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Styles · Lambic

Beer style · BJCP 2021 23D

Lambic

European Sour Ale

Published ranges These are the ranges the BJCP 2021 guidelines publish for this style.

Original gravity
1.040–1.054
Final gravity
1.001–1.010
Bitterness
0–10 IBU
Color
3–7 SRM (6–14 EBC)
Alcohol
5.0–6.5 % ABV

What it is

Unblended spontaneously fermented wheat beer, usually served young and lightly carbonated straight from the cask. Expect a bracing lactic bite, dry finish and a hay-and-cellar funk from wild yeast and bacteria, with aged hops contributing aroma but essentially no bitterness.

Flavor

What a Lambic should taste like, on the three wheels the studio scores every recipe against. The shaded ring is the style’s range on each axis, from 0 at the center to 5 at the edge.

Hops

Hops stay in the background: none of their character belongs.

Malt

Grainy, with room for bready/biscuit or sweet/honey.

Fermentation

Tart and funk, with room for fruity esters.

Hops that suit it

None on character. The hops in this style are there for bitterness and balance, and any variety whose aroma you would notice is out of place.

Yeasts that suit it

Strains the lab made for beers like this one, whose fermentation character sits inside the style’s wheel. A strain sold by several labs is listed once; its page names the others.

And 33 more yeasts whose character fits. These are the 24 that fit best.

Style numbers, names and vital statistics are from the BJCP 2021 Beer Style Guidelines, where you will find the official descriptions. The descriptions and flavor wheels here are Beerwright’s own. Beerwright is not affiliated with or endorsed by the BJCP.