Lambic


Cooking with Kriek: Cherry-Berry Lambic Crisp

A splash of kriek deepens the tart berries and cherries in this traditional fruit crisp, ideal for bringing to summertime cookouts—scoop of ice cream, recommended.

Brewing with Wind Malt

Perhaps the oldest way of preparing grain for brewing, drying malt in the open air was traditional for lambics, white beers, and various rustic ales scattered around Europe, Africa, and beyond. Today, brewers and maltsters interested in history, terroir, and old-fashioned methods are taking their malt back out into the sun.

Editors’ Picks: Historical Hindsight and Helpful Haulers

From a trick new cooler to deep-dive books into gluten-free brewing and lambic history, here are some picks to kick off the new year.

Editor's Picks: From Cradle To Stave

From books on Brussels beer and brewing with hemp to a handmade bottle-pouring cradle, here are a few recent editors’ picks that could also work as gift ideas.

Podcast Episode 232: Raf Souvereyns of Bokke Is Blending Lambic with Fruit and New Perspective

In the Belgian province of Limburg, near the town of Hasselt and the Haspengouw region known for fruit-growing, the Bokke blendery is getting back on its feet.

Podcast Episode 226: For Cantillon’s Jean Van Roy, Brewing Comes Naturally

Through dire decades for traditional lambic, this multigenerational Brussels brewery kept the flame lit long enough to witness the current renaissance. Yet Cantillon continues to explore methods for using fruit while staying true to the family’s vision.

Cooking With Sour Beer: Shrimp Salad in a Jar

From fresh catch to fridge favorite, this bright and flavorful warm-weather dish is a perfect foil for the refreshingly tart beer—your choice—with which it’s made.

Flavor Fever: The Elements of Funk

Sour and wild beers exist on a complex plane of myriad flavors and aromas produced by bacteria, yeast, ingredients, and by-products. Randy Mosher breaks down the building blocks of what we sense, to help us identify what we enjoy.

Brewer’s Perspective: A Life Beneath the Cobwebs

Jean Van Roy, head brewer at Brasserie Cantillon in Brussels and heir to a 120-year-old lambic-brewing legacy, discusses his emotional approach and connection to spontaneously fermented beer—and his view on the new wave inspired by traditional methods.

Recipe: Burning Beard In Praise of Bacchus

Here is a homebrew-scale recipe for Burning Beard’s spontaneously fermented lambic-style beer. Including a turbid mash schedule and long boil, it’s inspired by the traditional methods followed by Belgian lambic brewers.