eventual level of carbonation in the gueuze.
“O ld” lambic, of two to three years, has completed fermentation. The old lambic
contains the acids and esters that give gueuze the myriad of different flavors and
aromas. W hile fermentation finishes after two years, a third year of aging allows the
acids and esters to develop fully. The three-year-old lambic is the most complex but
also the most acidic. The two-year-old lambic is more mellow and will balance the
acidity of the three-year-old lambic. Many brewers state the use of even proportions of
one-, two-, and three-year-old lambic, although they do not base the actual decision
solely on this generalization.
The combination of the lambics of different ages from different barrels produces a
complex, effervescent product. The flavors and aromas present in a gueuze seldom
exist in a single barrel of lambic. Each cask contains a potential ingredient for the
blend. The gueuze blender considers all of the characteristics of the available lambics,
including bi erness, sweetness, body, acidity, fruitiness, spiciness, oakiness, and what
was previously aged in the barrel, plus more intangible characteristics, including
softness and the “lasting properties” of the lambic. The gueuze blender tastes
everything, and then begins to “piece the puzzle.” The blender knows what he wants
to achieve in the end product and considers what proportion of each available cask of
lambic is necessary to reach that goal.
The blender who uses lambic from different brewers has additional variables to
consider. I f a house lambic has many tastes, the beers from other brewers present
many more. The blender understands very well what to expect from the lambic of each
different brewery. The thought process of the blender takes into consideration what
each lambic will contribute to a blend based on their knowledge and experience with
each different lambic.
The age of a barrel also contributes to the character of a lambic. “Younger” barrels,
particularly ones containing an inaugural batch of lambic, may impart a noticeable
character of what was previously aged in that barrel. lambic from younger barrels
makes up only a small portion of a blend.
The size of a barrel also must be considered when blending gueuze. S maller
barrels allow greater amounts of oxygen to come into contact with the beer. lambic
from smaller barrels will be more oxidized and, therefore, drier. To dry the blend, the
blender may use beer from a smaller barrel. Mature lambic often comes from larger
barrels, where less oxygen comes in contact with the beer.
 The tradeoff between practical considerations and the complexity of the beer often
determines the size of the blender’s barrels. Frank Boon uses many different sizes of
barrels, but his “favorites” are the large foudres, preferred for the “quality” of lambic
they produce. Given the high volume of gueuze blended by Boon, smaller casks are
impractical to age the necessary volume of lambic. Tasting the different lambics is also
an easier task with fewer, larger barrels.
Blending is simpler with fewer casks, but fewer possibilities exist. Each barrel of
beer will have a unique flavor. This fact drives both the complexity of the blend and
the consistency of the final product. Twenty smaller casks allow for potentially more
variety than one or two foudres. O ne foudre may be only one taste; twenty barrels may
be twenty different tastes. (A ccording to Boon, however, beer matured in large casks
may taste more like a “finished product” prior to blending than does lambic from
smaller casks.) The variety of flavors and aromas presented to the gueuze blender by
many smaller barrels carries with them a greater challenge of arriving at a reasonably
consistent end product.
Even the most experienced gueuze blender can’t make exactly the same gueuze
time after time. I f the art of the blender lies in creating complexity and balance, the
science lies in producing a reasonably consistent product. The individual house
character present in every bo le is unique to the brewery and identified by the
consumer as the unique product of that producer. O nly through experience does the
blender learn how to take each factor into consideration and arrive at a signature
gueuze.
The gueuze blender cannot adequately control the effect of the different seasons on
the fermenting lambic. D uring the summer, a lambic will be “sick” and ropy due to
the predominance of lactic acid-producing bacteria in the fermentation during the hot
weather. Gueuze is, therefore, never blended during the summer. The viscous, ropy
character of lambic during hot weather will become a part of the blended beer, and
that character will not quickly fade. A dditionally, gueuze normally takes roughly one
year for adequate refermentation in the bo le. I f you blend with a “sick beer,” it may
take two to three years or even longer to referment. A fully developed gueuze takes
roughly four years, from the production of the oldest portion of the blend to the end of
refermentation in the bo le. The lambic producers, like every other brewery, need
product to sell and don’t want to add to the already long life cycle of the gueuze.
BLENDING FLANDERS BEERS
Flanders brewers blend their acid beers year-round. Blends generally consist of two
components—young beer and aged beer, although some blends consist solely of aged
beer.
The aged beer has matured in oak casks for eighteen months to three years. The
precise time depends on the specific brewery, and when the blender decides the beer
in a particular barrel has developed the correct a enuation and acid and ester profile.
The aged beer is very dry—though not to the degree of a lambic—with the bulk of the
sugars consumed by wild yeast and bacteria.

A well-aged Flanders acid ale often will be even more acidic than a comparably
aged lambic. The acidic character differs between the beers of West and East Flanders.
The acidic character of the West Flanders red will be sharper, as acetic acid plays a
larger role in the flavor and aroma due to the exposure to oxygen in oak casks. Lactic
acid dominates the profile of the East Flanders browns due to the aging in stainless
steel tanks impermeable to oxygen. S trains of Pediococcus produce any acetic acid
present in the brown beer.
Two varieties of young beer (aged up to eight weeks) exist: acid beer and ordinary
top-fermented beer. The top-fermented variety is a lightly bittered, sweet, malty brown
ale. The acid beer has not aged long enough to achieve a very high a enuation. The
young acid beer displays some sweetness, although this is balanced by the presence of
lactic acid due to the use of a mixed culture during fermentation. The comparatively
brief period of fermentation will not allow time for the production of much if any
acetic acid.
A ged beer provides the complex acid and ester profile characteristic of Flanders
acid ales. Young beer may or may not provide acidity but will contribute sweetness to
the blend. Historically, Flanders beers were very volatile, as the wild yeast and bacteria
present in the aged beer would consume the sugars of the young beer, leaving no
sweetness. The acceptance of pasteurization throughout Flanders solved this
“problem,” and maintained the sweet character. S ugar or artificial sweetener added to
the blend will contribute additional sweetness, producing the “sweet and sour” profile
commonly found in many modern Flanders acid ales. Homebrewers often ponder how
to achieve the malty sweetness present in some of the blended commercial products.
Those products are pasteurized; the wild yeast and bacteria aren’t given a chance to
achieve a high level of attenuation within the blend.
Taste largely determines the proportions of aged and young beer in the blend. The
blender considers both the acidity of the aged beer and “which acid” contributes the
dominant character. Too much acetic acid means the blend should contain more
young beer with balancing sweetness and/or lactic acid. The blend commonly contains
from 10 to 30% of aged beer.
 The blender generally considers a blend of young and aged beer for a relatively
wide audience but intends a blend consisting of different vintages of aged beer for the
aficionado. The balance of lactic and acetic acid still drives the blend, although the
acidic character will be more assertive without the sweetness contributed by the young
beer. The blend may be sweetened with sugar, and pasteurized to blunt the acidic
character, or released “straight-up,” perhaps as a bottle-conditioned product.

