Brewing a Lambic

My Girlfirend has been obsessed with lambics lately...especially Framboise. She has requested I try to make a Framboise myself. While I was at my LHBS today picking up supplies, I talked to another guy there, who mentioned that lambics take a while to make. I was going to brew in the primary, rack to secondary in a week/week-and-a-half, adding frozen raspberries in the secondary. I thought 2 weeks in the secondary should be good, but now I have doubts.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Ya...Try like....A year or more.


Search Evan! posts about infection, he's doing something similar.

You could always try making another kind of fruit beer, like an American Wheat with a crapload of fruit in the secondary, but yeah... lambics are usually brewed and let to age for a year or more. I'm actually going to put out some hops to let age for a year or so, so that hopefully in twelve months' time I have some aged hops that will be appropriate for brewing a lambic.

hmmmm....I really had no idea they took that long. I got a lot of 2-row, cara-pils, and some 40 L grains, hoping to brew an ale (It's coincidentally my first all-grain). I might be changing my mind now...

Actually, I'll probably go back to my LHBS and just do 2 batches, then...try out the lambic, and then make something I want. I don't think I can wait a year for a new homebrew.

Thanks for your help!

par383 said:

hmmmm....I really had no idea they took that long. I got a lot of 2-row, cara-pils, and some 40 L grains, hoping to brew an ale (It's coincidentally my first all-grain). I might be changing my mind now...

Click to expand...

Did you already shell out the cash for the lambic culture? Just brew that up with a nice clean dry ale yeast (Notty if you can find it) and rack onto a TON of fruit! It will be good.

BigKahuna said:

Did you already shell out the cash for the lambic culture? Just brew that up with a nice clean dry ale yeast (Notty if you can find it) and rack onto a TON of fruit! It will be good.

Click to expand...

I couldn't find a lambic yeast, so I went with the White Labs Belgian Ale Yeast. I think that it should do the job.

par383 said:

I think that it should do the job.

Click to expand...

And it will make a good beer....just won't be a lambic (So it won't really take a year). I say go for it....and post up some pictures.

It's been a few weeks now, and I'm ready to add my raspberries. I bought about 6# of frozen raspberries. I've tried looking for a good answer, but I haven't been able to really find an answer.

Should I pasteurize the berries in 170*F water before adding to the secondary, or can I just add the frozen bags? I've seen some other posts about pureeing fruit. Is that a good technique?

I meant to post to this thread when it was first posted.

My wife wanted me to brew up a lambic too, but instead I brewed her up a raspberry wheat but it's totally different from a lambic and she still wants me to do a lambic. I have some old hops so I'm probably gonna be starting one pretty soon.

I'd recommend pasteurizing fresh/frozen fruit to avoid any unwanted bacterial infections.

The technique I've always used is:

1.) Add the fruit (in a mesh bag) during the last 10 minutes of the boil to pasteurize and extract the "cooked" fruit flavors.

2.) Cool the pasteurized fruit and immediately add it to the fermenter.

3.) Ferment using your preferred method.

If you don't want to add the fruit during primary, you can soak the fruit in StarSan for a minute (it will dissolve the fruit a bit). Won't pasteurize the fruit but it will sanitize it on the surface at least. If the fruit is added in primary, I've heard that a lot of the fruit flavor can be pushed out by all the CO2 from fermentation. I've always added during secondary but that doesn't mean primary won't work.

par383 said:

It's been a few weeks now, and I'm ready to add my raspberries. I bought about 6# of frozen raspberries. I've tried looking for a good answer, but I haven't been able to really find an answer.

Should I pasteurize the berries in 170*F water before adding to the secondary, or can I just add the frozen bags? I've seen some other posts about pureeing fruit. Is that a good technique?

Click to expand...

