Lambic Discussion Thread

[RyanG1]

Marriage Parfait is everywhere in Portland! So is Tilquin, Timmermans, and... De Cam! Never seen De Cam before so that is awesome.

Where in PDX?

 

[Rowingbrewer1]

We get the MP gueuze but I have yet to see the kriek in boston

 

[tehzachatak]

the 2010 is what I'm seeing around and was very enjoyable especially for the price but let me know if you can't find it. I've got the kriek going in your next box

Thanks, dude. I know I can find the geuze, definitely cant find the kriek though so looking forward to it!

 

[kscaldef]

Where in PDX?

I'm not sure there's still any De Cam around, but I haven't gone looking. It sat around for a while a couple months ago, though

 

[RyanG1]

I'm not sure there's still any De Cam around, but I haven't gone looking. It sat around for a while a couple months ago, though

Turding up shelves

 

[Envelopes]

Still have 2008 MPG around here. Haven't seen MPK in a while but I believe it was 2011 last I saw it. Haven't heard of any 750s though, always 375s.

Also, that $40 De Cam Oude Lambiek is on sale for ~$13 on Etre

 

[falc0n26001]

Where in PDX?

Belmont Station! They had so much ridiculously good beer... Barrel aged Alesmith, Ale Apothecary, De Cam... I ended up getting some 3-Way IPA. So good!

 

[RyanG1]

Belmont Station! They had so much ridiculously good beer... Barrel aged Alesmith, Ale Apothecary, De Cam... I ended up getting some 3-Way IPA. So good!

Only a mile away from where I am staying! Excited to visit.

 

[kscaldef]

Turding up shelves

Yeah, it was really expensive compared to Tilquin and 3F, which are also not to hard to pick up on a regular basis, and the reports were that that bottling of De Cam wasn't very good.

 

[stupac2]

not sure how new or how long SD has been getting the boon MP but I at least know we received the 2010 gueuze and the 2011 kriek shipments a few months ago. Happy to send you some if you can't find it and would like to tick.

I don't want to tick it (I've had it plenty), it's just good and I'm hoping it's cheap and under-the-radar. I'll have to stop by WF to see if they have any.

 

[LukeAleTime]

the 2010 is what I'm seeing around and was very enjoyable especially for the price but let me know if you can't find it. I've got the kriek going in your next box

I had a 2010 MP vs a 2009 (I think) regular recently. The MP sucked hard. Had a nasty aspirin finish that I just couldn't get around. The regular was beautiful though. I could get up in that all day.

 

[PeelBacks]

I had a 2010 MP vs a 2009 (I think) regular recently. The MP sucked hard. Had a nasty aspirin finish that I just couldn't get around. The regular was beautiful though. I could get up in that all day.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I liked it despite the short finish.
http://dontdrinkbeer.com/2014/07/05...flintstones-vitamins-rubbing-dino-on-my-gums/ DDB did 09 last month.

 

[LukeAleTime]

Question about Lambic being TSG...

What specifically needs to happen for a beer to be considered lambic?


From the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protec...Traditional_specialities_guaranteed_.28TSG.29

The TSG quality scheme aims to provide a protection regime for traditional food products of specific character. Differing from PDO and PGI, this quality scheme does not certify that the protected food product has a link to specific geographical area.

To qualify for a TSG a food must be of “specific character” and either its raw materials, production method or processing must be “traditional”. Under Art. 3 of Regulation 1151/12 “specific character” is defined as “the characteristic production attributes which distinguish a product clearly from other similar products of the same category”. Under Art. 3 of Regulation 1151/12 “traditional” is defined as “proven usage on the domestic market for a period that allows transmission between generations; this period is to be at least 30 years”. For a food name to be registrable under the TSG scheme it must (a) have been traditionally used to refer to the specific product; or (b) identify the traditional character or specific character of the product.

A TSG creates an exclusive right over the registered product name. Accordingly, the registered product name can only be used by producers who conform to the registered production method and product specifications.

“The legal function of the TSG is to certify that a particular agricultural product objectively possesses specific characteristics which differentiate it from all others in its category, and that its raw materials, composition or method of production have been consistent for a minimum of 30 years. Thus, TSG food denominations are registered trade signs with a distinctive function.” [6]

 

[stupac2]

Question about Lambic being TSG...

What specifically needs to happen for a beer to be considered lambic?


From the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protec...Traditional_specialities_guaranteed_.28TSG.29

I didn't think lambic was protected at all. I thought only gueuze and kriek were. (I may easily be wrong.)

 

[cneville1]

Question about Lambic being TSG...

What specifically needs to happen for a beer to be considered lambic?


From the wiki:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protec...Traditional_specialities_guaranteed_.28TSG.29

no such thing as tsg in amurrrrica. barefoot champagne for everyone!

 

[LukeAleTime]

I didn't think lambic was protected at all. I thought only gueuze and kriek were. (I may easily be wrong.)

Doesn't that get a bit messy - assuming that gueuze is defined as a blend of old and young lambics?

 

[LukeAleTime]

This mentions Lambic is covered (also, lol age gate on this page. Can't have any underage kids learning about Belgian Beer certifications)

http://www.belgianbrewers.be/en/beer-culture/the-art-of-beer/article/collective-marks

 

[kscaldef]

What specifically needs to happen for a beer to be considered lambic?

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:1997:021:0013:0014:EN:PDF

 

[kscaldef]

Very interestingly, it says nothing about grain bill, mash schedule, or hop bill.

