Basic Homebrewed Lambic

Lambic-style sour ale

by Chris Colby
Extract version; English units
DESCRIPTION
A sour ale that can be a base for a blended beer, like a gueuze, or as the base for a fruit lambic,
such as a kriek or framboise. Or, it can be enjoyed on its own. The beer is tart, and gets more
tart over time, and shows no appreciable hop bitterness. Depending on the fermentation, the
beer may have some funk, but given the directions here it is more likely to be a mostly
clean sour. A small amount of tannic astringency gives the beer structure. If brewed well, this
beer will continue to condition and improve for years.
INGREDIENTS (for 5 gallons)
Water
carbon filtered tap water, with mineral content suitable to brewing a pale or amber beer
Malt and Malt Extract (for an OG of 1.051 at 65% extract efficiency and 5 SRM)

In the loft at Cantillon. You can (barely) see bales of hops aging in the back left.

3 lb. 14 oz. Pilsner malt or Belgian pale malt

1.0 lb. wheat malt (white)
1 lb. 2 oz. flaked wheat or torrefied wheat
12 oz. dried light malt extract
1.75 lbs. dried wheat malt extract
Hops (for approximately 10 IBUs)
0.75 oz. Saaz hops (fresh)
or
1.5 oz. Saaz hops (aged 1 year)
or
3.0 oz. Saaz hops (aged 2 years)
or
4.0 oz. Saaz hops (aged 3 years)

Yeast and Bacteria (for an FG lower than 1.010 and approximately 5.3% ABV)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Fermentis Safale US-05, or
the neutral yeast strain of your choice
(1-qt. yeast starter)
and
Wyeast 3278 (Lambic Blend), White Labs WLP655 (Belgian Sour Mix 1), other the sour blend of
your choice or individual cultures of suitable Pediococcus, Lactobaccilus and Brettanomyces
strains
(do not make a starter)
Other
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrients
PROCEDURES
Make the yeast starter 2 to 3 days ahead of time. Place the crushed malts and raw wheat in a
nylon steeping bag. Heat 8.9 qts. water in your brew pot to 163 F. Mash the grains in your
brewpot at 152 F for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add heat, if needed, to maintain the
approximate mash temperature. When the mash is finished, heat the mash to 170 F, then
transfer the bag to the 3-gallon beverage cooler. While the grains are mashing, heat 9 qts. of
sparge water to 194 F. Recirculate the wort through the grain bed. Then, run off and sparge
with 194 F water. Collect up to 4.0 gallons of wort, depending on how much you can boil. Boil
wort for 90 minutes, adding hops with one hour left to go. Do not let brewpot volume dip below
3.0 gallons. Add boiling water to top up, if needed. Shut off the heat, and stir in the dried malt
extract. Take the temperature of the wort. It should be over 170 F. If it is not, heat it to this point
(to sanitize the malt extract addition). Chill wort to 68 F, then transfer to a bucket fermenter. Top
up to 5.0 gallons with filtered tap water, then aerate the wort well. Pitch the ale yeast from the
yeast starter. Ferment at 68 F. Add the wild yeast and bacteria after high krusen. Let the beer
condition, at ale fermentation temperatures, for at least nine months. Do not rack the beer to a
secondary fermenter. In the summer, the temperature can rise, but do not let it exceed 80 F.
Check on the fermenter at least once every other month to ensure that the water in the airlock
does not evaporate. The final gravity of this beer may drop as low as 1.004, given enough time
to condition. A pellicle will form on top of the beer after a few months, but will eventually sink to
the bottom of the fermenter in a year or so.
ALL-GRAIN OPTION
At 70% extract efficiency, the grain bill is 6.5 lbs. (3.0 kg) pale malt, 1.75 lbs. (790 g) wheat malt,
and 1.75 lbs. (790 g) flaked wheat. Mash at 152 F (67 C). Sparge with 194 F (90 C) water
and collect around 6.57.0 gallons (2527 L) of wort. Boil to reduce to 5.0 gallons (19 L),
adding hops for the final 60 minutes of the boil. Ferment at 68 F (20 C) with ale yeast, then
add lambic blend after high krusen. Age for a minimum of 9 months.
FRUIT LAMBICS

