WEEK 194---How to Drink LAMBIC

No---unlike how the title is souding--not trying to teach anyone on how one should drink a Lambic--there are certainly Lambic experts who are much more knowledgeable to do that---what i'm trying to do here is more of wanting to share some observations with newbies who are interested with trying out Lambic but perhaps have no clues on how to appreciate a Lambic better.

由于新人有疑问，这期就来聊聊LAMBIC。

对相当多新朋友来说，LAMBIC是没有中间点的啤酒类型，刚接触时不是皱着眉头捏着鼻子被酒的气息味道“吓到”逃之夭夭，就是觉得酸酸的怪怪的但好像还可以接受。

这样说是因为LAMBIC是具有非常独特特点风味的类型，野生菌自然发酵带来的影响，LAMBIC是天生自带一种霉香（有人说类似发霉的异味，有人说像蓝莓芝士那样臭香臭香）的风味独特酸啤酒，而且严格意义上只有布鲁塞尔周边特定地区酿造的才能称为LAMBIC，可说是有着特定地区空气水土气息影响的啤酒，不是一般酿酒师轻易能模仿而成的。

For many newbies---Lambic can be something of a like it or shun it sort of beer style---most likely due to 2 reasons---firstly it's sour(can be really puckering to some during first few tries)---and then most importantly it has got this Unique FUNK resulting from spontaneous fermentation which can be really off-putting to someone's nose--kinda like those who cannot appreciate the smell of blue cheese or the extreme example of say a Durian.( of course the funky smell of Lambic is different)

So what is a Lambic?

in very simplistic form---a Lambic is a beer spontaneously fermented within the specific areas in and around Brussels or more specifically termed the Pajotternland area---the uniqueness of wild yeast within this region means that ONLY Lambic produced within this region can be called a Lambic(in a way similar to how a Campagne can only be called Campagne when produced within the specific French region)---and Lambic can only be brewed during the cooler/colder period of a year as hot weather is bad for fermentation process.

Also Lambic is a time consuming beer where it would typically take up between 1 to 3 years to produce/age/blend before deemed good for release to the market.

LAMBIC是什么？

简单说就是通过空气中自然产生的野生菌发酵而成的自然发酵酸啤，当然中间还有一些对环境气候温度的外在因素讲究，比如只能在低温季节的深秋和冬季酿造（因为热天高温会带来不利于酿造的破坏性坏菌），也有对酿造材料和时间工序的讲究，比如只使用风味已褪去或说非常温和的旧啤酒花而不是新鲜啤酒花，比如需要超过一年或更久时间酝酿陈放才能出酒等等。

喝LAMBIC有讲究？

不同于喝其他类型啤酒比如IPA，PALE ALE，LAGER等较易喝/直接类型，喝LAMBIC一定程度上是有些讲究的：-

here's a few observations when drinking Lambic:-

What to expect ?

It is not wrong to assume that when drinking Lambic---sour is the key word---but it does not just starts there and end there---a well made Lambic can be much more than just sour---in fact even within the context of sour---there can be different tone/layers of sour---say from sour to bitter sour to sweet sour to funky sour as well as back end spicy/ savoury/sweeten tone of sour---there can be varieties of sour notes in a Lambic.

Also--depending on the use of barrels( be it red/white wine or hard liquor)---and what sort of fruits or food items(say vanilla or tonka beans) were added---Lambic can have varieties of taste pofile even though the key tone is sour.

In short---when facing a Lambic--newbies would first and foremost need to be able to appreciate the idea that beer can be sour--be able to savour what else are there other than just sour---and MOST importantly be able to accept(let alone appreciate) the uniquely Funky smell which in more ways than one is the essence of a Lambic.

1）喝出什么味道才对？

的确，LAMBIC是酸啤酒，酸味是很正常风味表现之一，虽然酸为主轴，但绝对不只在于一个酸字，优质LAMBIC风味绝对是独特具有多层次表现的，从酸味到酸涩到酸甜到酸香到回甘，其中不同分支的LAMBIC可以随着不同酿酒师混酒手法，陈放使用的其他酒类旧木桶，或者加入浸泡提味的水果或食材或香料，还有时间工序的长短等因素呈现以酸为主但风味细节可以很不同的啤酒。

最浅白语言说的话，喝LAMBIC除了首先要能接受啤酒可以是酸味概念之外，更需要能鉴赏酸味之中/之外的其他风味体现，比如最基本但也最独特，很多新朋友一时之间觉得难以接受的天然发酵霉香味。

Drink it fresher or keep it ?

