What's lambic beer then Jim?

[steve_flack]

I reckon Brewferm kits are great although they're best made with Candi sugar where approriate or light spray malt, I dont like the flavour brewers sugar gives to a beer.

You do know that candi sugar is just sucrose don't you?

[steve_flack]

lambics are one of the true treasures of the beer world.... miles apart from real ale

i personally prefer gueuze beers, these are blends of old and young lambics and are generally very dry, sour and intense

lambics can be either fermented unblended ale that is indigenous to the Senne Valley of Belgium and are spontaneous fermented. Lambics can also also be blended with fruit which is added after spontaneous fermentation has occured

if you're looking to try a gueuze i recommend girardin black label, boon oude gueuze 2002 or drie fonteinen

good fruit lambics are best unsweetened, most of the ones available readily in the UK are tamer and sweeted (ie.belle vue, timmermans and to a lesser extent liefmans) If you're looking for a good fruit lambic try cantillion saint lamvinus (pricey but worth it), cantillon kriek and kriek de ranke

I'd second the Drie Fonteinen gueuze - I find the Cantillon a bit too hardcore. Their fruit beers are nice though. I quite like the more commercial Boon and Leifmanns Krieks too.

[TheBigEasy]

It sounds like some of you need to get a weekend in Bruges planned.
Visit the 't Brugs Beertje (The Bruges Bear) and enjoy the wide variety of beers they have to offer. Their beer list has some 230 bottled beers and about 5 on draught.
I am off there again next weekend.
If you go, make time to visit Noel Cuvelier's beer shop at Abele near Poperinge. Load the boot with case after case of lovely Belgium beer for labout a pound a bottle. A quid is pretty good for 11% beer.[/url]

[steve_flack]

Been there....very nice. I usually Eurostar it though so no boots full of beer for me. On the plus side I can be in a Belgian bar by 8pm after work on Friday. The Eurostar ticket includes a Belgian rail ticket to anywhere in Belgium.

You should try Ghent. Very underrated. Antwerp has better beer bars but the atmos is better in Ghent.