Loving lambics

So Im still new to lambics but have been buying different kinds and trying them out. At first it was a awkward Experience , totally something I didn't expect. I tried a cuvee Rene for my first which was a sour slap in the face haha , now I'm drinking a framboise by lindemans.

As I drink the framboise it reminds me of a tart berry pie upfront with a smell of sourness. The after taste is almost earthy or maybe from a oak barrel. I believe I have become hooked on this style and will be looking into brewing a lambic this fall. My LHBS is a lambic guru so I'm going to pick his brain this coming week. Just thought I would share my lambic experience.

Dan

Yes, lambic was a total surprise to me. I've developed a taste for the fruit lambics over time; still can't deal with gueuze though. And Orval, well, not my glass of beer. To me it tastes like somebody's got a heck of a brewhouse infection.

I'll drink Lindeman's Framboise from time to time (SWMBO loves it). But just know that it isn't a good representation of the style. Lindeman's adds artificial sugars to their fruit lambics, whereas traditional lambics are very dry and very tart.

If you brew a lambic, expect something more like the cuvee rene and less like the lindeman's fruits.

As has been said, Lindeman's fruited lambics are pretty crap. I'm not sure I'd even consider them true lambics. If you want a good fruited lambic experience, look for anything Cantillon (although they are pretty hard to get these days), or Drie Fonteinen. Boon's Marriage Parfait Kriek is really good as well. Stay away from Lindeman's and Timmerman's. Getting these good representations of fruited lambic is kind of hard since the demand for them is so high. If you get a few people together and do a group order from a place like bieresgourmet or belgiuminabox, then shipping isn't THAT bad and a lot of times the final cost of the bottle is cheaper than if you'd have found it on the shelves in the US. You might want to send a message out to your local homebrew club asking if anyone has a bottle for trade or if there is anyone that would be willing to open a few examples with you.

Also, you might want to try some examples of American fruited lambic. Upland makes a ton and they are pretty good. Rivertown is a small operation, but they just put out a Blackberry lambic that is really good.

As for Geuze, Cuvee Rene is great and inexpensive, making it the perfect beginner's geuze. As you get more into lambics and geuzes, you may find Cuvee Rene to be lacking a bit on the complexity side of things, however it will always be a great beer. Stock up on them. For geuze's, there really aren't any red-flag "stay away from" geuzes out there. However, there is a large range of flavor profiles. If you find a new one, try it. In my opinion, Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze is hands down the best geuze, but that doesn't mean you will think its the best.

I don't think it's super productive to tell someone the beer they're enjoying so much is actually terrible. It's more useful to suggest that it's atypical for the style, and they might be disappointed if they brew 5 gallons of lambic expecting Lindemann's.

FWIW I recently did a very simple, low bitterness (10 IBU) brown ale, and racked it over 5 lbs of frozen raspberries, then added half a pound of lactose before bottling. It's remarkably similar to the Lindemann's framboise, at least to my palate -- fruit dominates the nose and flavor, and contributes a lot of tartness, while the lactose adds that body and sweetness.

levifunk said:

As for Geuze, Cuvee Rene is great and inexpensive, making it the perfect beginner's geuze. As you get more into lambics and geuzes, you may find Cuvee Rene to be lacking a bit on the complexity side of things, however it will always be a great beer. Stock up on them.

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Plus the bottles are very easy to recork, even with plastic champagne corks. You can also cap them if you have the larger bell and a capper you can adjust.

I appreciate the input, any advice for lambics to try Please mention them. I always looks at the odd beer section for new ones to try.

Dan

ong said:

I don't think it's super productive to tell someone the beer they're enjoying so much is actually terrible. It's more useful to suggest that it's atypical for the style, and they might be disappointed if they brew 5 gallons of lambic expecting Lindemann's.

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I agree. I've seen it mentioned a lot on this forum that Lindeman's fruit lambics are "crap" or "terrible". Of course it's not a good representation of the style, but it is what it is. Just accept it as what it is and if you don't like it that's fine. If someone does like it then there's no reason to make them feel like they like crappy beer. I, for one, really enjoy Lambics and sour beer, and I also love Lindeman's Kriek even though, Oh No, it's not to style.
I would steer clear of Timmermans Oude Gueuze. It almost had a salty acidity to it that I didn't find pleasant.

Saying Lindeman's fruit lambics are crap was not a commentary on the OP's taste buds, but rather meant to point out that true fruited lambics are way different. OP stated he was new to lambics, so I think that information would be useful, and I went on to tell him where to look. If I offended the OP, sorry.

As for liking lindeman's fruit lambics, I have no problem with that. They are what they are, but the topic is about lambics, and as far as lambics go, they are crap. Thats what I was telling OP. For a sweet fruity beer, they're fine.

No offense taken im a lambics newb what can I say. Haha