Chicagoist's "Beer of the Week": Lindemans Pêche Lambic
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Jul 27, 2006 3:00PM
Some readers might think that, with all the posts Chicagoist files regarding alcohol, we’re probably halfway to a new liver. The truth is that we’re getting older and we tire easily. Sometimes, we don’t feel like making the effort to open the fridge. Last night, we did make the effort. Then we pulled out our “beer of the week” and cursed ourselves, because we needed a corkscrew for the damn bottle. Such is the case when drinking a Lindemans lambic.
Lambics are great for any season. The history of lambics goes back 500 years, to the Belgian working class. Like Chicagoist, they also sometimes craved a beer without all the work. Lambics are brewed using a process called “spontaneous fermentation”. Back in the day, after the wort (the extract produced from malted barley) was cooled to ambient temperature, it was exposed to the open air and the yeasts that were floating in the atmosphere. This gives lambic its dry flavor and sour aftertaste. Then a faerie rode into town on a unicorn and sprinkled faerie dust over the beer, to aid in the fermentation, and protect those who sipped from the cask from the evil, marauding Gauls.
Just checking to see if you’re reading.
Today, breweries have more ambient yeast in the casks. Then, aged dry hops are added to provide a twofold purpose: to add a slight bitterness to the beer, and to act as a preservative and antibacterial. In some lambics, fruit is then added to provide a secondary fermentation, and added flavor. The majority of lambics we’ve come across are also low in alcohol content – this week’s pick is just a shade under three percent alcohol by volume. One could make the case that lambics are the original malt liquors, as well as one of the first working class beers. Bet you traders will be looking differently at your PBR’s tonight. This being summer, it was inexcusable for Chicagoist to have an unopened bottle of Lindemans pêche lambic in the fridge.
To paraphrase Miles Raymond, it’s quaffable and transcendent. Medium-bodied, with a golden pour and white head, the palate flavor is unmistakably peaches, with that dry, sour finish that characterizes lambics. You should be able to find it for $5-7 retail, per twelve-ounce bottle. Lindemans makes an amazing line of lambics (if you can find the two together on the same menu, try the framboise mixed with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout. It’s nothing short of decadence). But for a sticky night like last night, we needed something that reminded us of peach picking time in Georgia. That’s why Lindemans pêche lambic is Chicagoist’s “Beer of the Week.”