BLENDING WITH OTHER BEER STYLES

W hat if you asked a lager-brewing compatriot to give you some of his fine Pilsener
beer? W hat if you told him you wanted to blend it with your lambic? He may just walk
away mumbling something about Reinheitsgebot. Blending aged, wild beer with
another completely different beer is both traditional and can produce some very tasty
results.
Commercial examples exist as introductions to the realm of possibilities. They
include the blend of lambic and Bink Blond (Reuss), Boon kriek lambic and N ew
Belgium blond ale (Transatlanticfue Kriek), and Lindemans Kriek with Brewery
O mmegang’s Belgian-style dark strong ale (Three Philosophers). Canada’s Unibroue
uses “spiced cherry juice” from Liefmans—likely Gluhkriek—to create Quelque Chose.
Blending will introduce a tart character to the profile of an otherwise non-sour beer
or, alternately, soften the tart character of a wild beer. The character of two beers may
be complementary or be very different and strike a curious balance. Consider the
esters and the tartness of a lambic combined with the esters and bi erness of a
Belgian golden ale, or the fruitiness of a kriek complementing the rich maltiness of a
Belgian dark ale.
Flavor and aroma primarily drive the blender, but sugar remains an important
consideration. The wild yeast and bacteria have the ability to ferment a great deal of
the commonly “unfermentable” sugar in the non-sour beer. This creates some very
explosive possibilities! The amount of sugar remaining in the average beer is more
than sufficient to produce an extreme level of carbonation. A blend of wild and
“ordinary” beer should be consumed relatively quickly, even from a keg, or
pasteurized for stability.
BLENDING YOUR OWN
S o you want to be a blender? The art of blending is traditionally passed down in
Belgium from father to son or, perhaps, master to apprentice. A rmand D eBelder of
D rie Fonteinen describes blending as something unspoken, a look or a feeling when
reaching the perfect combination, as A rmand and his father had done so successfully
together for decades. I n more concrete terms, a person can be taught to blend by
someone with a more experienced palate or a empt to dive in headfirst. I f your
apprenticeship at a lambic brewery hasn’t yet been approved, here are some points for
the aspiring blender in you to consider.
A successful blend results from knowing the character of the available beers, the
eventual goal, and how to achieve that result. For starters, understand the base beers
well. The character of the available beers determines what can be accomplished with a
blend. Each batch of beer will contribute its own character to the blend, so understand
the qualities of each batch. O ne cask might be fruity, another oaky, and another acidic.
The characteristics of each cask are often not so simply described but may have a
single, dominant quality. The many complex flavors and aromas present in multiple
casks of wild beer may cause the blender a moment of indecision.
The second trait of a successful blender, therefore, is the ability to envision the
desired end result. D o not blend haphazardly; have an end product in mind based on
the characteristics of the available beers. S hould the beer have oak, a notable acidity,
quite a bit of fruitiness, or a balance of all three? The successful blender understands
the flavors and aromas of all of the components and determines what proportions of
each different beer is necessary to achieve the end result. Experienced blenders have
their “signature” in mind, and influence the beers throughout the entire life cycle to
have the necessary characteristics when the time to blend arrives.
Exacting this degree of control is admi edly easier said than done for the beginner.
The novice often learns best through trial and error. S tart out by blending different
beers in different quantities to decide what will work together, what best reflects
individual tastes, and what will arrive at the desired result. D evelop an understanding
of the component batches and the end results possible from different combinations.
S tart small. Begin by taking small samples of each batch. Mix the samples together
and note precisely the proportions used. D o not arrive at that perfect destination only
to forget the route. With an understanding of the possibilities, invite a few friends
over to assist. O ne or two other people have different palates and will likely try
something different. Besides, tasting beer with friends is more fun than tasting alone.
D on’t decide the time to blend; let the beers make that decision. A wild beer
cannot be rushed. I f a batch isn’t quite ready, leave it to age a bit longer. I f the
character in the beers to arrive at an ideal blend does not exist, envision a different
outcome or blend at a later date. D on’t blend hoping a character will develop or fade.
Only a highly experienced blender understands how the beers will taste in the future.
I n reality, blending involves not so much understanding what the beer will taste
like, but what must be sold (or drunk) in the future. How much beer must be brewed
this year and the next and the next? The lead times range from eighteen months to
three years before a single blend of lambic or Flanders acid ale can be produced. Many
beers must be produced during that period to eventually have enough different beers
to blend. Blending involves a bit of predicting the future; understanding how much
beer is needed as much as four years down the road.
CONDITIONING
Before the advent of stainless steel and compressed carbon dioxide, beer was
naturally carbonated and served from the wood. A round the turn of the nineteenth
century, 90 to 95% of all lambic was served on draft from the cask; gueuze represented
only a very small volume. One hundred years later, most people drink gueuze.
Europe abolished heavy taxes on glass in 1865. N o longer a luxury item, less-
expensive glass made the disposal of used Champagne bo les very common. A n
inexpensive source of nonreturnable glass bo les helped make highly conditioned
gueuze readily accessible to the public. Traditional gueuze is a naturally carbonated
product, refermented in the bottle.
The dark, sourish beers of Flanders also conditioned in the cask, similar to their
blended counterparts across the channel in England. The Flemish found a gentle, low,
natural carbonation popular during the days of A lexander Rodenbach in the late
1800s. The use of bo les grew in popularity during the twentieth century, but unlike
traditional gueuze, bo le-conditioned Flanders acid ales are seldom (ever?) produced
in Belgium.
 Producers of Flanders acid ales state the advantage of filtration, pasteurization, and
force-carbonation as an aid to the stability of the beer in the bo le. The modern
approach also facilitates the production of sweeter beers. Without pasteurization, the
microorganisms in the bo le would consume virtually all of the sugars. The
sweet/sour character in Flanders acid ales that became popular during the second half
of the twentieth century would be nearly impossible to achieve if wild yeast and
bacteria were left to ferment in the bo le. The reliance of Flanders brewers on modern
methods of conditioning beer draws our a ention to gueuze during the final stage of
wild beer production.
TRADITIONAL REFERMENTATION OF GUEUZE
Many people compare gueuze to Champagne both in character and production
methods. A sparkling wine produced by M éthode Champenoise is a blend of dry white
wines to which sugar (tirage) and yeast are added at bo ling. A secondary
fermentation in the bo le produces carbonation and alcohol. Vintners slowly tilt and
periodically turn Champagne bo les (remuage), then remove the sediment (lees)
resulting from the refermentation once it gathers in the neck (disgorge). By contrast,
the lees remain in a bo le of gueuze. The viable microorganisms will help the beer to
mature for a considerable period of time.
Blending young lambic with old gives the wild yeasts in a bo le of gueuze a source
of sugar to referment, producing a high level of carbonation. Both gueuze and
Champagne are highly carbonated products. To arrive at appropriate carbonation,
Frank Boon recommends 14 to 16 grams of sugar per liter (about 2 ounces per gallon)
of lambic. Boon says half of the sugar produces alcohol during fermentation, the other
half CO2. Refermentation of this amount of sugar at a cellar temperature of around 55
to 60° F (13 to 16° C) will produce roughly 4.8 to 5.3 volumes of CO2 and about 0.33 to
0.38% additional alcohol by volume. A bo le of Coors, in contrast, contains about 2.8
volumes of CO2.
Most gueuzes don’t contain a high volume of alcohol, as beers go. Commonly
between 5% and 6.5% abv, a few gueuzes reach as high as 7 to 8% abv. A lcohol helps
beer to age gracefully. A blender produces a gueuze of higher alcohol with the
intention of being conserved (cellared) for a longer period of time before being
consumed.
Traditional lambic producers agree that some period of conservation in the cellar
during refermentation helps to ensure a quality gueuze. The necessary carbonation,
flavors, and aromas must have time to develop. A rule of thumb states a bo le should
sit in the cellar for roughly one year to pass through the cycle of refermentation.
Unfortunately, modern economics may cause the cellaring time to vary. O ne
traditional gueuze is cellared for only one week, while the stronger gueuzes may be
conserved for several years. I deally, the blender releases a gueuze only when the beer
has reached maturity.
Professor Hubert Verachtert monitored the growth and activity of the different
microorganisms found in a bo le of gueuze. Verachtert categorized the
refermentation into three phases. D uring the first phase, aerobic yeasts such as
Candida, Torulopsis, and Pichia reproduce respective to how much the beer is
inadvertently aerated during transfer and bo ling. A erobic yeasts live in the pellicle
on the surface of fermenting lambic.
The second phase begins about three weeks after bo ling. Brettanomyces and
Pediococcus reproduce and ferment virtually all of the sugar in the beer and produce
additional acids and esters. S tudies suggest Brettanomyces require the presence of
Pediococcus to achieve a complete fermentation. This slow process of fermentation
produces a character not available from artificial carbonation. The third phase sees the
death and autolysis of most of the cells of Brettanomyces and Pediococcus.
Brewers store the bo les of gueuze in caveaus, literally small cellars. Visually,
picture a collection of bo les (sometimes hundreds) from the same blending, turned
on their sides and stacked in many horizontal rows somewhere against a wall. A caveau
may be a massive wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling collection of bottles.
The temperature in the cellar will have an effect on the caveaus of gueuze. The
changing seasons produce ambient temperatures in lambic cellars that may vary from
roughly 36 to 75° F (2 to 24° C), hopefully never reaching 80° F (27° C). Bo les of
gueuze first conserved prior to the winter months will start refermentation more
slowly than those in the summer. A slower refermentation is advantageous, just as a
slower fermentation was desirable to the different batches of lambic used to blend the
gueuze. The different microorganisms responsible for the refermentation of gueuze
have different optimal temperatures desirable for their growth. Warmer temperatures
will promote a quicker start, as well as the production of acids, while cooler
temperatures will prolong the refermentation and limit acid production.

The cement floors of the lambic cellars are often colder than the ambient
temperature of the room, so bo les at the bo om will ferment more slowly at lower
temperatures than those at the top at higher temperatures. The bo les may differ in
taste and in quality. W hile a slower fermentation is be er, if a bo le is too cold there
will be no refermentation at all. To help alleviate this problem, some blenders had
pipes flowing with warm water beneath the caveaus to keep the bo les warm in the
winter. A consistent temperature during the winter months promotes a consistent
refermentation.
A lambic blender needs only to look at a bo le of gueuze to measure the degree of
refermentation. A growing amount of sediment, and how well it adheres to the bo om
of the bo le, denotes a healthy refermentation. The yeast should resemble a fishbone
and cling to the side of the bo le. S ome producers have a clear bo le on the top of
every caveau to be er observe the progress of refermentation. Growing occurrences of
stagnant refermentation in the bo le contributed to the popularity of bulk
refermentation and forced carbonation of gueuze beginning around the 1950s. The
refermentation of traditional gueuze remains a natural process; modern methods of
conditioning beer simply don’t produce as refined a product.
PACKAGING AND CONSERVING lambic AND GUEUZE
The brewer or blender generally bo les traditional gueuze and old lambic. lambic
and gueuze may be consumed shortly after leaving the brewery or conserved for years.
The proper way to serve a traditional gueuze is another piece of the art that is lambic.
The refermentation of gueuze can generate five to six atmospheres of pressure.
Similar to a bottle of champagne, the pressure in a bottle of gueuze may be between 70
and 90 pounds per square inch. That’s two to three times the pressure of the average
car tire and, as Mom cautioned, can put your eye out. Traditional blenders use heavy
Champagne bottles and corks to withstand the tremendous pressure.
A cork seals a bo le of gueuze, like a bo le of wine, secured in place with a wire
basket to stop the pressure from launching the cork into the nearest wall or ceiling.
The look of a cork-finished bo le is both traditional and appealing. A h, nothing like
the pop of a cork in a lambic cafe to signal that someone has ordered a bo le of
traditional gueuze!
Corks have the potential to dry out, allow carbonation to escape, grow mold, and/or
contribute a “corked” flavor and aroma to the gueuze. Like a bo le of wine, a gueuze
should be stored on the side if conserved for an extended period of time in order to
keep the cork moist. A high-quality cork will experience fewer problems than a
cheaper alternative. A fter producing a premium product, don’t skimp on one of the
final details. Most lambic producers use Champagne corks to seal their gueuze.
Champagne corks will withstand a greater amount of pressure and will not dry out as
easily as other types of corks.
Corks