To many a geeks---Lambic is about time---meaning for a same batch of Lambic---drinking it fresher/earlier upon release OR drinking it after some time/years of aging can bring about quite obvious or very big differences in how the same beer taste or even smell--it's quite normal to hear geeks saying 'should have kept this bottle for another year or more" after cracking it and felt somewhat let down--that the beer did not taste as rounded/good/layered or too young/thin/ lacking in layers---hence the saying among geeks of trying to not waste a Lambic by drinking it too "young".

But this is not to say all lambic bottles needed to be kept for say over 5-10 years only can be cracked--some geeks actually prefer to drink some earlier for examples fruited variants fresher as the taste and aroma of the fruits would be more eveidently fresher.

In short---to drink fresher or to keep it is very much a personal choice---it depends on what taste profile/flavours one would expect from a bottle.

2）早点喝还是晚些喝

有人说LAMBIC就是时间酿的酒，意思是同样一款LAMBIC，不同年份的会有不同风味展现，又或是，同一款同一年份但不同时间点比如早一年迟一年或更久喝也会有韵味上的差异（有时是巨大差异）出现，比如有些LAMBIC过早喝会出现风味单薄酒体风韵缺乏层次现象，酸啤迷会觉得浪费/可惜了。但反过来说有些LAMBIC比如加入水果浸泡提味的作品则可能要早点喝才能领略到水果鲜香风味，但如果追求的不是果鲜味，那就无所谓，或许收久了的水果LAMBIC虽可能果鲜味不再但还是有其他风味层次在，有时候某款LAMBIC早点还是迟些喝也看喝的人想找到什么风味层次而定。

Just the beer or wallop the sediment too?

If you look around Lambic serving pictures on social media especially from the specialized Lambic bars---you would notice there's always a basket holding the bottle on it's side while the bottle is in a 'sleeping"position---this is not a gimmick or a show---the reason for this is simple---to keep the sediment at the bottom of the bottle while pouring.

The idea is to enjoy Lambic "clear' without the interruption of muddy sediment. 

In short---Lambic is best enjoyed while stirring clear from the sediment---but if muddy sediment is your thing---and you prefer your lambic drinking that way---then yes please enjoy it the way you prefer---personal perferences shall be respected.

3）是只喝酒还是连酒渣一起干？

有注意到的都会知道，很多国外啤迷喝LAMBIC时都会将酒瓶斜躺在一个特制的竹篮或铁篮子上，这不是装腔作势或为了好看，这样做的理由是为了让酒瓶内的残余物/酒渣留在酒瓶底下而不是随着倒酒动作进入酒杯。

LAMBIC是自然发酵的，就算装瓶後还是自然发酵状态中，瓶子内会出现一些残余物/酒渣是正常现象，从品酒角度来说，倒入不激起酒渣渗入的LAMBIC是很多人都选择的方式，因为酒渣的混入会让酒体浑浊并在一定程度上影响口感，虽然如果有人喜欢把酒渣一起干掉不是问题，个人选择来说还是会尽量让酒渣留在瓶底就好。

Is Decanter a must?

craft beer in general needs time to warm up( or to breath so to speak)---Lambic certainly need time to get warmer after opening/pouring to show it's true potential taste profile---using a Decanter is one way of achieving that purpose---but personally i do not think it is a MUST have---if you happened to have a Devanter and feel like using it for a Lambic then by all means go ahead---but if you do not have one then there's no need to look for one purposely.

In short---so long as you give sufficient time after opening/pouring to that botlle of Lambic to breath/get warm before downing it--then it's quite good enough.

4）醒酒器（Decanter）必要吗？

啤酒是需要回温的，特别是包括LAMBIC在内属于较复杂类型啤酒开瓶/入杯後更加需要时间回温（或者说让酒呼吸）以展现应有的风味层次，倒入醒酒器让LAMBIC能更好的开拓酒体风味是方式之一。至于是不是每次喝LAMBIC就一定要用到醒酒器，个人觉得不是一定要，如果手边有醒酒器想用当然可以，没有的话也不必特意去找，只要记得LAMBIC是开瓶後绝对需要时间慢啜细品的就可。