 

[Gestalten]

Great thread so far. Took a while to get through it all, but it's cool reading people's different experiences.
A late weigh in on earlier discussion... my favorite gueuze is Hanssen's, followed by Cantillon Classic/3F pretty much neck in neck. Though of the three 3F is the one I've seen least of. Unfortunately I haven't really kept notes about vintages etc, so I can't say when they were all from. My favorite Kriek is also Hannsen's, followed by 3F, then Cantillon, though I've seen far less of the latter.
I used to think everything Boon was crap, but my experience had been with Boon Kriek, which literally has a saccharine taste to it, that to me is like sweet-n-low (an artificial sweetener brand, for you Euros). Now I can say really like Marriage Parfait Gueuze and Kriek. I need to re-visit some of the other less reputable ones now, like Girardin (Never had Black), Oud Beersel, and Lindeman's.
Perhaps someone knows better than I... when I first started seeing 3F the bottles all looked like this...

and the **** was amazing. Consistently excellent, and totally unique. Then, some time passed, **** dried up, and I didn't have any for a while. (Luckily Hanssen's is pretty easy to come by here.) Then, a friend brought one of these to a tasting...

and of course I was excited, but then I was immediately let down by the taste. It was very soft on flavor, and it was all concentrated in this kind of thin, tinny, saccharine high note. That was it, no full mouth flavor, no grippy tannic complexity, just a single, artificial tasting high note. (Like six other people at the tasting, some pretty heavy gueuze ballers all agreed) To me this new label was indicating an inferior product somehow, and I wondered if it had anything to do with the big accident. I also noted that it no longer said "Blended Lambic Aged in Oak Barrels" on the label. Could there be a reason for this, or mere coincidence? I can't seem to find any info on the label change. All I know is I'm in no rush to drink this label again, better Marriage, any day of the week.

Am I wrong about the sequence of events here? Did I have a weird bottle? Or does everyone just like gueuze that tastes like Fresca™?

Oh, and just because you can never have too many Lambix pix, here's one from a session up at a friend's cabin...

It was a great drinking day, LP, great of course, VAT44 was fantastic, best I've had from Boon, Moriau was surprisingly great for one I'd not heard of, first time having De Cam, and thought it was excellent. I have no impression of the 3F on this occasion, so I can't say if it was the same as my first experience with it.

 

[Gestalten]

Also, super long-shot, but anyone ever seen a copy of "La region du Lambic" by Thierry Delplancq (September 1995)? I'd love to even have a PDF of it...

 

[SeaWatchman]

There is no difference between 3F's yellow label and green label. The yellow label is used in the U.S. and the green label is used everywhere else. Depending on what vintage your bottles are you could be tasting 100% Armand's lambic or a blend of other producers lambic in a 3F bottle. I treat each bottling as its own beer, and there's always something different.

 

[Gestalten]

There is no difference between 3F's yellow label and green label. The yellow label is used in the U.S. and the green label is used everywhere else. Depending on what vintage your bottles are you could be tasting 100% Armand's lambic or a blend of other producers lambic in a 3F bottle. I treat each bottling as its own beer, and there's always something different.

Thanks. Seems odd that they would have such different labels for the same product given they don't have the "Bio" issue like Cantillon. But whatever... I guess I just had a lesser bottle. Relieved that this is not some new thing that just flat out sucks, because all the previous bottles (yellow label) I've had have been fabulous.

Your post brings up another interesting thing with Armand's blends I've never heard a decent answer for... Is the composition of a blend purely taste, irrespective of including all major suppliers, or does he typically try to include all suppliers and balance the taste as needed? If it were the former, the composition of each vintage would be a very interesting detail to have. Tilquin apparently does the latter, and I don't know anything about De Cam.

 

[SeaWatchman]

Also, super long-shot, but anyone ever seen a copy of "La region du Lambic" by Thierry Delplancq (September 1995)? I'd love to even have a PDF of it...

Also, here is some of Thierry's work, but it's all in French so if you don't know the language then it's a bit tough.

Les brasseries de lambic (XVIIIe-XXe s.) - 1:
http://biere-et-brasseries-bruxelle.../les-brasseries-de-lambic-xviiie-xxe-s-1.html

 

[stupac2]

Checked WF yesterday for Mariage Parfait, none to be found. I'm starting to wonder if this is just the one thing that we get ****** on in the Bay Area. It's baffling.

 

[SeaWatchman]

Cool video/interview with JVR and a bit of JPVR about the new expansion if you understand French or just want a little look around.

 

[Gestalten]

Also, here is some of Thierry's work, but it's all in French so if you don't know the language then it's a bit tough.

Les brasseries de lambic (XVIIIe-XXe s.) - 1:
http://biere-et-brasseries-bruxelle.../les-brasseries-de-lambic-xviiie-xxe-s-1.html

Thanks! Too bad I can't read french. I emailed the author to see if he can send me the PDF, hopefully it's in unicode or something translatable. If I have any luck, I'll post back here.

 

[stupac2]

Thanks! Too bad I can't read french. I emailed the author to see if he can send me the PDF, hopefully it's in unicode or something translatable. If I have any luck, I'll post back here.

If you feel like paying to have it translated I actually know someone who does that professionally.

 

[Gestalten]

If you feel like paying to have it translated I actually know someone who does that professionally.

Good to know. Let's see how far I get... I would think translation of the document in it's current state might be prohibitively extensive though.

 

[stupac2]

Good to know. Let's see how far I get... I would think translation of the document in it's current state might be prohibitively extensive though.

Well let me know if you want me to poke her for a quote.