Cork Cork comes from the bark of the cork tree (Q uercus Suber), a species of
oak that grows best for commercial use in Western Europe and N orthern A frica
along the Mediterranean coast. The bark consists of a honeycomb of small cells of
suberin, a waxy, complex fa y acid, filled with an airlike gas. The bark can be
compressed to half its size without losing any flexibility and will instantly a empt
to return to the original size. The resulting cork maintains a very constant
pressure against the surface of the bo leneck, producing a tight seal, and has a
high level of tolerance against changes in temperature and pressure.
N atural (straight) cork is a cylindrical stopper that has been punched directly
from cork tree bark and reduced to the correct length. It is said that natural cork is
the only sealing material that allows wine to “live” and “mature” in the bottle.
Champagne corks are straight-sided and only develops the mushroom shape
after being jammed into a bo le. They are not solid cork but disks of cork
separated by a cork mash. They are designed to maintain very high pressure in the
bottle and to stop gas from escaping.
Colmated or pore-filled cork goes through an extra operation of filling the
pores inherent to all corks, although this is usually performed only on lower
grades, since the top grades are of a quality high enough not to require pore
filling.
A gglomerate cork is produced from cork granules that are combined with cork
oak resins using heat treatment while under pressure. These corks are generally
used on wines that will be consumed within two or three years.
1 + 1 cork is composed of a cylindrical body of agglomerate cork and a disc of
natural cork at each end and is commonly used for wines that are not designed for
long aging.
Corks, cont.
 Corks commonly come in four different sizes:
#9 x 1–1/2” (24mm x 38mm)
#9 x 1–3/4” (24mm x 45mm)
#8 x 1–1/2” (22mm x 38mm)
#8 x 1 3/4” (22mm x 45mm)
A bo le of gueuze traditionally had no label. S imple markings such as a white
slash of chalk served to denote the contents, as well as which side to keep up during
refermentation so as not to disturb the busy yeast. O ften a white mark signified a
gueuze, while a red mark denoted a kriek. This method of identification was as much
practical as entailing less effort. lambic cellars can be damp and moldy. Labels would
peel or simply disintegrate. The sale of gueuze far beyond the blender’s own walls, as
well as laws created by the European Union, prompted the use of proper labels.
W hile A merican brewers argue over “born-on dates,” all bo les of beer in Belgium
must contain a “best before date.” For example, strong beers such as the Trappist
Rochefort 10 have a “best before date” of three years beyond the bo ling date, even
though connoisseurs realize bottles will conserve for a longer period of time. A gueuze
will keep for years—some perhaps decades—similar to a fine wine. J ean Van Roy of
Cantillon wonders why, if there is no date on a bo le of wine, must there be one on a
bo le of gueuze? S ome traditional lambic producers have made their point by se ing
the best before date at twenty years after bottling.
Traditional gueuze is alive, like any bo le of “real ale.” The flavors and aromas will
evolve for many years. Many connoisseurs conserve a bo le of gueuze for roughly one
to two years after it leaves the brewery. How the character of the gueuze develops may
be different with every single bo le, although the blender strives to achieve a
reasonably consistent product every time. A ging any alcoholic beverage carries no
guarantees. I t is just as possible to age a gueuze for too long a time as it is to age it for
too li le a time. With a good cellar (generally dark, free of vibration, at a reasonable
humidity, and a stable, moderate temperature) and without any problems with the
cork, a bo le of gueuze may pleasantly mature for decades. The oldest bo le in the
Cantillon brewery dates back to around 1970!
 Pouring gueuze is an art form among Belgian publicans, and an improperly poured
gueuze will detract from the quality. S erve the gueuze no colder than 54° F (12° C)—
cellar temperature. I f the gueuze was stored horizontally, serve the bo le using a
(wine) basket. Pop the cork with a flourish, as with a bo le of fine Champagne. The
high level of carbonation, warm serving temperature, or oxidation may cause the
liquid to gush out of the bottle.
Twirl the glass as you pour the first part of gueuze. The foam will stick to the sides
and allow you to fill the glass with beer. Pour quickly but gently, leaving the sediment
in the bo le. The sediment will detract from the flavor of the gueuze. A glass of
gueuze will have a thick, moussey, everlasting layer of foam on top of the beer. (High
carbonation promotes foam on beer, while a low pH promotes stability.)
Traditionally, if a person found the gueuze too sour, he or she dissolved a lump or
two of sugar in the beer. The stoemper—a flat disk a ached to a handle, functioning as
a sort of mortar—crushed the sugar in the glass. This tradition seems preferable to the
production of filtered, sweetened, pasteurized gueuze!
Casks present another traditional manner for serving lambic or gueuze in cafes.
Casks, however, have the same problem in any country: freshness. The beer must be
consumed quickly, or oxidation will occur. Both lambic and gueuze may be served
directly from the cask or via a traditional handpump. The British do not have the sole
claim on handpulled ales.
I REFERMENT, THEREFORE I AM
A merican brewers favor refermentation in the bo le to finish their wild beer. A
cork-finished bo le helps a beer to stand out as “something special.” Many
considerations exist for successful refermentation, including available sugar, viable
yeast, acidity, alcohol, time, temperature, and oxygen.
Blending young beer to provide sugar for refermentation can be a difficult process
to master. The science of blending involves knowing how much sugar remains in the
young beer (and lambic producers are not against taking a precise reading of the sugar
content). Trusty old priming sugar represents a viable option. Even lambic breweries
don’t always use young lambic as a component of a blend. J ean Van Roy of Cantillon
feels young lambic may dilute the character of the old lambic. He produces special
releases, blended from his favorite batches of old lambic, conditioned to the
effervescent level of a gueuze with a solution of priming sugar.
The exact level of carbonation for many wild beers focuses largely on a ma er of
personal taste. A gueuze by definition, however, is highly conditioned. Roughly 2
ounces (57 grams) of sugar per gallon of lambic at a comfy cellar temperature around
55 to 60 °F (13 to 16 °C) will provide the level of carbonation appropriate for a gueuze
—a tremendous five volumes of CO2! Common longneck bo les may not be sturdy
enough to contain that level of pressure. Heavy Champagne bo les not only look
a ractive, they will withstand tremendous pressure. Flanders acid ales generally
contain a more ordinary 2.0 to 2.5 volumes of CO2. A bout 0.5 to 0.75 ounce (14 to 21
grams) per gallon of sugar will provide a pleasant carbonation.
Highly acidic and/or highly alcoholic wild beers, or those that have undergone a
lengthy fermentation, may be devoid of enough viable yeast for a successful
refermentation. A high level of acidity and a low pH can often harm Saccharomyces
cerevisiae. Pitching a new Saccharomyces culture may be necessary. A strain of
Saccharomyces must be fairly tolerant of acidity and neutral in flavor. W yeast
Laboratories recommends its German Ale Yeast (1007), while W hite Labs recommends
its California Ale Yeast (W LP001).Both strains perform well under harsh conditions
and se le nicely in the bo le. D ried yeast also may be acceptable, although you will
need to determine if a particular strain can withstand high levels of acidity. S ome
brewers chose to “repitch” all of the microorganisms used in fermentation to help
assure viability.
O xygen remains a source of concern for the wild brewer throughout the entire life
of a beer, right up until a bo le is opened and consumed. Care must be taken during
transfers, bo ling, and aging to avoid exposing the beer to oxygen. The presence of
oxygen promotes the growth of Acetobacter, which will produce acetic acid and turn the
beer to vinegar. O xygen will also promote the growth of aerobic yeasts such as
Candida, Torulopsis, and Pichia, which cause beer to gush from the bottle.
Colder temperatures will slow refermentation. Warmer temperatures promote the
growth of lactic acid-producing bacteria. Refermenting beer should not be exposed to
either extremely hot or extremely cold temperatures. Be careful when transferring the
beer not to disturb the sediment at the bo om of the fermentation vessel to avoid
carrying over a high density of Pediococcus and autolyzed yeast. A high density of
Pediococcus will promote acid production and potentially an oily ropiness.
The successful refermentation of a wild beer takes time. Even a fresh, healthy
culture of Saccharomyces cerevisiae will ferment more slowly if at all, when faced with
the level of acidity commonly found in a wild beer. Brettanomyces, too, react poorly to
high levels of acidity, although the beer may continue to ferment for years in a bo le.
A wild beer has followed a long path from “bacteria to bo le.” D on’t be reluctant to
allow a wild beer to age for months or even years. The good news: They usually keep
getting better with age!
 Do It Yourself

“If you want to be good, you’re going to have to dump some beer.”
—Peter Bouckaert of New Belgium Brewing

D on’t let Bouckaert’s “near famous” quote discourage you; dumping beer just
appears to be a part of the traditional wild brewer’s way of thinking. N ot an easy
choice, traditional producers only consider dumping a final solution for an
unblendable batch of beer. You will hopefully never have to dump a batch, but you
should never be afraid to take a chance and try something new because you face an
uncertain result. To assist you, I have provided some hopefully interesting recipes. A
few represent “classic styles,” others, some newer ideas.
The following recipes are intended as samples. The options for each recipe provide
some potential variations that I feel go well with the base beer. W hile each recipe will
produce a very nice wild beer, do not let them constrain you. O nce you reach a comfort
level using microorganisms beyond Saccharomyces cerevisiae, develop your own unique
recipes. Fortunately, the unpredictability of Brettanomyces sp. and lactic acid-producing
bacteria means two brewers using the exact same recipe may achieve different results.
A llow the “house character” of your beers to develop and define a signature of your
own. D on’t let narrow style guidelines restrain your creativity. There is life beyond
competitions! Payo enland brewers never set out to copy a style; the brewers created
indigenous beers, and someone eventually decided to define the beer as Lambic.
Here’s to our own house beers!
Lambic

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Crist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 60.0%
Wheat (unmalted) 3.5 40.0%
Mash Schedule: Turbid mash
Boiling Time: 4 hours
Bi ering H op A ddition: 0.8 oz/gal (6 g/l) or 1.5 I b/bbl (580g/hl). S uggested
variety: Any low alpha acid variety aged roughly 3 years (pellets 5–7 years).
Finishing Hop Addition: None
Original Gravity: 12–14 °P (1.048-1.057 SG)
Fermentation: W yeast #3278 or W hitelabs W LP655. Cellar temperature for 1 -3
years.
Secondary Storage: N/A
Options:
 1. Serve the lambic after one year
2. A ge 2–3 years, and prime with sugar or blend with other batches of lambic
to produce gueuze
3. Add fruit after 1–2 years

Comments: A lambic may be brewed to various starting gravities depending

on the intended use. A lower gravity is applicable for producing fruit Lambics,
while higher gravities are helpful for long aging.
Flanders Red Ale

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Vienna 7 50.0%
Carahell 10 9.0%
CaraVienna 20 9.0%
Aromatic 20 9.0%
Special “B” 115 3.0%
Maize n/a 20.0%
Mash Schedule: See Flanders Mash Schedule
Boiling Time: 2 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 10–12 IBUs. Suggested varieties:
Hallertaur, Styrian Coldings, East Kent Goldings.
Finishing Hop Addition: None
Original Gravity: 12–14 °P (1.048-1.057 SG)
Fermentation: Wyeast #3763 at 68° F (20° C) for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: 80° F (27° C) for 8 weeks, or cellar temperature for up to 3
years.
Options:

1. Substitute maize with unmalted wheat

2. Blend with cherries after 12–18 months
3. Blend with other batches
4. Blend with a malty brown ale
5. Serve unblended, primed with sugar

Comments: A base wort intended for brief or lengthy fermentation. A short

fermentation at higher temperatures produces more lactic acid, while a longer
fermentation will produce an attenuated beer with a complex acid profile.
Flanders Pale Ale

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Crist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 90.0%
Carahell 10 10.0%
Mash Schedule: See Flanders Mash Schedule
Boiling Time: 1.5 hours
Bi ering H op A ddition: 25 I BUs. S uggested varieties: Hallertaur, S tyrian
Goldings, East Kent Goldings.
Finishing Hop Addition: None.
Original Gravity: 14 °P (1.057 SG)
Fermentation: Wyeast #3763 at 68° F (20° C) for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: Cellar temperature for up to 3 years.
Options:

1. Blend with a batch or two of Flanders red

2. Blend with a malty brown ale
3. Serve unblended, primed with sugar

Comments: The hop character in this pale beer will be more prominent than in
darker, maltier worts.
Flemish Provision Brown Ale

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 70.0%
CaraVienna 20 10.0%
CaraMunich 60 10.0%
Maize n/a 10.0%
Mash Schedule: See Flanders Mash Schedule
Boiling Time: 2 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 25 IBUs. Suggested variety: Hallertaur.
Finishing Hop Addition: None.
Original Gravity: 18 °P (1.074 SG)
Fermentation: Wyeast #1007 or Whitelabs WLP001 at 68° F for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: W yeast #4335 and #4733 or W hitelabs W LP672 and
WLP661 at cellar temperature for up to 2 years.
Options:

1. Blend with cherries or raspberries after 1 year

2. Blend with one or more batches of different ages
3. Serve unblended, primed with sugar

Comments: The modern interpretation of a Flemish oud bruin. A higher

gravity makes this beer ideal for “laying down.” The addition of fruit will produce
a beer of considerable alcohol.
 Flemish Session Brown Ale

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 75.0%
CaraVienna 20 5.0%
CaraMunich 60 15.0%
Maize n/a 5.0%
Mash Schedule: See Flanders Mash Schedule
Boiling Time: 2 hours Bi ering H op A ddition: 20 I BUs. S uggested variety:
Hallertaur.
Finishing Hop Addition: None.
Original Gravity: 12 °P (1.048 SG)
Fermentation: Wyeast #1007 or Whitelabs WLP001 at 68° F (20° C) for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: W yeast #4335 and #4733 or W hitelabs W LP672 and
WLP661 at cellar temperature for up to 2 years.
Options:

1. Blend with cherries or raspberries after 1 year

2. Blend with one or more batches of different ages
3. Serve unblended, primed with sugar

Comments: The more traditional interpretation of a Flemish oud bruin. The

lower gravity makes this beer suitable for everyday drinking. The addition of fruit
will produce a classic Flemish kriek or framboise.
Singularité

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 88.0%
Wheat 2.5 8.0%
Acidulated 2.5 4.0%
Mash Schedule: 90 minutes at 148° F (64° C)
Boiling Time: 1.5 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 25 IBUs. Suggested variety: Crystal
Finishing H op A ddition: 0.5 oz/5 gal (4 g/liter) or 3 oz/bbl (72 g/hl) during the
final 2 minutes of the boil. Suggested variety: Crystal.
Original Gravity: 15.3 °P (1.062 SG)
Fermentation: W yeast #3110 or W hitelabs W LP645 at 65° F (18° C) for 2 weeks
or 78° F (26° C) for less than 1 week.
Secondary Storage: 2–4 weeks at 55° F (13° C) or less.
Comments: A pale beer fermented with a “single” strain of Brettanomyces.
Primary fermentation with Brettanomyces anomalus produces the bulk of the flavor
and aroma. Bi erness is moderate and malt character low to accentuate the yeast
character. No Saccharomyces will be harmed during the fermentation of this beer!
Sans Le Chat

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 90.0%
Wheat 2.5 5.0%
Acidulated 2.5 5.0%
Mash Schedule: 90 minutes at 148° F (64° C)
Boiling Time: 1.5 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 20 IBUs. Suggested variety: Willamette.
Finishing H op A ddition: 0.25 oz/5 gal (7 g/19 I ) or 1.5 oz/bbl (36 g/hl) during
the final 2 minutes of the boil. Suggested variety: Willamette.
Original Gravity: 15.3 °P (1.062 SG)
Fermentation: W yeast #3112 and/or #3536 or W hitelabs W LP650 and/or
WLP653 at 65° F (18° C) for 2 weeks.
Secondary Storage: 2–4 weeks at 55° F (13° C) or less.
Comments: A pale beer fermented with two (or more) strains of Brettanomyces.
Primary fermentation with Bre anomyces lambicus and/or Brettanomyces
bruxellensis produces the characteristic wild, fruity aromas and flavors. The malt
and hop character is kept very low. A slower, cooler fermentation increases the
development of “traditional” flavors and aromas.
Flemish Nouveau

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Grist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 85.0%
Wheat 2.5 7.5%
Vienna 14 7.5%
Mash Schedule: 90 minutes at 150° F (66° C)
Boiling Time: 1.5 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 25 IBUs. Suggested variety: Sterling.
Finishing Hop Addition: 0.75 oz/5 gals (21 g/19 I) or 4.5 oz/bbl (110 g/hl) during
the final 2 minutes of the boil. Suggested variety: Crystal.
Original Gravity: 18 °P (1.074 SG)
Options: Steep fresh heather flowers in wort for 1 hour after cooling.
Fermentation: Wyeast #3942 or Whitelabs WLP410 at 70° F (21° C) for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: W yeast #3112 and/or #3536 or W hitelabs W LP650 and/or
WLP653 for 3 months at cellar temperature.
Comments: My “new Flemish ale” was inspired by the beers produced with
Brettanomyces at D e Proef with some help from those ancient brewers, the Picts.
Brettanomyces provide flavor and aroma development in the “classic” method—
after the completion of primary fermentation. Fresh heather flowers, a historic
brewing ingredient, may introduce Brettanomyces without using any actual
additional cultures. You may wish to decrease the amount of finishing hops if you
choose to use heather.
Lacto In De Heuvels

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Crist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 85.0%
Wheat 2.5 5.0%
Vienna 7 5.0%
Munich 14 5.0%
Mash Schedule: 90 minutes at 150° F (66° C)
Boiling Time: 1.5 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 20 IBUs. Suggested variety: Sterling.
Finishing Hop Addition: 0.5 oz/5 gals (14 g/19 I ) or 3 oz/bbl (73 g/hl) during the
final 2 minutes of the boil. Suggested variety: Crystal.
Original Gravity: 18 °P (1.074 SC)
Fermentation: Wyeast #3942 or Whitelabs WLP410 at 70° F (21° C) for 1 week.
Secondary Storage: W yeast #3112 and/or #3536 or W hitelabs W LP650 and/or
WLP653 for 3 months at cellar temperature.
Options:
1. A ge with a variety of wine grapes for an additional 3–6 months Comments:
I nspired by some of the classic wild beers brewed near the A rdennes, which isn’t
terribly far from the growing region of Champagne grapes. Lactobacillus and/or
Pediococcus will feed on the “scraps” of sugar left unfermented by Saccharomyces.
Crapes not only provide flavor and aroma but also may encourage acid
development (malolactic fermentation). The use of both lactic acid-producing
bacteria and wine grapes may produce quite a tart beer, so some experimentation
is required.
Donkefe Geneeskunde

Malt Type Color (ASBC) Crist % by Weight

Pilsener 1.6 66.0%
Wheat 2.5 6.0%
Munich 14 6.0%
Aromatic 20 6.0%
CaraMunich 60 6.0%
Special “B” 115 2.0%
Chocolate 300 2.0%
Sugar n/a 6.0%
Mash Schedule: 90 minutes at 152° F (67° C)
Boiling Time: 2 hours
Bittering Hop Addition: 25 IBUs. Suggested variety: Challenger.
Finishing Hop Addition: 0.5 oz/5 gals (14 g/19 I ) or 3 oz/bbl (73 g/hl) during the
final 2 minutes of the boil. Suggested variety: Styrian Goldings.
Original Gravity: 21 °P (1.087 SG)
Fermentation: W yeast #1214 or #3763 or W hitelabs W LP530 at 68° F (20° C) for
1 week.
Secondary Storage: W yeast #3278 or W hitelabs W LP655 for 6+ months at cellar
temperature.
Options:

1. Age with fresh dark cherries

2. Age in a used bourbon or wine barrel

Comments: Literally “dark medicine,” this recipe may (or may not) have been
inspired by Tomme A rthur’s Cuvée de Tomme. D ark malt plays a large role in the
flavor and aroma profile. Wild character gradually increases with age, as
microorganisms commonly found in Lambic produce their respective by-
products. Use of fruit or a barrel with residual character further increases
complexity.
 Appendix

“And if any man think that he knoweth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to
know.”
—1 Corinthians 8:2

Before pu ing all of this information about producing wild beers to the test, a few
questions remain. N amely, where to find the bugs, some stinky old hops, and an
unwanted barrel (or three)? I have compiled a few sources to help you on your quest.
BEER-SOURING MICROORGANISMS
In spite of what you may have heard, culturing your own microorganisms is not a
simple task. I t requires knowledge, equipment, and patience. Even after following
prescribed methods, there is no guarantee as to what you have actually grown. I f you
have interest in this sort of thing, other publications can provide the appropriate
information. I choose to fight my ba les at the macroscopic level and leave the bug
ranching to the professionals.
The Big Two yeast suppliers—W yeast Laboratories and W hitelabs—both carry
unique blends and other seemingly identical strains of yeast and bacteria. W hile they
are of the same species, don’t be fooled; each company sells different strains that have
different characteristics. The A merican Type Culture Collection is an option for
brewers who like to “grow their own.”
Wyeast Laboratories
P.O. Box 146
Odell, OR 97044
(541) 354-1335
www.wyeastlab.com
The folks at W yeast Laboratories carry two blends of yeast and bacteria as well as
three strains of Brettanomyces and two strains of lactic acid producers. The blends—
Belgian Lambic Blend and Roeselare Blend—offer a single-package source of the most
popular microorganisms necessary for fermenting a lambic and Flanders red
respectively; no additional yeast is required. O ther strains and species of yeast may be
available by special order. Products are available by direct sales to commercial
breweries and through retailers to homebrewers.
Cultures are available in 125ml XL packages, 0.25-, 0.5-, 1-liter, and multiple liters
for direct inoculation. W yeast suggests purchasing pitchable quantities due to the
differential rates of growth with multiple organisms.
The commonly available products are:
 3278 Belgian Lambic Blend
A blend designed for the fermentation of classic Lambic-style beers. Contains a
selection of Saccharomyces and non-Saccharomyces, which include Belgian-style wheat
beer yeast, sherry yeast, two Brettanomyces strains, and lactic acid-producing bacteria.
N o additional yeast is necessary for primary fermentation. W hile this mixture does not
include all of the possible cultures found in Belgian Lambics, it is representative of the
organisms that are considered most important to produce the typical flavor
characteristics.
Flocculation—low to medium; Apparent Attenuation—Variable; (60-80° F, 15–27° C)
3763 Roeselare Blend
A blend designed for the fermentation of classic Flanders red and brown beers.
This blend is a mix of yeast and bacteria, including Saccharomyces, Bre anomyces, and
lactic acid-producing bacteria. N o additional yeast is necessary for primary
fermentation. This culture is carefully maintained to keep the balance of these
organisms intact. A s the culture is repitched into successive beers, the lactic acid
bacteria continue to increase, until the resulting beer is too sour to drink.
Flocculation—Medium; Apparent Attenuation—Variable; (60-80° F, 15–27° C)
3110 Brettanomyces anomalus
Wild yeast of unknown Belgian origin. May produce a distinct fruity character. This
strain is a vigorous fermenter that will produce a thick layer of foam on the top of the
fermenting wort. Reacts well to elevated temperatures.
Flocculation—Low; Apparent Attenuation—Medium to High; (60-80° F, 15–29° C)
3112 Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Wild yeast isolated from brewery cultures in the Brussels region of Belgium.
Produce a classic horsy character. Ferment best in worts with lower pH after primary
fermentation has begun. This strain is generally used in conjunction with
Saccharomyces cerevisiae and other wild yeast and lactic bacteria. Produces some acidity
and should form a pellicle in casks and sometimes in bottles.
Flocculation—Medium; Apparent Attenuation—High; (60-85° F, 15–29° C)
3526 Brettanomyces lambicus
Wild yeast isolated from brewery cultures in the Payo enland region of Belgium.
Produce a pie-cherrylike flavor and sourness. Ferment best in worts with lower pH
after primary fermentation has begun. This strain is generally used in conjunction
with Saccharomyces cerevisiae as well as other wild yeast and lactic bacteria. Produces
some acidity and should form a pellicle in casks and sometimes in bottles.
Flocculation—Medium; Apparent Attenuation—High; (60-85° F, 15–29° C)
4335 Lactobacillus delbruckii
Lactic acid bacterium isolated from a Belgian brewery. This culture produces
moderate levels of acidity and is commonly found in many types of beers, including
Flanders red and brown ales. A lways used in conjunction with Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and often with various wild yeast. (60-100° F, 15–38° C)
 4733 Pediococcus cerevisiae
Lactic acid bacterium used in the production of Belgian-style beers where
additional acidity is desirable. Commonly found in gueuze and Flanders red beers. A
high acid producer, which usually increases overall acid levels in beer as storage time
increases. A lways used in conjunction with Saccharomyces cerevisiae and often with
various wild yeast.
(60-100° F, 15–38° C)
WHITE LABS
7564 Trade Street
San Diego, CA 92121
(858) 693-3441
www.whitelabs.com
W hite Labs carries one blend of yeast and bacteria, as well as three strains of
Brettanomyces and two strains of lactic acid producers. The blend—Belgian S our Mix I
—offers a single-package source of the most popular microorganisms necessary for
fermenting a Lambic; no additional yeast is required. O ther strains and species of
yeast and blends may be available by special order. Products are available by direct
sales to commercial breweries and through retailers to homebrewers.
Cultures are available in standard tubes, designed for direct inoculation into 5-
gallon batches or in larger sizes for commercial breweries.
The commonly available products are:
WLP645 Brettanomyces claussenii
Low intensity, mutant strain found in Lambic and currently finding favor with
brewers in California and Colorado. More aroma than flavor contribution, with a
fruity, sometimes pineapplelike aroma.
Flocculation—Low; Apparent Attenuation—High; (60-85° F, 15–29° C)
WLP650 Brettanomyces bruxellensis
Classic, medium-intensity strain responsible for much of the wild character in
Brussels Lambics.
Flocculation—Low; Apparent Attenuation—High; (60-85° F, 15–29° C)
WLP653 Brettanomyces lambicus
High-intensity strain characterized by horsy, smoky, and spicy flavors.
Flocculation—Low; Apparent Attenuation—High; (60-85° F, 15–29° C)
WLP655 Belgian Sour Mix I
A blend of all the organisms necessary to ferment a beer in the Lambic style.
Flocculation—low to medium; Apparent Attenuation—Variable; (60-80° F, 15–27° C)
WLP661 Pediococcus damnosus
A ggressive lactic acid bacterium commonly found in Lambic and Flanders beers.
Produces copious amounts of diacetyl but often favored for its high acid production.
(60-100° F, 15–38° C)
WLP672 Lactobacillus brevis
 Moderate lactic acid producer for Flanders beers and other styles. I deal for wort
souring, this strain is hop resistant, which allows it to grow well in many beer styles.
(60-100° F; 15–38° C)
AMERICAN TYPE CULTURE COLLECTION (ATCC)
P.O. Box 1549
Manassas, VA 20108
(703) 365–2700
www.atcc.org/
Founded in 1925, ATCC is “the world’s leading biological resource center.” I ts
mission is to “acquire, authenticate, preserve, produce, develop, and share biological
materials for the advancement of scientific knowledge.” ATCC is a good source for
people versed in working with yeast and bacteria cultures to acquire a particular cri er
that neither of the W -labs stock. For the rest of us, the website is useful as a handy
reference to the microscopic world. I t’s quite amazing how many organisms exist that
will ferment and/or acidify beer (and other sugary liquids).
AGED HOPS
S ome hop merchants may sell old hops at a discount but usually on a reasonably
large scale and not to individuals. The following hop grower will sell used hops in
smaller quantities:
Puterbaugh Farms
686 Green Valley Road
Mabton, WA 98935
(888) 972-3616
www.hopsdirect.com/
Puterbaugh Farms is a family-run hop, apple, and cherry grower. I t advertises 4-to
5-year-old whole leaf “debi ered” Te nang at 0% alpha acid, or Choice “D ebi ered”
Type 90 Hop Pellets, also at 0% alpha acid. It also sells some dandy Bing cherries.
USED BARRELS
I f you live in wine, whiskey, or bourbon country, you may be able to procure a
barrel for a reasonable price from a winery or distillery once one has outlived any
usefulness to their product. The following posting service for buying and selling used
wine barrels may be helpful:
Wine Business Exchange (Wine Business Online)
110 W. Napa Street
Sonoma, CA 95476
(707) 939-0822
www.winebusiness.com/usedbarrels
To aid you in selecting a quality barrel, an excellent article on inspecting barrels
can be found at:
www.practicalwinery.com/mayjun02p68.htm
 Glossary

