February 11, 2000 -- Traditional lambic beers, it must be said, are not for everybody. Brewed with large portions of unmalted wheat, fermented by wild, airborne yeasts and aged in old wooden casks, some as much as one hundred years old, their aggressively tart flavour and demanding complexity can put off the first-time drinker faster than a dill pickle repulses a four-year-old.

For those who appreciate them, however, there is almost nothing finer within the realm of beer tasting than the opportunity to sample a quartet of true lambic beers. And so it was with great pleasure that I recently welcomed to the Kitchen Table long-time KTT-er Gary Gillman, accomplished chef and relative beer novice Brian Morin and Denison's Brewing Company brewer and co-owner, and lambic procurer, Michael Hancock for a sampling of four outstanding lambics.

The first three beers came from Drie Fonteinen, a wonderful establishment located in Beersel, just outside of Brussels, that was first an outstanding restaurant, then a lambic blender and most recently a lambic brewery. For the beer traveller to Belgium, a trip to Drie Fonteinen for a delicious Flemish lunch or dinner accompanied by the house kriek or geuze is an absolute must.

(For the uninitiated, a terminology note is warranted. Geuze, or the alternative and more common Gueuze, is a bottled blend of young and old lambics, usually between one and three years of age; Kriek is a lambic that has had sour cherries added to it in conditioning; and Framboise is a lambic that has had raspberries added to it in conditioning. Such traditional lambics are not sweetened with added sugars and so will tend to be dry and tart.)

We began with the basic Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze and immediately knew that the road ahead would be a good one. The peachy-fruity nose carried notes of barnyard and date, setting us up for the aggressively tart front (lemon and orange peel) and the dry, refreshing, slightly vanilla-y body. The refreshing finish packed with lemon and vanilla notes, alongside a faint whiff of alcohol, brought smiles to all present.

Next up was a special Millennium Geuze, a 7% alcohol by volume lambic. Again, the nose offered fruit, but in much greater quantity and variety this time. Along with the peach notes of the Oude Geuze, there were hints of lemon, kiwi and other tropical fruits, as well as a bit of barnyard and some alcohol. The start held a light sweetness, unusual for a lambic and attributable, no doubt, to the beer's unusual strength. The fruit of the aroma continued in the body, with a hint of spice and a faintly discernable sweetness. The finish, however, was dry, lightly lemony and warming. Without question, this was an outstanding beer more than deserving of a repeat brew.

The final Drie Fonteinen lambic was the Kriek, and it was also the least exciting of the trio. Perhaps it was because it came on the heels of such an outstanding geuze, but while the cherry-almond-barnyard nose gave hope, the body of the kriek seemed, well, almost ordinary. The cherry was there in the beer's moderately dry character, along with nuances of other fruit and a hint of sulphur, but complexity seemed to be lacking. A good or even very good beer, but not quite in the class of the Oude Geuze, much less the outstanding Millennium.

Our final lambic was the legendary Rose de Gambrinus from Brasserie Cantillon, the devoutly traditional lambic brewery of Brussels. Made with a mix of raspberries and a much smaller portion of cherries, the Rose boasted a remarkably fresh and lightly fruity nose, a lively start with palate-cleansing acidity and brightness and a big, beautiful body holding notes of barnyard, fruit, almond, black pepper and hints of citrus and other spice. The finish was extremely dry, tart and very lightly fruity (lemon, raspberry). Judging from the startled and enthusiastic exclamations of the tasters, it was the star of the show, besting even the remarkable Millennium.

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