Topic Archives: Lambics
Cantillon To Experiment With New Fermentation Vessels
Cantillion, one of the most sought after lambic brewers in the world might be changing things up a bit in the near future. Their lambics (sour wheat beer endemic to Brussels) have been aged in wooden barrels for years. Soon, you may partake in a Cantillion lambic from a new style of barrel – an amphora.
John-Pierre Van Roy writes:
Until recently I would have never even imagined myself putting my beer into anything besides a barrel, and yet… And yet, a blind wine tasting session completely changed my vision of things. On that occasion I tasted something which truly caused me to lose my composure. Its exceptional fragrance and finish, unbelievable complexity bringing together fruitiness, freshness and minerality made it incomparable with a “traditional” wine. There was clearly something different at work here, but what?
Amphora. What’s that you might ask? It’s pictured below.
An amphora was a vessel to carry liquid in the Mediterranean, and more notably the Roman Empire. It even became a unit of measurement by the Romans. There are a few winemakers these days that are using this pots to make natural wine, without the addition of extra yeast. The method of making these wines are similar to lambic making.
Cantillion has recently acquired 12 of these vessels, soaked them in water, and filled them with lambic this month. First tastes of these amphora lambics will ready this fall.
Side Note: A reader inquired about what wines inspired this. There’s a bit more from Cantillion:
Wikipedia can give you a full rundown on amphoras…
Ommegang Three Philosophers. Big Quad, Small Bottles
New spiffy artwork update for Ommegang Three Philosophers. This seasoned quad is available in 12oz & 750ml formats.
Three Philosophers is a quadrupel (98% quad) and 2% Liefman’s Kriek blended together. Previously only available in corked and caged 750ml bottles.
12 Bottle Release: TBA
9.7% ABV
NOTE: If you were reading this earlier, it was mentioned that 12oz bottles were being “added.” 12oz bottles have been available in some markets for a while now. This is an artwork update…
WANT: Allagash Coolship Red
Allagash just beer teased the world via Twitter a few minutes ago, when they mentioned Coolship Red is about go on sale. This beer has been 4 years in the making. A spontaneously fermented beer, brewed with raspberries.
Over 4 years ago, Allagash built a coolship – an open fermentation vessel on site in Portland.
In the summer of 2008, we decided to build a coolship at our brewery. A coolship is a large shallow pan used to cool wort overnight using outside air temperature. During the cooling process, naturally occuring yeast from the air innoculates the wort. In the morning, the cooled wort is transferred into barrels where the fermentation process begins. The beer is then aged for an undetermined amount of time, until we deem it “ready”. We have yet to sell any of these beers but have poured them at some special events and are planning to release them. Eventually.
Today we know. Bottle release is extremely limited, and only to the shop in Portland, Maine. $15. 400 bottles total.
Allagash Bottles Coolship Lambics
Allagash Brewing is bringing to market beers from their “koelship” this year. The brewery christened their “coolship” in 2008. The coolship is basically a vessel to allow wort to cool, and expose it to wild yeast for making lambics. Simply enough right?
Making a lambic isn’t as easy as you’d think. Working with wild yeasts and long fermentations isn’t easy. If the process is the same as the their 2008 brew day, here is what to expect from these beers – when and if you can get your hands on them. The lambic is composed of raw wheat malt, and Belgian pilsner malt. The plan is for a very long fermentation. The wort is 4x-5x thicker than Allagash’s uses brews. In 2008, the brewery was working with both Hop Union for aged/special perservative hops and Cantillion Brewery in Belgium on this project. Cantillion creates some of the worlds best lambics. Geek notes on the mash – initial temperature is a cool 118 degrees. Total water= 450 gallons.
After transferring to boil – a long 4 HOUR boil, the beer is pumped into a special house that holds the coelship (pictured below.) There the beer cools over night, exposing the wort to wild yeast that will fall into it, spontaneously fermenting the beer.
Allagash has been aging some lambics in house for over 2 years. They mentioned a little while back that they will be release these spontaneous beers at random. There are 2 fruit lambics headed out into the wild (nice play on words right?) Coolship Cerise (Cherries) and Coolship Red (Raspberries.) Both are aged in oak.
Availability: 375ml bottles, corked & caged. Draft. Distribution TBA.
8.1% ABV
A Marriage Of Lambics, Cherries
Not a lot of this unique beer has made it stateside. For those looking for something interesting and unique to drink this weekend, take a look at this one.
Brouwerij Boon is based in Lembeek, Belgium. They specialize in gueuze & lambic style beers. Kriek Mariage Parfait is as the name says, a kriek beer. You get a kriek beer after you take a lambic (beer fermented with wild yeast) and fermented it again with sour cherries. These traditional styles are typically brewed in and around Brussels, Belgium. To make this “parfait” Boon has blended various years of the cherry lambic together and fermented it again in the bottle. You’ll find those who appreciate lambics, speak highly of this beer.
Style: Lambic (blend)
Taste Expectations: Cherries & oak. Funky & tart. Some sweetness offsets tart. Grassy, complex.
Availability: 375ml Bottles, corked & caged
8% ABV
Allagash’s First Spontaneous Beers, Sold Spontaneously
Allagash Brewing mentioned today only on Twitter that the first of the brewery’s spontaneously brewed beer will finally be sold. These beers were brewed over the course of the last 1-3 years.
Interestingly enough, the brewery will NOT announce when the beer goes on sale. That will also be spontaneous. Within the next 90 days. (Fits doesn’t it.)
Allagash briefly mentioned on their blog in January 2008:
Last month we brewed the first two of our spontaneously fermented beers at Allagash. In brewing these beers we are using an authentic, traditional process honoring the classic Belgian Lambic tradition, including the use of a cool ship, which we built specifically for these spontaneous beers.
Also check out this video about the process. <Allagash Blog>
FREE BEER: Brouwerij Timmermans
Today 5:30-7:30pm, Hop City hosts a free tasting at Octane Coffee in the westside.
Featured is 3 offering Brouwerij Timmermans from Belgium – including Strawberry (lambic w/ strawberry), Framboise (lambic w/ raspberry), & ourgogne Des Flandres Brune (Flanders Oud Brune).
Tasting is completely free!
Octane Coffee -12/15, 5:30pm
1009-b Marietta Street Northwest,
Atlanta, GA