acetic acid (CH3COOH). A pungent, colorless liquid commonly known as vinegar,

the product of the oxidation of alcohol by a variety of bacteria and certain types of
yeast. Naturally occurring in a variety of fruits and other foods.
Acetobacter. A genus of aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria that grows in the presence of
alcohol and secures energy by oxidizing organic compounds to organic acids, e.g.,
alcohol to acetic acid.
acidic. Having a sour taste/aftertaste.
adjunct. Any unmalted grain or other fermentable ingredient added to the mash.
aeration. The action of introducing air to the wort at various stages of the brewing
process. Proper aeration before primary fermentation is vital to a vigorous ferment.
aerobic. Requiring the presence of oxygen to survive and reproduce (aerobic
bacteria).
airlock. See fermentation lock.
air space. See ullage.
alcohol by volume (v/v). The volume percentage of alcohol in beer. To calculate the
approximate volumetric alcohol content, subtract the final gravity from the original
gravity and divide the result by 0.0075. For example: 1.050—1.012 = 0.038 + 0.0075 = 5%
v/v.
alcohol by weight (w/v). The percentage of alcohol in beer based on the weight of
the alcohol. To calculate the approximate alcohol content by weight, subtract the final
gravity from the original gravity and multiply by 105. For example: 1.050 -1.0212 = 0.038
x 105 = 4% w/v.
ale. Historically, an unhopped malt beverage. N ow, a generic term for hopped
beers produced by top fermentation, as opposed to lagers, which are produced by
bottom fermentation.
all-extract beer. A beer made with only malt extract, as opposed to one made from
barley or a combination of malt extract and barley.
all-grain beer. A beer made with only malted barley, as opposed to one made from
malt extract or from malt extract and malted barley.
all-malt beer. A beer made with only barley malt with no adjuncts or refined
sugars.
alpha acid. A soft resin in hop cones. When boiled, alpha acids are converted to iso-
alpha-acids, which account for 60 percent of a beer’s bitterness.
alpha-acid unit. A measurement of the potential bi erness of hops, expressed by
their percentage of alpha acid. Low is 2 to 4 percent; medium is 5 to 7 percent; high is 8
to 12 percent. Abbreviation is AAU.
anerobic. The inability to survive and reproduce in the presence of oxygen
(anaerobic bacteria).
antioxidant. A reducing agent that delays oxidation and prolongs useful life of an
organic product.
attenuation. The reduction in the wort’s specific gravity caused by the
transformation of sugars into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
astringent. A drying, tannic aftertaste.
autolysis. A process in which yeast feed on each other, producing a rubbery odor.
To avoid this, rack beer to remove excess yeast as soon after fermentation as possible.
bacteria. Unicellular microorganisms that may typically infect wort and beer.
beer engine. D evice used to draw beer from a cask by the use of suction created by
pulling a handle. Also called a handpump.
beta acid. Hop resin essentially insoluble in liquid, unless oxidized, and cannot be
isomerized by boiling. Exhibits a powerful antibacterial effect against the growth of
thermophilic, gram-positive, lactic acid-producing bacteria.
bitter. A sharp taste and aftertaste associated with hops, malt, and yeast.
Bi ering U nits (BU ). A measurement of the A merican S ociety for Brewing
Chemists for bi ering substances in beer, primarily iso-alpha-acids, but also including
oxidized beta acids. See also International Bittering Units.
blending. The mixing together of different batches of beer to form a final
composite intended for bottling.
blow-by (blow-off). A single-stage homebrewing fermentation method in which a
plastic tube is fi ed into the mouth of a carboy, and the other end is submerged in a
pail of sterile water. Unwanted residues and carbon dioxide are expelled through the
tube, while air is prevented from coming into contact with the fermenting beer, thus
avoiding contamination.
bottle-conditioned. A beer in which carbonation is the result of the fermentation of
sugar by yeast in the bottle.
Brettanomyces. A yeast common in the fermentation of wild beers and often
resident in the equipment and vessels of breweries that make such beers. Produces
very distinctive acid and ester profiles.
calcium carbonate (CaCO3). A lso known as chalk. A dded during brewing to
increase calcium and carbonate content.
calcium sulfate (CaS 04-2H20). A lso known as gypsum. A dded during brewing to
increase calcium and sulfate content.
carbohydrates. A group of organic compounds including sugars and starches,
many suitable as food for yeast and bacteria.
carbonation. The process of introducing carbon dioxide into a liquid by: (1)
injecting the finished beer with carbon dioxide; (2) adding young fermenting beer to
finished beer for a renewed fermentation (kraeusening); (3) priming (adding sugar to)
fermented wort prior to bottling, creating a secondary fermentation in the bottle.
carboy. A large glass, plastic, or earthenware bottle.
catalyst. A substance, such as an enzyme, that promotes a chemical reaction.
chill haze. Haziness caused by protein and tannin during the secondary
fermentation.
cold break. The flocculation of proteins and tannins during wort cooling.
coolship. A large, shallow tank historically used to cool and se le freshly boiled
wort. Also used to expose wort to yeast and bacteria for spontaneous fermentation.
Cuvée. A special product produced by a brewery.
decoction. A method of mashing that raises the temperature of the wash by
removing a portion, boiling it, and returning it to the mash tun.
diacetyl. A compound contributing an objectionable butterscotch character.
dimethyl sulfide. A naturally occurring beer constituent that originates in malt.
W hile it contributes to favorable beer flavors at low levels, in increased concentrations
DMS contributes an objectionable cornlike or cooked vegetable character.
dry-hopping. The addition of hops to the primary fermenter, the secondary
fermenter, or to casked beer to add aroma and hop character to the finished beer
without adding significant bitterness.
dry malt. Malt extract in powdered form.
European Brewery Convention (EBC). The scientific body that establishes
measurement standards and test methods for use in brewing in Europe. See also
Standard Reference Method.
Enterobacter. A ny of various gram-negative, rod-shaped bacteria of the family
Enterobacteriaceae, which includes some pathogens, including salmonella.
esters. A group of compounds in beer that impart fruity flavors and aromas.
ethanol. Ethyl alcohol; the colorless, odorless, alcohol of beer, wine, and spirits.
extract. The amount of dissolved materials in the wort after mashing and lautering
malted barley and/or malt adjuncts such as corn and rice.
fermentation lock. A one-way valve that allows carbon dioxide to escape from the
fermenter while excluding contaminants.
filter. To extract solids, generally yeast and protein, from beer.
final gravity. The specific gravity of a beer when fermentation is complete.
fining. The process of adding clarifying agents to beer during secondary
fermentation to precipitate suspended matter.
flocculant yeast. Yeast cells that form large colonies and tend to come out of
suspension before the end of fermentation.
flocculation. The behavior of yeast cells joining into masses and se ling out toward
the end of fermentation.
framboise. French. A beer fermented with raspberries.
fusel alcohol. High molecular-weight alcohol, which results from excessively high
fermentation temperatures. Fusel alcohol can impart harsh bi er flavors to beer as
well as contribute to hangovers.
gelatin. A fining agent added during secondary fermentation, clarifying the beer.
genus. A taxonomic category ranking below a family and above a species, generally
consisting of a group of species exhibiting similar characteristics.
glucose (C6H12O6). A n easily fermentable sugar used in brewing, sometimes
contributing a cidery character in higher quantities.
grist. The milled malt and adjuncts prior to mashing.
gueuze. A blend of different batches and ages of Lambic beer, which undergoes an
additional fermentation in the bo le due to the presence of yeast and fermentable
sugar.
hedgehog. Small, prickly mammal found primarily in European countries.
H omebrew Bi ering U nits. A formula invented by the A merican Homebrewers
A ssociation to measure bi erness of beer. Calculate bi ering units by multiplying the
percent of alpha acid in the hops by the number of ounces. Example: if 1.5 ounces of 10
percent alpha acid hops were used in a 5-gallon batch, the total homebrew bi ering
units would be 15: 1.5 x 10 = 15 HBU per 5 gallons.
hop pellets. Finely powdered hop cones compressed into tablets. Hop pellets are 20
to 30 percent more bitter by weight than the same variety in loose form.
horny tank. Tank employed after the coolship and before a fermenter at a time
when the yeast and bacteria are jumping and ready to go.
humulone. Synonym for alpha acid.
hydrometer. A glass instrument used to measure the specific gravity of liquids as
compared to water, consisting of a graduated stem resting on a weighed float.
infusion mash. See step infusion.
inoculation. I ntroduction of microorganisms to wort for the purpose of
fermentation or acidification.
I BU (I nternational Bi ering U nits).The measurement of the European Brewing
Convention for the concentration of iso-alpha-acids in 34 milligrams per liter (parts
per million) in wort and beer. See also Bittering Units.
infection. Growth of microorganisms in wort or beer detrimental to flavor or
aroma.
Irish moss. Copper or lead “finings” that help precipitate proteins in the ke le. See
also cold break.
isinglass. A gelatinous substance made from the swim bladder of certain fish and
added to beer as a fining agent.
