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Lambic tasting

I participated in a lambic tasting today in Baltimore, set up by Tom Cizauskas of Legends, Ltd. We were in two groups, a mixture of beer, wine, and food people, tasting 10 lambics each -- gueuze, unblended, and fruit -- completely blind. I don't even know how many lambics there were; we didn't get the same ones in each group. I had to leave before full results were promulgated, but some interesting raw results were given out. My group was mostly beer people (self-selecting, we just happened to sit together); our second-lowest score went to Frank Book Kriek (we thought it was too sweet, not very complex), which was the one ranked highest by the group with almost all wine people. Our two favorites were Cantillon Lou Pepe and Hanssens Kriek, and I don't believe the wine people liked either of them. Can't wait to get the rest of the results.

Great tasting, very well handled, and intense in the discussions. We generally agreed on things in the beer group, though Steve Frank (another writer, from Mid-Atalantic Brew News) and I tended to want more hardcore stuff in the lambics. I've only done two tastings similar to this; my first "serious" tasting back in 1992, with 12 gueuze lambics, and the Monk's all-lambic dinner some four years ago, with 11 lambics. Excellent opportunity, and my thanks to Tom for inviting me. I hope to write this up for Ale Street News.

Reply to
Lew Bryson
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How was Drie Fonteinen rated? That is my favorite Lambic these days...basically talking about the Gueuze, as their fruit lambics are pretty hard to find lately.

Bill Coleman

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Reply to
Bill Coleman

Lew,

Thanks for the post....excellent. You almost turned up my breakfast with the thought of wine snobs with their sour puss's from the lambics. Oh the sight must have been horrific.

Dave

Reply to
Davidlown

Well, the food person we had in our group was mostly a winer, and to be fair, she held up fairly well. The fun thing was that only the beer people had the guts to note the "whiffs of aged pigshit" and "barnyard aromas."

Reply to
Lew Bryson

Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon, Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke.

Reply to
Lew Bryson

Lew, if you want an event where you can taste all the lambics, head on over to Belgium for this:

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I'll be there, along with a lot of other Lambic Lovers.....Cheers, Chuck C.

Reply to
Chuck Cook

That's really stretching things to call De Ranke Kriek a "lambic." They don't actually blend a lambic, they buy some from elsewhere and blend it with their own house-brewed ale and, of course, the cherries. It's a bit like comparing Reinaert's "Flemish Wild Ale" to an actual lambic; it has some characteristics that make it similar to one, but it isn't one, just the same.

Reply to
Oh, Guess

I'll pass that along.

Reply to
Lew Bryson

: Drie Fonteinen was not in the lineup. It was 20 from Lindemans, Boon, : Hanssens, Cantillon, and De Ranke. :

De Ranke is not exactly a Lambic brewery -- they do some really interesting sour Belgian ales, but they are not Lambics.

Have you been getting Drie Fonteinen out East?

Reply to
Bill Benzel

I was invited to this tasting, not running it. Talk to Don about De Ranke, I don't know what the situation is with their Kriek. And I haven't seen Drie Fonteinen in five years.

Reply to
Lew Bryson

Lew Bryson ( snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.net) wrote: : : I was invited to this tasting, not running it. Talk to Don about De Ranke, I : don't know what the situation is with their Kriek. And I haven't seen Drie : Fonteinen in five years. :

Well, now I think I might have something in my possession to trade for some Perkuno's Hammer.

Why don't you come out for the Pizza Port 12 hour Belgian fest and bring some Perkuno's with you -- I'll hand over some nice Drie Fonteinen in return.

Reply to
Bill Benzel

There's a lot of reasons to go to San Diego...but I'd rather go to Belgium if I have to spend 6 hours on a plane!

Reply to
Lew Bryson

Check out

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for a lambic tasting the day before the Zythos Bier Festival next month.

What caught my eye...

Girardin oude lambik cubitainer 10 liter EUR 20.00

But how to get it home :)

Fred Waltman

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Reply to
Fred Waltman

Hey, I'll be there, too. What was your name again?

Fred.

Reply to
Fred Waltman

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