You must be joking, Lindemans has been brewing traditional lambics for going on 200 years. Just because something is backsweetened does not mean it isn't a lambic. The base of that beer is indeed a true lambic, if your personal tastes sway towards the funkier, more sour and dry lambics they do make a gueuze called Cuvee Rene that you might like.
And no, a Pasteurized, sweetened lambic is not a lambic any more than a pasteurized, sweetened real ale is still a real ale.
Lindemans Ferments in "wood-conditioned vats" (ss vats with wooden slats suspended in them), pasteurizes their base beer, and back-sweetens it with fruit juice.
And no, a Pasteurized, sweetened lambic is not a lambic any more than a pasteurized, sweetened real ale is still a real ale.
Lindemans Ferments in "wood-conditioned vats" (ss vats with wooden slats suspended in them), pasteurizes their base beer, and back-sweetens it with fruit juice.
You said that Lindemans does not make lambic, which is outrageously incorrect. Here is a brewery who brews a spontaneously fermented wheat based ale, is a founding member of HORAL and has been making these beers for longer than any other Belgian brewery I know of. If you want to say that specifically their line of fruit beers is nontraditional then I completely agree, but you should specify that instead of claiming that "Lindemans is not lambic."
I don't think the real ale correlation works at all. Real ale is by definition an unfiltered and unpasteurised live product at the point of delivery, pasteurizing would break the very definition of it therefor making just a regular ale. Lambic is by definition a wheat based spontaneously fermented ale, sweetening may break tradition but it does not break the definition.
Out of curiosity where do you draw the line? Is it the pasteurizing or the sweetening of the lambic that makes it no longer a lambic in your mind? Although pasteurizing will change the way the beer evolves over time it won't dramatically change the way the beer tastes immediately and the majority of people would never know. To me backsweetening is what makes it a completely different beer, and I would always go out of my way to point out that it is not a traditional lambic, but I would not completely seclude it from the lambic family.
He's not the only one who feels this way, Jean van Roy of Cantillon has been quoted as saying that it isnt lambic, he goes on to say that a lambic CANNOT be sweet it must be dry and acidic
So their major competitor says it doesn't fit style? How surprising.
I don't care what the heck Lindeman's is defined as, I for one think it tastes great. Now if the bar didn't serve it in a champane flute I would be able to feel good about ordering it. I want to brew a sour or a lambic, can somebody let me know what I need to try before taking that step. I have some pretty good beer stores and a Flying Saucer nearby.
Funny, the style guidelines do not cite any lindemans beers as examples of the fruit lambic style.
"A low, complementary sweetness may be present, but higher levels are uncharacteristic"
Lambic is Acidic and dry by definition. Lindemans takes what may be considered lambic and puts it through a process by which it is no longer lambic.
If anything, they should call it Fruit Faro.
That's because the BJCP is not an all encompassing beer style encyclopedia, it's guidelines to help judges know the characteristics of the styles most commonly brewed by homebrewers. I think fruit Faro is an acceptable description of them, but Faro is still a substyle of lambic. Note how Faro is a well documented style of beer, however the BJCP does not have a category for it. This is because it's not a style often enough brewed by homebrewers to require it's own judging category and is simply placed in the Belgian Specialty category...which is where you will find the Lindemans fruit beers listed as classic examples.
Last edited by Tonedef131; 11-21-2009 at 05:57 PM.
I don't care what the heck Lindeman's is defined as, I for one think it tastes great. Now if the bar didn't serve it in a champane flute I would be able to feel good about ordering it. I want to brew a sour or a lambic, can somebody let me know what I need to try before taking that step. I have some pretty good beer stores and a Flying Saucer nearby.
Your not going to be able to make something that tastes like lindemans using a lambic base at home, that is unless you kill the bugs/yeast and sweeten in the keg, bottling is not an option
We can argue back and forth about what Lindemans is, but its very deceiving to people who dont know about beer when the drink a framboise lindemans, and think WOW i like lambic beer, well when they go out and try a real lambic (not pasteurized and backsweetened) they are gonna be in for an eye opener
I have no problems kegging or killing the yeast, hell I will have quite awhile to research what to do. I would love to make a clone of the Framboise that Lindeman's makes. I am sure the wife and I would love drinking on that one. What real Lambics should I try to see if I really want to make a lambic style ale?
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