Sipping in Style ep01: Lambic, Gueuze, & Fruit Lambic

[@danfrost5927]

Fantastic ep! Can't wait for the second one!

[@BeerScholar]

lol me too, Dan! They've been very slow to come, but it's happening. I promise!

[@whoajack]

Awesome session, just finished watching. Figure will balance the hitting-the-books / exam prep with sitting back and youtubing all this good content. More liquid gold, thx!

[@BeerScholar]

That’s the idea! Cheers!

[@Dcalzaretta]

Great to see these! Thanks.

[@BeerScholar]

Cheers!

[@yanghe1874]

Very useful for my CC exam preparation , expecting watching more "Sipping in style" and "Side-by-side", thx!

[@nickharding6262]

Brilliant content yet again. Really great to get a deep dive in to beer styles alongside the shorter style comparison videos which are really good too.

[@BeerScholar]

Much appreciated! We've got MANY more of these planned for the nearish future and I'm really looking forward to getting the format fully dialed! Doing lambic first was a questionable decision, ha!

[@t.s.taylorhatlestad3662]

I watched this while drinking a 2018/2019 Oude Geuze Boon and Wild Barrel Menagerie of Barrels. OGB was slightly doughy, refreshing, and tart without being overly sour. Notable funk and white pepper notes. The WB label says it was aged first in neutral oak barrels with white raspberries and lactobacillus for three years. Then it was aged with red raspberries and Brettanomyces in French oak for two years. It fit the BJCP description of a fruit Lambic. It was med-high carb, pleasantly sour and funky. The raspberry was discernable, still bright, fruity, but not sweet, and pleasant. It seems significantly more acidic than the Oude Geuze but still had interesting Brett character and worthy of this tasting comparison. it reminded me a tart raspberry lemonade or a raspberry lemon sorbet, but without the sugar.

[@BeerScholar]

Excellent descriptors, you're going to crush your style essay on the CC exam ;)

[@DanABA]

Hey guys, great start! Looking forward to more! Just a few points I would make, being the guy that writes most of the MTF wiki: 1. Although a lot of brewers say that the pellicle "protects" the beer, there really isn't any kind of evidence for that (note that there has never been an actual beer study on pellicles). If you think about the types of microbes that form in a pellicle though, they are oxidative ones (Acetobacter, oxidative yeasts, Brett, etc), which form acetic acid in the presence of oxygen. So, all a pellicle really does is indicate that there is air in the headspace. Perhaps the pellicle "protects" the beer from other oxidative reactions a bit, but that would still occur in solution if Brettanomcyes or other yeast are active within the beer, and a pellicle also indicates that acetic acid is probably being formed to some degree. Check out the Pellicle page on MTF. 2. I think that aged hops bring a lot more flavor than people realize. They do contribute bitterness to younger lambic and other sour beers. They also contribute a type of earthiness flavor. In regards to isovaleric acid from aged hops, we took a poll in MTF and out of 222 people who voted, only 17% said that any level of IVA is unacceptable, while 61% said that small levels are acceptable (I have had small levels in a few Belgian gueuzes), and 21% said that small to moderate levels are acceptable. Of course, the things I mention above might score against you on the Cicerone. I have no idea how up to date they are on mixed ferm stuff (hopefully Averie or someone else is keeping an eye on it). Cheers!

[@BeerScholar]

Thanks for the info, Dan! I didn’t know that about pellicles, definitely interesting stuff. As for the aged hops, I definitely agree they bring some flavor and I’d suggest/vote in a poll that a touch of isovaleric acid at a subtle level is pretty common in lambic…similar to how skunkiness is considered an off flavor in all beer but often seems to have a minor presence in lambic as just part of the overall funky complexity. I should’ve name dropped Milk The Funk in the discussion. For anyone reading this who is seeking more info on these types of beers and the microbes and techniques used to make them, this is the spot to go - www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Table_of_Contents You’re doing god’s work, Dan, spreading the knowledge and bringing that community together. Cheers, brother!

[@BeerScholar]

Oh and as for the expectations of knowledge at the CC level…deeper is always better. The graders are all higher level so it’s ok to go deep if a person is confident in what they know. That said you can obviously harm yourself by making claims that aren’t correct (and they’ll always know!). Mixed fermentation and these styles haven’t been getting a lot of attention on the exam recently from what I’ve heard, but it’s on the syllabus so it’s fair game. It’s complex stuff and a relatively minor part of the overall beer world, so there isn’t a big focus on it. That said, it screams for essay questions if you ask me and at the Advanced level you better understand it all quite deeply.

[@schweigsamerdan]

is it also available as real audio podcasts? that would be nice!

[@BeerScholar]

It is indeed! It's now available on Apple Podcasts (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sipping-in-style/id1664289778) and Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/2FIqcdt4cE7ahMn8MqB2qj). Google Podcasts seems to be taking longer to verify the RSS feed for some reason, but it should show up there shortly as well.

[@piazzonim]

Top three takeaways 1. Lambic = Belgian Wheat Beer, not to be confused with a Belgian Witbier. 2. Fruit Lambic = Fruit Gueuze. 3. The term Lambic comes from alembic. Thanks for the scholarly advice!

[@BeerScholar]

Cheers Michael! Thanks so much for watching!

[@baeta55]

Great vid Scott, when will the bonus material be available. Mick from Maui

[@BeerScholar]

Hi Michael -- The full version is already available to those, like you, who are enrolled in the Beer Scholar Online Course for the Certified Cicerone Exam! Thanks for the email remind on that. The goal going forward is to get the KZbin version, full course version, and audio podcasts all posted on the same day. Lotsa moving parts!

[@ChrisCrowe84]

Cohen, where are you getting $6 pints of Hazy IPA?! 😉

[@BeerScholar]

Lol true. Portland is better than San Francisco was, but it isn’t *that* affordable ha! Should’ve said $8 ;)