american craft beer around the world untappd

My wife and I were friends of the late Armand Debelder, master blender and owner of Proef 3 Fonteinen “Drie Fonteinen” for over 15 years. Two anecdotes illustrate the frenzy for sour beers.

The film Bottle Conditioned illustrated how in a span of a few years, the sour style has gone from obscurity with wine-sized bottles selling under 10 Euros (about $11) to now in much higher demand and selling for twice as much and more than 10 times as much on the aftermarket. The Senne River valley that runs through Brussels has this mix of wild yeast and bacteria that makes these beers wonderful. Ever wonder why San Francisco is world famous for sourdough? The air there contains a unique bacteria which gives off special character and is scientifically named after the city: Fructilactobacillus sanfranciscensis. The best analog for this is sourdough bread, which also is spontaneously fermented. But the brewers of the Senne River Valley kept it going. As technology got better and the science of brewing was better understood, brewers around the world let this brewing style go away. Wild yeast and bacteria in the air would settle on the sweet liquid made from grain and eat the sugar and give of many by-products including alcohol and carbon dioxide. The old medieval brewing guild in England called it 'God-is-good' because they believed it had to be magic that caused fermentation. No one even knew what yeast was until the 1700s. In the film Bottle Conditioned, there are many scenes of people spending a great deal of time breathing the beer.Īll beer was spontaneously fermented until relatively recent history. This blend of yeast and bacteria will create unique aromas and flavors.

Of course, these critters in the air vary from location to location and time of year. Wild yeast and bacteria in the air would ferment the sweet liquid derived from grain(s). A short explanation is that before anyone knew what yeast was, all beer was spontaneously fermented and most likely turned sour.

American craft beer around the world untappd