Info & Media

Aged Gueuze and Lambic beers: An introduction

Lambic is undoubtedly the oldest of all the beers we know at present. However, the origin of this beer is shrouded in the mists of time. An exact date is not at hand, but we can safely say that the first lambic was brewed before the 1300’s...

There is but little difference with the way lambic was brewed in the past and how it is done nowadays. The brewers still use over-year hops that leave no bitterness. They do not add yeasts because the wort cools in open cooling tanks after brewing and is exposed to the ambient air during the night. In this way, wild yeasts initiate fermentation. The beer continues to mature in wooden barrels, as was the case in the past.

Lambic is a flat beer, without carbon dioxide and often cloudy. With the rise of lager and English specialties, the lambic brewers were looking for a way to foam the lambic. The 'modern' Gueuze was created by mixing young and old Lambic and allowing it to ferment in the bottle . The young lambic had sufficient sugars and live yeasts to start the secondary fermentation in the bottle. This is how the profession of “geuzesteker” or “gueuze blender” was born. Every master blender stands out from the others by mixing lambic from different breweries and by using different maturation times for their products.

Sources:
Streekproduct.be
High Council for Craft Lambic Beers vzw

Media

• Article Trends Style dd 14 September 2023
• Article Weekend Knack
• Article dS Magazine
• Article Belgian Beer & Food
• Beer Awards: Gebeurtenis van het jaar - bronzen medaille