isomerization. The extraction (inversion) of hop alpha acids by boiling in wort.
kilning. The final stage in the malting process, when malt is exposed to high
temperatures to halt modification and increase color and character.
kraeusen. n. The rocky head of foam that appears on the surface of the wort during
fermentation, v. To add fermenting wort to fermented beer to induce carbonation
through a secondary fermentation.
kriek. Flemish. A beer fermented with cherries.
lactic acid (C3H6O3). A clear, odorless acid found in beer, sour milk, and fruit.
Lactobacillus. A ny of various rod-shaped, aerobic bacteria of the genus Lactobacillus
that ferment lactic acid (and often others) from sugars.
lager, n. A generic term for any bo om-fermented beer. Lager brewing is now the
predominant brewing method worldwide, except in Britain, where top-fermented ales
dominate, v. To store beer at near-zero temperatures in order to precipitate yeast cells
and proteins and improve taste.
Lambic. A spontaneously fermented beer produced with a portion of unmalted
wheat, generally containing specific characteristics due to various acids and esters.
A lso used to describe the unblended form of the beer—as opposed to gueuze—
commonly served young on draft or old in bottles.
lauter tun. A vessel in which the mash se les and the grains are removed from the
sweet wort through a straining process. It has a false slotted bottom and spigot.
liquefaction. The process by which alpha-amylase enzymes degrade soluble starch
into dextrin.
liquor. Water intended for brewing.
Lovibond (°L). The scale used to measure beer color. See also S tandard Reference
Method.
lupulone. Synonym for beta acid.
malt. Barley that has been steeped in water, germinated, then dried in kilns. This
process converts insoluble starches to soluble substances and sugars.
malt extract. A thick syrup or dry powder prepared from malt.
mashing. Mixing crushed malt with water to extract the fermentables, degrade
haze-forming proteins, and convert grain starches to fermentable sugars and
nonfermentable carbohydrates.
M ethode C hampenoise. A blend of wine or beer, refermented in the bo le to
produce a sparkling, effervescent product.
microorganism. A n organism of microscopic or submicroscopic size, such as a
bacterium.
mixed fermentation. Use of both a culture and microorganisms that grow in a
wooden barrel for fermentation.
modification. 1. The physical and chemical changes in barley as a result of malting.
2. The degree to which these changes have occurred, as determined by the growth of
the acrospire.
moldy. A n objectionable earthly aftertaste often caused by damp, unsanitary
conditions during the fermentation or aging of beer.
nitrogen content. The amount of nitrogen in malt as a percentage of weight.
oaky. Exhibiting the characteristics commonly associated with oak, e.g., vanilla,
tannic.
 old beer. Beer that has undergone sufficient fermentation and aging as to be
considered of a mature flavor and aroma profile.
original gravity. The specific gravity of wort before fermentation. A measure of the
total amount of dissolved solids in wort.
oxidation. A chemical reaction involving oxygen, detrimental to beer.
pasteurization. Exposure to heat to destroy microorganisms present in beer (or
other food products susceptible to infection).
Pediococcus. A genus of gram-positive, facultative, anaerobic bacteria whose
growth is dependent on the presence of a fermentable carbohydrate.
pH. A measure of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, usually on a scale of 1 to 14,
where 7 is neutral.
phenols. Volatile compounds in beer contributing a pleasant spicy character or
objectionable plastic or medicinal character.
pitching. The process of adding yeast to the cooled wort.
Plato. A saccharometer that expresses specific gravity as extract weight in a 100-
gram solution at 68° F (20° C). A revised, more accurate version of Balling, developed
by Dr. Plato.
polyphenols. A n antioxidant phytochemical that tends to prevent or neutralize the
damaging effects of oxygen and free radicals.
primary fermentation. The first stage of fermentation, during which most
fermentable sugars are converted to ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide.
priming sugar. A small amount of corn, malt, or cane sugar added to bulk beer
prior to racking or at bottling to induce a new fermentation and create carbonation.
racking. The process of transferring beer from one container to another, especially
into the final package (bottle, keg).
recirculation. Clarifying the wort before it moves from the lauter tun into the ke le
by recirculating it through the wash bed.
reduction. A reaction by which oxygen is removed from a compound.
refermentation. A n additional fermentation, generally in the bo le, with the
intention of producing carbonation as well as additional alcohol.
saccharification. The naturally occurring process in which malt starch is converted
into fermentable sugars, primarily maltose.
saccharometer. A n instrument that determines the sugar concentration of a
solution by measuring the specific gravity.
Sacchawmyces. A ny of several single-celled yeasts belonging to the genus
Saccharomyces, many of which ferment sugar. Yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces
cerevisiae are the most common in brewing.
secondary fermentation. 1. The second, slower stage of fermentation, lasting from a
few weeks to many months depending on the type of beer. 2. A fermentation occurring
in bottles or casks and initiated by priming or by adding yeast.
solventy. A n objectionable aroma and flavor of higher (fusel) alcohols, reminiscent
of acetone.
sour. A sharp, acidic taste and aftertaste.
sparging. S praying the spent grains in the mash with hot water to retrieve the
remaining malt sugar.
species. A fundamental category of taxonomic classification, ranking below a
genus, consisting of related organisms capable of interbreeding.
specific gravity. A measure of a substance’s density as compared to that of water,
which is given the value of 1.000 at 39.2° F (4° C). S pecific gravity has no accompanying
units, because it is expressed as a ratio.
spontaneous fermentation. A method of fermentation by which all microorganisms
necessary for fermentation are naturally occurring in the brewery; the brewer adds no
cultures of microorganisms.
Standard Reference M ethod (SRM ) and European Brewery Convention (EBC)
N otations used to indicated two different analytical methods for color. D egrees S RM,
approximately equivalent to degrees Lovibond, are used by the A merican S ociety of
Brewing Chemists (A S BC), while degrees EBC are European units. Both methods ar
based on spectrophotometer readings at the same wavelength, and conversion
between the two is calculated by this equation: (°EBC) = 1.97 x ° Lovibond.
starter. A batch of fermenting yeast, added to the wort to initiate fermentation.
step infusion. A method of mashing whereby the temperature of the mash is raised
by adding very hot water, then stirring and stabilizing the mash at the target step
temperature.
strain. A group of microorganisms of the same species, having distinctive
characteristics but not usually considered a separate species.
strike temperature. The initial temperature of the water when the malted barley is
added to it to create the mash.
style. Characteristics, generally flavor and aroma, by which beers are categorized.
superattenuation. A chieving a final apparent extract as low or lower than 0.1 Plato,
nearly 1.000 S G, a ributed to fermentation by the highly a enuative Brettanomyces
yeasts in the presence of the other organisms.
sweet. Having the taste of sugar or resembling sugar.
tannin. Various soluble, astringent, phenolic substances, often present in yeast,
malt, and wood.
terroir. A unique combination of environmental conditions, present in every place
where alcoholic beverages are produced, largely contributing to the character of wild
beer and wine.
tertiary fermentation. A n additional period of aging when beer is left to fully
mature due to the presence of various microorganisms.
torrefied wheat. W heat that has been heated quickly at high temperature, causing
it to puff up, which renders it easily mashed.
trub. Suspended particles resulting from the precipitation of proteins, hop oils, and
tannins during boiling and cooling stages of brewing.
tun. Any open tank or vessel.
turbid mash. A method of mashing involving the boiling of liquid from a mash
consisting of a portion of unmalted grain, resulting in a highly dextrinous wort.
ullage. 1. The empty space between a liquid and the top of its container. A lso called
air space or head space. 2. Waste beer, often left over from handpumps or the bo om
of casks.
viscous. Having a glutinous consistency and the quality of sticking or adhering.
v/v. See alcohol by volume.
vorlauf. To recirculate the wort from one mash tun through the grain bed to clarify.
w/v. See alcohol by weight.
water hardness. The degree of dissolved minerals in water.
whirlpool. A method of bringing cold break material to the center of the ke le by
stirring the wort until a vortex is formed.
wild beer. A ny beer fermented or matured with yeast and/or bacteria other than
those belonging to the genus Saccharomyces.
wort. The mixture that results from mashing the malt and boiling the hops, before
it is fermented into beer.
yeast. Generally, any of various unicellular fungi used in fermentation, most
commonly members of the genus Saccharomyces, especially S. cerevisiae. I n wild brews,
yeasts from other genera also play a role. See Brettanomyces.
young beer. Beer that has not undergone sufficient fermentation and aging as to be
considered of a mature flavor and aroma profile. Usually contains significant
concentrations of viable microorganisms and sugars.
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 Index

Page numbers in boldface refer to illustrations and/or captions.

