Lambiek Fabriek is slowly achieving maturity, having been in existence long enough to possess lambic than can be qualified as ‘oude’; since I’ve been following them from the start – considering how rare it is that a new lambic producer is set up – and since the true nature and scope of a lambic becomes apparent only at older age, I was eager to taste this. The tasted sample, from tap at Beerlovers Bar in Antwerp, was 20 months old. Some loose, off-white bubbles form on the edges with pouring, but expectedly these disappear quickly; hazy peach blonde robe with ochre-ish tinge. Lovely, quite distinct but in any case very convincingly “Senne lambic” nose of old cheese rind and herb cheese, spice bread even, musty cellar, dried lemon zest, green plum, sour apples, bread crumbs, damp straw, crackers and a subtle and volatile sulfuric touch (‘putteke’). Estery, softly sour onset, nowhere sharply acidic but still fully ‘drained’ by long-stretched lactic tartness, with notes of sour grape, green plum and green gooseberry, obviously ‘flat’ mouthfeel, very bready middle, a bit ‘dusty’, old cracker and bread crumbs with that old dried spice and cheese rind effect returning in the end, supported by a late, dim bitterishness from old hops and an earthy touch. Still in development, this middle-aged lambic already shows promising signs of its own personality, not an unimportant accomplishment in this particular beer family; after Brett-Elle and Fontan-Elle, this will definitely find its way into an even more ‘mature’ geuze once it has reached an age at which oxidation truly begins to shape its taste and aroma. Already very pleasantly drinkable for sure, can withstand comparison with lambic of a similar age by most of the other producers.

375ml bottle. A clar deep golden beer with a small white head. Aroma of tart yellow fruits, grapes, brett, stone fruits. Taste of tart stone fruits, apricot, peach, grapes, brett. Very nice!

Bottle @Sam Beer (Rome). Gialla viva, appena torbida, schiuma leggera. Al naso note citriche, di stalla, vino bianco, fiori bianchi. In bocca ha una acidità splendida, pulita, netta, abbastanza lunga e persistente, citrica, vinosa, leggermente balsamica, buonissima. Corpo medio, carbonazione medio-leggera. Bevuta giovane (appena sei mesi dall'imbottigliamento) promette faville!

750ml bottle, batch 1 at home. It pours lightly hazy golden with a small, bubbly white head. The aroma is funky, barnyard, lemon rind, oak, dull vanilla, gooseberry crumble and grape must. The taste is dry, tart, musty, funky, barnyard, oak, gooseberry, white grape skin, white currant, grapefruit peel, mouth pucker, wet leaves, touch of acidity, hay and a touch of sherbet with a dry, funky finish. Medium body and soft, limited carbonation. Really nice balance to this. Smooth and moreish. A promising start for these guys.

Bottle from Etre Gourmet. Hazy blond colour, white foam. Nose of brett, lemon, white wine, basement. Very light body, very easy drinkable. Tart and lemony along with some dry and bitter notes. Not bad but a bit light bodied.