What is a Lambic? A Lambic is a beer that is brewed in a region of Belgium called Pajottenland. It is a complex beer that is exposed to wild yeast and bacteria native to the region. The flavor of a Lambic is typically sour. It is often blended with fruit or sometimes older Lambics to make what is known as a Gueuze. Lambics take from 1 to 3 years to ferment and condition due to the different bacteria and yeast that work on all of the complex sugars and starches. To make the ideal wort for this style I will do a turbid mash. The turbid mash originated in Belgium in the early 1800's when breweries where being taxed on the size of their mash tun. What else do you do in that situation but jam as much grain as you can. So why a turbid mash? A turbid mash is exactly that. Milky, opaque, and cloudy. Full of unconverted starch from unmalted wheat and barley. The opposite of what you would want from a standard infusion mash. At different intervals you remove a certain percentage of mash liquor by pressing a colander like disk referred to as a stuykmanden and siphoning it out.
This beer goes against a lot of conventional methods. A thick concrete like mash. A very large percentage of unmalted grains. Old oxidized stale hops are used. Bacteria and wild yeast cultures are used to intentionally take over your fermentation. Oh those Belgians?
So how is a Lambic made in St Louis Missouri? Well first you ferment it for about a week with a standard ale yeast. Then you pitch a Lambic sour culture and let the magic begin. Sometimes it will smell like a barn. Sometimes it might smell like gym socks. After the different bugs had their turn it will be a complex sour ale that I plan on adding fruit to. I will keep you posted.
No comments:
Post a Comment