acetic acid. See also Acetobacter, acids, yeasts
and barrels
and blending of Flanders red-brown ale
and Brettanomyces,
and Enterobacter,
and fermentation of West Flanders red ale
and Sacchawmyces,
Acetobacter. See also acetic acid, microorganisms
by-products of
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
effect of oxygen on
and Flanders brown ale
and Flanders red ale
and Iambic
acid beer/ale. See Flanders red-brown ale
a c i d s . See also acetic acid, alcohol, Enterobacter, esters, lactic acid,
microorganisms, yeasts
alpha. See hops
beta. See hops
and Brettanomyces,
Characteristics of Acids and Esters Commonly Found in Wild Beers (chart)
Comparison of Alcohol and Acidity of Selected Alcoholic Beverages (chart)
pH and total acidity, n.2
aging. See conditioning
alcohol, n.l. See also acids, esters, individual beer styles, microorganisms
and Brettanomyces,
Comparison of Alcohol and Acidity of Selected Alcoholic Beverages (chart)
Andrews, Ken. See Bristol Brewing Company
Appellation Controlleé for gueuze and Iambic
Arthur, Tomme. See also Pizza Port brewery
BPA. See also Greene King brewery
Bacchus. See also Van Honsebrouck, Brouwerij-Brasserie
bacteria. See microorganisms
barrels. See also conditioning, fermentation and maturation vessels
adding microorganisms to
 Anatomy of a Barrel (chart)
characteristics imparted by
maintenance of
and oxygen
Oxygen Diffusion Into Selected Wooden Casks (chart)
Oxygen Diffusion Through Selected Fermentation Vessels (chart)
preparing for use
production methods for
selection of
sizes of,
Common Barrels Used in Belgium (chart)
and effect on temperature
and solera
treatment of, by coopers
types of wood used for
Bavik, Brouwerij
Oud Bruin,
Petrus Aged Pale,
Petrus Oud Bruin,
Bellegems Bruin. See also Bockor, Brouwerij
Belle-Vue, Brasserie
Belle-Vue Selection Iambic,
Berliner weisse, n.l
Biere de Mars. See also New Belgium Brewing Company
Bink Blond. See also Kerkom, Brouwerij
Bios. See Van Steenberge, Brouwerij
Bitter End Bistro and Brewery
Lip Burner Lamb-Beak,
Sour Prick,
blending. See also individual beer styles, wild fermentation
of different beer styles
of Flanders red-brown ales
historically
with fruit
of Iambic
for gueuze
for Iambic other than gueuze
Bockor, Brouwerij
Bellegems Bruin,
boiling
Boon, Brouwerij. See also Boon, Frank Oude Geuze Boon,
 Oude Geuze Boon Mariage Parfait,
Oude Kriek Boon,
Boon, Frank. See also Boon, Brouwerij
on barrels
on carbonation
on effect of thermo-bacteria
on history of Iambic
on Iambic cellars
on Iambic fermentation
on mashing
on unmalted wheat
Bouckaert, Peter, vii-x. See also N ew Belgium Brewing Company; Rodenbach,
Brouwerij on acid-washing
on adjuncts
on fermenting with Brettanomyces,
on using casks
Brande, W., The Town and Country Brewery Book,
Brettanomyces. See also microorganisms, yeasts
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
discovery of
effect of oxygen on
and fermentation
by-products of
inoculating wort with during
of Iambic
and refermentation
and temperature
of West Flanders red ale
and interaction with Pediococcus,
at New Belgium Brewing Company
occurrence in beer, historically
in Pizza Port brewery beers
at Russian River Brewing Company
and Saccharomyces,
at Southampton Publick House
species of
and superattenuation
wine industry’s opinion of, n.2
in/on wood and other surfaces
Bristol Brewing Company
Calagione, Sam. See Dogfish Head Brewing Company
 Cantillon, Brasserie. See also Van Roy, lean; Van Roy, lean-Pierre
barrels at
Cantillon Faro,
Cantillon Gueuze,
Cantillon Kriek,
Cantillon Iambic,
ceiling tiles at
Cuvée des Champions,
and fermentation
Fou’Foune,
Grand Cru Bruocsella,
Iris,
Loerik,
Lou Pepe,
oldest bottle at
Rosé de Gambrinus,
St. Lamvinus,
Vigneronne,
carbonating. See conditioning
Carey, Dan. See New Glarus Brewing Company
casks. See barrels
charts
Anatomy of a Barrel
Characteristics of Acids and Esters Commonly Found in Wild Beers
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms
Characteristics of Fruit Commonly Added to Wild Beer
Common Barrels Used in Belgium
Comparison of Alcohol and Acidity of Selected Alcoholic Beverages
Comparison of Fermentation Products in Gueuze and Flanders Red Ale
Flanders Red Fermentation Cycle
Iambic Fermentation Cycle
Oxygen Diffusion Into Selected Wooden Casks
Oxygen Diffusion Through Selected Fermentation Vessels
Physical Movement of Iambic Wort During Production
Popular Fruits in Wild Beers
Water Analysis for the Provinces of Belgium Known for Wild Beer (1999)
cherries. See also fruit, kriek
Cilurzo, Vinnie. See also Russian River Brewing Company
Claussen, N. Hjelte
Cnudde, Brouwerij
Cnudde,
 conditioning. See also barrels, fermentation and maturation vessels, individual
beer styles
cooling of wort
corks
Cornell, Martyn
Cottonwood Brewery
Cuvée Chapeau Oude Gueuze. See also De Troch, Brouwerij
Cuvée de Tomme. See also Pizza Port brewery
Cuvée des Champions. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
De Brabandere, Adolph and Josef. See Bavik. Brouwerij
De Cam Geuzestekerij, See also Goddeau, Karel
De Cam Oude Geuze
De Cam Oude Kriek
De Cam Oude Lambiek
De Dolle Brouwers
Oerbier Special Reserva
Stille Nacht Reserva
De Keersmaeker, Brouwerij. See Mort Subite, Brouwerij
De Neve, Brouwerij
De Proefbrouwerij
Flemish Primitive
Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale
Zoetzuur Flemish Reserve
De Troch, Brouwerij
Cuvée Chapeau Oude Gueuze
DeBelder, Armand. See also Drie Fonteinen, Brouwerij
DeBelder, Gaston. See Drie Fonteinen, Brouwerij
DeBelder, Guido. See Drie Fonteinen, Brouwerij
Dekkera. See Brettanomyces
Depuration. See also Russian River Brewing Company
Devolder, Filip. See Liefmans, Brouwerij
Dogfish Head Brewing Company
Festina Lente
Dort. See also Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
D raps, D anny. See O ud Beersel, Brouwerij D rie Fonteinen, Brouwerij.See also
DeBelder, Armand
Drie Fonteinen Gueuze
Drie Fonteinen Iambic
Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze
Drie Fonteinen Oude Kriek
Schaarbeekse Kriek
 druivenbier, See also fruit beer
Duchesse De Bourgogne, See also Verhaeghe, Brouwerij
East Flanders brown ale, See also blending, Flanders red-brown ale, individual
breweries, oud bruin
alcohol by volume of
characteristics of
conditioning of
fermentation of
microorganisms common to, and temperature
production of
grains used in
hops used in
in summary
using malt extract in
water used in
specifications for
Echte Kriek, See also Verhaeghe, Brouwerij
Edelson, Mark, See Iron Hill Restaurant and Brewery
Enterobacter, See also microorganisms
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
effect of oxygen on
and fermentation by-products of, of Iambic
esters. See also acids, alcohol, microorganisms, yeasts
and Brettanomyces,
Characteristics of Acids and Esters Commonly Found in Wild Beers (chart)
ethyl acetate, See esters
ethyl lactate, See esters
Eylenbosch, Brouwerij
Facon, Brouwerij
Facon Ouden Bruin,
faro, See also Cantillon, Brasserie; Drie Fonteinen, Brouwerij; Iambic; mars
fermentation, See wild
fermentation fermentation and maturation vessels, See also barrels
Oxygen Diffusion Through Selected Fermentation Vessels (chart)
Festina Lente. See also Dogfish Head Brewing Company
Flanders acid ale. See Flanders red-brown ale
Flanders brown ale. See East Flanders brown ale
Flanders red ale. See West Flanders red

ali-Flanders red-brown ale. See also blending, East Flanders brown ale, West
Flanders red ale
 adding to barrels
adding fruit to
aging, bottling, and conditioning of
boiling of wort for
history of
map
mashing for
Flanders Mash Schedule
and thermo-bacteria
using adjuncts in
Flemish Primitive. See also De Proefbrouwerij
Fou’Foune. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
framboise. See also fruit beer, individual blenders and breweries, raspberries
fruit. See also cherries, fruit beer, raspberries
adding to beer
blending with
Characteristics of Fruit Commonly Added to Wild Beer (chart)
effect on fermentation of
Popular Fruits in Wild Beers (chart)
and wild yeasts.
fruit beer. S ee also druivenbier, framboise, fruit indiividual blenders and
breweries, kriek
history of
Ghequire, Rudi. See also