If they are sealed frozen berries, I would just add them directly into the secondary fermenter and rack on top of them. If you want a little extra insurance, you could rinse them with some starsan... (I don't think it is worth it)

I use 6# raspberries in my Razzmatazz wheat and it takes a while to peak. With all the fruit and sweet tart flavors, it takes some aging to meld all the flavors together. I think mine really peaked at about 5-6 months, so if you have some patience it will be worth your time.

My girlfriend also likes lambics and I wanted to brew her one but there seems to be a lot more to it so I am not sure if im gona make one now. Once I move I might give it a try though....

Boerderij Kabouter said:

If they are sealed frozen berries, I would just add them directly into the secondary fermenter and rack on top of them. If you want a little extra insurance, you could rinse them with some starsan... (I don't think it is worth it)

I use 6# raspberries in my Razzmatazz wheat and it takes a while to peak. With all the fruit and sweet tart flavors, it takes some aging to meld all the flavors together. I think mine really peaked at about 5-6 months, so if you have some patience it will be worth your time.

Click to expand...

Thanks. Yes, they're frozen berries from the grocery store, in the sealed plastic bags. Although I know it's not a true lambic (because I couldn't find lambic yeast, and am using a belgian ale yeast instead), I think I'll still age it for about a year. It will be ready Labor Day 2009. And to celebrate the freeing up of one of my carboys, I'll be brewing! I have officially decided to also call Labor Day "Homebrew Day" at my house as well. That will make it 3-years running for brewing on Labor Day.

any update on here? Anyone start brewing a lambic or have any problems adding the fruit to primary?

I made a lambic over the weekend. I am starting with clean neutral dry yeast(under pitched on purpose) for a week then I am pitching the bugs. After a years time I am going to rack this onto 10lbs of cherry's and then wait another 6 months before bottling.

I started Kriek about four months ago. I used a generic wheat beer recipe and Wyeast 3278 Lambic Yeast. I pitched the yeast directly and after a month I racked onto 8 lbs of cherry puree(Oregon) and let that sit for two months. I transfered to a tertiary(month three) and now the pellicle has formed completely and the bugs are at work!! Once the pellicle drops I will check hydrometer and bottle accordingly. I will definitely let it age a lot longer in the bottle but I will need that darn carboy back!!

I've been hesitant to try a lambic because I've been nervous about introducing the bacteria to my brewery equipment. I've heard once the bugs "start working" it's hard to get them to stop and to clean them completely out of fermenters, etc.

What are some of the thoughts on this?

Here is a recipe for Framboise. I'd like to make some, but I really don't want to wait that long. Homebrewed Fruit Beer Recipes

FYI, the uber sweet Lindeman's Frambiose is NOT a true lambic. Lambic insinuates a light ale spontaneously fermented. Lambics typically undergo a turbid mash with a lot of unmalted barley. This leaves a lot of starches for the lactobacillus to eat up and make the beer sour. Brettanomyces are found to a lesser extent in lambics. They help dry out the beer (supperattenuative). This takes anywhere from 6 months to 3 years.

If you want a better idea of what lambic tastes like, track down the Geuze from the Boon brewery. A Geuze is a blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old lambics. The sugar left in the young lambic serves to naturally carbonate the bottle. This beer is very tart, funky and very dry. Nothing like the Lindeman's pasteurized backsweetned soda pop sold in the US.

I also HIGHLY suggest "Wild Brews" by Jeff Sparrow. This is hands down the best brewing related book I have ever read.

La Choulette is pretty good framboise too, though I don't think it's technically a lambic. Better than Lindeman's though.

Shelton Brothers: La Choulette Framboise

Here's a recipe for an interesting lambic that only takes one month: TastyBrew.com | Recipes

I've not tried it myself yet, but intend to on January 1 (if my wife can stand the smell of hops that morning!)

Also, yes, I know, it's not a true lambic because it's not from Belgium, and it's not spontaneously fermented. But if it looks like a lambic, and it smells like a lambic, and it tastes like a lambic, who really cares?

My lambic has been has been in a carboy for 10 months now. It's def. not a quick beer to make.