The two most popular fruit lambics are kriek (cherry lambic) and framboise (raspberry lambic).
Use half a pound (230 g) of raspberries per gallon or a pound (450 g) of cherries per gallon (~4
L). Use fresh, whole fruit that has been washed. Cut off any bruises or blemishes. You can also
use fruit pure. Add the fruit to the bucket after the beer has conditioned for at least nine
months. You do not need to sanitize the fruit. If using cherries, remove any stems. Optionally,
you can pit the fruit, but that is not needed. Allow the beer to contact the fruit for at least two
months, although 6 to 9 months is more traditional. (Most of the color and flavor from the fruit
will be extracted in the first few weeks. So, you can rush this step a little, if youd like.)
Bottle and carbonate for up to 5 volumes of CO 2. (See our carbonation article.) Young lambics,
or beers that have had a short contact time with the fruit, may overcarbonate. Bottle in heavy
bottles and monitor carbonation by opening a bottle occasionally. Store in a container in which a
burst bottle will not cause problems. (For example, line a sturdy case box with a plastic garbage
bag.)
Carbonate to a lesser degree, around three volumes of CO 2, if you are concerned about the
potential for burst bottles.
AGING HOPS
Aging hops can be dicey. Traditional lambic brewers age their whole hops, in bales exposed to
air, at room temperature for up to three years. As a homebrewer, I age my hops in their nitrogen
flushed packages, in my freezer. I feel I get everything I need from the aged hops, without the
risk of them turning cheesy. If you are feeling more daring or traditional, you can your hops in
the refrigerator or at room temperature. Any cheesy character should be expelled during the
boil.
When aging hops at home, be sure to label each package with the date you purchased it. If you
plan on brewing lambics every year, purchase new hops to set aside for aging each brewing
season.

Side view of the coolship at Cantillon.

Basic Homebrewed Lambic

Lambic-style sour ale
by Chris Colby
Extract version; metric units

INGREDIENTS (for 19 L)
Water
carbon filtered tap water, with mineral content suitable to brewing a pale or amber beer
Malt and Malt Extract (for an OG of 1.051 at 65% extract efficiency and 5 SRM)
1.8 kg Pilsner malt or Belgian pale malt
450 g wheat malt
500 g flaked wheat or torrefied wheat
340 g dried light malt extract
790 g dried wheat malt extract
Hops (for approximately 10 IBUs)
21 g Saaz hops (fresh)
or
43 g Saaz hops (aged 1 year)
or
85 g Saaz hops (aged 2 years)
or
110 g Saaz hops (aged 3 years)
Yeast and Bacteria (for an FG lower than 1.010 and approximately 5.3% ABV)
Wyeast 1056 (American Ale), White Labs WLP001 (California Ale), Fermentis Safale US-05, or
the neutral yeast strain of your choice.
(1-L yeast starter)
and
Wyeast 3278 (Lambic Blend), White Labs WLP655 (Belgian Sour Mix 1), other the sour blend of
your choice or individual cultures of suitable Pediococcus, Lactobaccilus and Brettanomyces
strains
(do not make a starter)
Other
1/2 tsp. yeast nutrients
PROCEDURES
Make the yeast starter 2 to 3 days ahead of time. Place the crushed malts and raw wheat in a
nylon steeping bag. Heat 8.5 L water in your brew pot to 73 C. Mash the grains in your brewpot
at 67 C for 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add heat, if needed, to maintain the approximate
mash temperature. When the mash is finished, heat the mash to 77 C, then transfer the bag to
the 3-gallon (11-L) beverage cooler. While the grains are mashing, heat 9 L of sparge water to
90 C. Recirculate the wort through the grain bed. Then, run off and sparge with 90 C water.
Collect up to 15 L of wort, depending on how much you can boil. Boil wort for 90 minutes,
adding hops with one hour left to go. Do not let brewpot volume dip below 11 L. Add boiling
water to top up, if needed. Shut off the heat, and stir in the dried malt extract. Take the
temperature of the wort. It should be over 77 C. If it is not, heat it to this point (to sanitize the

malt extract addition). Chill wort to 20 C, then transfer to a bucket fermenter. Top up to 5.0
gallons with filtered tap water, then aerate the wort well. Pitch the ale yeast from the yeast
starter. Ferment at 20 C. Add the wild yeast and bacteria after high krusen. Let the beer
condition, at ale fermentation temperatures, for at least nine months. Do not rack the beer to a
secondary fermenter. In the summer, the temperature can rise, but do not let it exceed 27 C.
Check on the fermenter at least once every other month to ensure that the water in the airlock
does not evaporate. The final gravity of this beer may drop as low as 1.004, given enough time
to condition. A pellicle will form on top of the beer after a few months, but will eventually sink to
the bottom of the fermenter in a year or so.

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