Rodenbach, Brouwerij
Girardin, Brouwerij
Girardin Gueuze,
Goddeau, Karel. See also De Cam Geuzestekerij
Gose
Grand Cru Bruocsella. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
graphs
Flanders Red Fermentation Dynamics
Lactic Fermentation Biochemistry
Iambic Fermentation Dynamics
Greene King brewery
BPA,
OldX,
Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale,
gruit,
 gueuze (geuze). See also individual blenders and breweries, Iambic
alcohol by volume of
Appellation Controlleé for gueuze and Iambic
blending of
bottling of
caveaus,
characteristics of
Comparison of Fermentation Products in Gueuze and Flanders Red Ale (chart)
conditioning of
and refermentation
grains used in
history of
hops used in
microorganisms common to
serving
specifications for
temperatures, for refermentation of
Guinard, Jean-Xavier
Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Dorr
Mestreechs Aajt,
Oud Bruin,
Hanssens, lean. See Hanssens Artisanaal, Geuzestekerij
Hanssens, Sidy. See Hanssens Artisanaal, Geuzestekerij
Hanssens Artisanaal, Geuzestekerij
Hanssens Artisanaal Oude Gueuze,
Hanssens Artisanaal Oude Kriek,
Oudbeitje,
heather ale
Herteleer, Kris. See De Dolle Brouwers
Hitchcock, Ed
hops
aging your own
alpha acids in
beta acids in
and boiling
and Lactobacillus,
Hunt, Brian, of Moonlight Brewing
Ichtegem’s Oud Bruin. See also Strubbe, Brouwerij
inoculation. See wild fermentation
Iris. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
 Iron Hill Restaurant and Brewery
Isenhour, John. See loe’s Brewery
Jarkson, Michael
Joe’s Brewery
Johnson, George Maw
Jordan, Kim. See New Belgium Brewing Company
Kerkom, Brouwerij
Bink Blond,
Reuss,
Kloeckera apiculata. See also yeasts
kriek. See also cherries, fruit beer, individual blenders and breweries
Kriek de Ranke (Brouwerij De Ranke)
La Folie. See also New Belgium Brewing Company
Lacambre, G. Complete Treaty of the M anufacture of Beers and D istillation of the
Grains,
lactic acid. See also acids, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus
and blending of Flanders red-brown ale
and fermentation of East Flanders brown ale
and fermentation of Iambic
and Brettanomyces,
and Enterobacter,
and fermentation of West Flanders red ale
and maize
and malolactic fermentation
and temperature
Lactobacillus. See also lactic acid, microorganisms
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
effect of alpha and beta acids on
effect of oxygen on
effect of Saccharomyces on
and fermentation
by-products of
of Flanders red-brown ale
of Iambic
and thermo-bacteria
occurrence in beer, historically
species of
lambic. See also blending, faro, gueuze, individual blenders and breweries, mars,
wild fermentation
adding to barrels
adding fruit to
 aging of
alcohol by volume of
Appellation Controlleé for gueuze and Iambic
bottling of
characteristics of
conditioning of
fermentation of
and Enterobacter,
historically
and inoculation
Lactic Fermentation Biochemistry (graph)
Lambic Fermentation Cycle (chart)
Lambic Fermentation Dynamics (graph)
Physical Movement of Iambic Wort During Production (chart)
and temperature
history of
Lambic (recipe)
map
maturation of. in barrels
microorganisms common to
production of
boiling of wort for
cooling wort for
grains used in
hops used in
mashing for
turbid mash schedule
Wyeast Iambic mash schedule
optimal weather conditions for
and thermo-bacteria
in summary
using extract for
water used in
serving
specifications for
lambic cellar
Laurent, A., Dictionnaire de la Brasserie,
Lebesch, Jeff. See New Belgium Brewing Company
Leroy, Brouwerij
Paulus,
Liefmans, Brouwerij,
boiling at
culture used at
grains used at
hops used at
Liefmans Framboise,
Liefmans Goudenband,
Liefmans Kriek,
Liefmans Oud Bruin,
longest aged worts at
Odnar,
Limet, Marc. See Kerkom, Brouwerij
Lindemans, Brouwerij. See also Lindemans, Dirk
boiling at
and Brettanomyces,
coolship at
Lindemans Gueuze,
Lindemans Gueuze Cuvée René,
Lindemans Kriek,
Lindemans, Dirk. See also Lindemans, Brouwerij
Lip Burner Lamb-Beak. See also Bitter End Bistro and Brewery
Loerik. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
Losi, Renzo. See Panil brewery
Lou Pepe. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
maize (corn)
malt extracts, brewing with
malted barley
maps
Flanders
Lambic
Modern Western Europe
Markowski, Phil. See Southampton Publick House
mars (mais). See also faro, lambic
Marstons Brewery
Martens, Hilde,
mashing
Flanders mash schedule
infusion
and adjuncts
turbid
turbid mash schedule
of wild beers, historically
Wyeast Iambic mash schedule
Matthys,) John. See also Hanssens Artisanaal, Geuzestekerij
Melboum Brothers Brewery
Mestreechs Aajt. See also Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Méthode Champenoise,
microorganisms.
See also Acetobacter, acids, alcohol,
Brettanomyces, Enlerobacter,
Lactobacillus, Pediococcus,
Saccharomyces, White Labs, wild
fermentation, Wyeast Laboratories, yeasts
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
factors influencing growth
Flanders Red Fermentation Cycle (chart)
Lambic Fermentation Cycle (chart)
mixed fermentation. See wild fermentation
Mo Betta Bretta. See also Pizza Port brewery
Moriau, Herberg
Mort Subite, Brouwerij. See also Reinders, Bruno
cooling at
grains used at
hops used at
Mort Subite Oude Gueuze,
Mort Subite Peche,
Mother of All Beers. See also Pizza Port brewery
Naudts, Dirk. See De Proefbrouwerij
New Belgium Brewing Company. See also Bouckaert, Peter
Biere de Mars,
La Folie,
New Belgium Golden Ale,
Transatlantique Kriek,
New Glarus Brewing Company
New Glarus Brown Ale,
Raspberry Tart,
Wisconsin Belgian Red,
oak
adding
Odnar. See also Liefmans, Brouwerij
oerbier. See Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Oerbier Special Reserva. See also De Dolle Brouwers
Old X. See also Greene King brewery
 Ommegang, Brewery
Three Philosophers,
organisms. See microorganisms
Oud Beersel, Brouwerij
Oud Beersel Oude Geuze,
O ud Beersel O ude Kriek,oud bruin. See also East Flanders brown ale, individual
breweries
Flemish Provision Brown Ale (recipe)
Flemish Session Brown Ale (recipe)
Oud Bruin. See also Bavik, Brouwerij
Oud Bruin. See also Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Oudbeitje. See also Hanssens Artisanaal, Geuzestekerij
Oude Geuze Boon. See also Boon, Brouwerij
Oude Geuze Boon Manage Parfait.
See also Boon, Brouwerij
Oude Kriek Boon. See also Boon, Brouwerij
Panil brewery
Panil Barriquée,
Pasteur, Louis, Etudes Sur la Biere, viii, ix
Paulus. See also Leroy, Brouwerij
Pediococcus. See also lactic acid, microorganisms and alcohol
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
effect of alpha acids on
effect of oxygen on
and fermentation
by-products of
of Flanders red-brown ale
inoculating wort with
and interaction with Brettanomyces,
of lambic
and refermentation
species of
Perrier-Robert, Annie, and Fontaine, Charles
Petrus Aged Pale, See also Bavik, Brouwerij
Petrus Oud Bruin. See also Bavik, Brouwerij
Peynaud, Emile
pH. See acids
Pizza Port brewery. See also Arthur, Tomme
Cuvée de Tomme,
Mo Betta Bretta,
Mother of All Beers,
 Quelque Chose. See also Unibroue
Raes, Jos and Pauwel. See De Troch, Brouwerij
raspberries. See also framboise, fruit
Raspberry Tart. See also New Glarus Brewing Company
recipes
Donkere Geneeskunde
Flanders Pale Ale
Flanders Red Ale
Flemish Nouveau
Flemish Provision Brown Ale
Flemish Session Brown Ale
Lacto in De Heuvels
Lambic
Sans Le Chat
Singularité
refermentation. See wild fermentation
Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale. See also De Proefbrouwerij
Reinders, Bruno. See also Mort Subite, Brouwerij
Renner, Jeff
Reuss. See also Kerkom, Brouwerij
Rodenbach, Brouwerij, vii-viii. See also Bouckaert, Peter; Ghequire, Rudi
barrels used at
fermentation at
grains used at
history of
hops used at
mashing at
microorganisms identified at
Rodenbach Alexander,
Rodenbach Grand Cru,
Rodenbach Klassiek,
water used at
yeast acquired by other breweries from,
Roman, Brouwerij
Rose, Eric
Rosé de Gambrinus. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
Russian River Brewing Company. See also Cilurzo, Vinnie
Depuration,
Sanctification,
Supplication,
Temptation,
 Rutten, Paul. See Gulpener Bierbrouwerij
Saccharomyces. See also microorganisms, yeasts
and Brettanomyces,
Characteristics of Common Beer-Souring/Fermenting Microorganisms (chart)
and fermentation
of Flanders red-brown ale
with fruit
of Iambic
mixed
and interaction with Lactobacillus,
occurrence in beer, historically
and refermentation
species of
St. Lamvinus. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
St. Louis Gueuze Fond ‘Tradition . See also Van Honsebrouck, Brouwerij-Brasserie
Bacchus,
Sanctification. See also Russian River

Brewing Company
Schaarbeekse Kriek. See also Drie Fonteinen, Brouwerij
Schramm, Ken
sikaru,
Slaghmuylder, Brouwerij
solera. See barrels
sour beer. See wild beer
Sour Prick. See also Bitter End Bistro and Brewery
Southampton Publick House
Stille Nacht Reserva. See also De Dolle Brouwers
Strong Suffolk Vintage Ale. See also Greene King brewery
Strubbe, Brouwerij
Ichtegem’s Oud Bruin,
Supplication. See also Russian River Brewing Company
Temptation. See also Russian River Brewing Company
terroir,
thermo-bacteria. See Lactobacillus
Three Philosophers. See also Ommegang, Brewery
Timmermans, Brouwerij
Timmermans Gueuze Caveau,
total acidity. See acids
Transatlanlique Kriek. See also New Belgium Brewing Company
linger, Richard, n.l
 Unibroue
Quelque Chose,
Van Herreweghen, Willem. See De Cam Geuzestekerij
Van Honsebrouck, Brouwerij-Brasserie
Bacchus,
St. Louis Gueuze Fond Tradition,
Van Roy, Jean. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
on blending
on fermentation of Iambic
on re-using casks
Van Roy, Jean-Pierre. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
Van Steenberge, Brouwerij (Bios)
Vlaamse Bourgogne,
Vandervelden, Henri. See Oud Beersel, Brouwerij
Verachtert, Hubert
Verhaeghe, Brouwerij. See also Verhaeghe, Karl
Duchesse De Bourgogne,
Echte Kriek,
Vichtenaar,
Verhaeghe, Karl. See also Verhaeghe, Brouwerij
Vichtenaar. See also Verhaeghe, Brouwerij
Vigneronne. See also Cantillon, Brasserie
vinegar. See Acetobacter
Mitchell, C. Ainsworth, Notes on the Manufacture of Vinegar (1917),
Vlaamse Bourgogne. See also Van Steenberge, Brouwerij
water
Water Analysis for the Provinces of Belgium Known for Wild Beer (1999) (chart)
West Flanders red ale. See also Flanders red-brown ale, individual breweries
alcohol by volume of
characteristics of
conditioning of
fermentation of
Comparison of Fermentation Products in Gueuze and Flanders Red Ale (chart)
Flanders Red Fermentation Cycle (chart)
Flanders Red Fermentation Dynamics (graph)
and inoculation
and temperature
Flanders Red Ale (recipe)
microorganisms common to
production of
grains used in
 hops used in
in summary
using extract for
water used in
specifications for
wheat
and boiling
White Labs. See also microorganisms, yeasts
wild beer. See also individual beer styles, wild fermentation
effects of seasons on production of
and blending
and cellaring
history of
in Belgium
in Brabant and Brussels
in Flanders
in Britain
in the Netherlands. See Mestreechs Aajt
in the United States
wild fermentation. See also individual beer styles, microorganisms, wild beer,
yeasts
and Brettanomyces,
Comparison of Fermentation
Products in Gueuze and Flanders
Red Ale (chart)
effect of oxygen on
Flanders Red Fermentation Cycle (chart)
Flanders Red Fermentation Dynamics (graph)
and fruit
inoculation
of East Flanders brown ale
of Iambic
of West Flanders red ale
and lactic acid production
Lactic Fermentation Biochemistry (graph)
lambic Fermentation Cycle (chart)
Lambic Fermentation Dynamics (graph)
mixed
of Iambic
of West Flanders red ale
primary
 of East Flanders brown ale
of lambic
of West Flanders red ale
refermentation. See also blending with fruit
and temperature
secondary
of East Flanders brown ale
of Iambic
malolactic
of West Flanders red ale
split
spontaneous
historically
for homebrewers
tertiary
of Iambic
of West Flanders red ale
Wisconsin Belgian Red. See also New Glarus Brewing Company
Wyeast Laboratories. See also microorganisms, yeasts
and malt extract experiment
Wyeast Iambic mash schedule
yeasts, n.l. See also acids, Brettanomyces, esters, fruit, Kloeckera apiculata,
microorganisms, Saccharomyces, White Labs, wild fermentation, Wyeast laboratories
oxidative
Yester, Jason. See Bristol Brewing Company
Zoetzuur Flemish Reserve. See also De Proefbrouwerij
Sumário
Title Page 2
Copyright Page 3
Acknowledgements 5
Foreword 6
Introduction 9
Classic Styles 14
History 27
Drinking Wild Beer 45
Beer-Souring Microorganisms 71
Production Methods 81
Wild Fermentation 100
Fermentation and Maturation Vessels 127
Finishing the Beer 147
Do It Yourself 166
Appendix 173
Glossary 177
Bibliography 185
Index 189