Lambics: Am I missing something?

Are beards required for brewing?

Great video, by the way. Thank you for this knowledge. I am planning to actively seek out gueuzes now. I am using a recent thread on the topic as reference, so I won't ask for recommendations here. Thanks again!

Sidenote: it seems like the OP is trolling; he/she has not responded once...

 

Never trust a skinny chef and never, I mean never trust a brewer with out a beard.

 

Your avatar explains why you can't "appreciate" lambic/gueuze...

 

You beat me to it!

 

I first visited Cantillon back about 98. They were not shall we say, prosperous. Many of the lambic breweries closed, and just a few were getting by.

Last time I was at Cantillon they look fairly prosperous. The one guy working there (they hired help) said they had a problem as the bottle caves were low, due to the high demand in the USA. I said that is a good problem to have.

Fad? Europe no. USA yes.

 

So it couldn't be that we just discovered how good they were and are starting to buy all we can? Wouldn't a fad mean the love for these beers will soon pass? I can tell you I don't plan on stopping drinking them when the "fad" is over.

 

I am not saying it is a bad thing, as it keeps the brewers in Belgium going.

Why has the share in Belgium shrunk?

I went through my sour phase. Only on occasion now, if I have had my acid blockers.

 

And what's the deal with stouts?! They taste all like chocolate and coffee roast.

 

I know, isn't it great?

 

You are both right to a degree and both wrong to a degree. You want to recognize that a fad is not an either/or thing.

There can be something which is popular (e.g., Cantillon). It can become a fad amongst a particular group (e.g., amongst new beer drinkers at a stage of their exploration of the full range of beers) but then the surge of interest drops back off leaving behind the original core group of admirers that have grown larger while many of the folks following the fad part of things have moved on to something new and different.

So it is quite possible that the current wave of popularity of sours is a fad for some and not for others.

(See the post by Hopefenmaltz below about his own behavior re Sours.)

 

Except that fads are not either or things and one can have a fad riding on top of a growth in popularity. both at the same time. The difference is that the fad followers either get converted or drop away as the fad part of things goes away.

 

Horses for courses as it's said. If you don't care for Lambic, Guezes ect (i don't care for them) don't worry about it . Drink what you like.

 

I like them but they destroy my stomach. Can't have them anymore.

 

I've never had any stomach issues after drinking these beers. Am I Superman?

 

It's a fad and it has passed everyone stop drinking them

 

I get sours, just not a big fan. The RR sours I've had I enjoyed but found them to be more tart than sour which is something I enjoy more. Things like La Folie are just too much IMHO. Drink your sours and send me your barley wines / dipas / saisons

 

Speaking of fads, I've been into craft beer for over 10 years now, and only in the last couple of years it has gone out of control. Is this love of craft beer itself in general a fad? I know plenty of people that just got into craft beer a couple of years ago so should I look at these "newbies" as not loving craft beer as much as myself because they haven't been into it as long as I have and chalk it up to them being into a "fad"?

Some people will always love something, some people will jump on bandwagons. Unlike wearing a certain colored braclet or cutting your hair a certain way (fads), when it comes down to trying a beer and realizing you like it, not much is going to change you from liking it. Not a fad, just educating oneself. And more and more people are doing it at once due to the shear amount of people just getting into craft beer and when they meet someone who knows more about it than they do, they probably encounter more and more people who tell them "Try some sours. I finally just tried some myself and they're awesome". Even though I've been in craft beer as long as I have, I just got into sours a couple of years ago, so yes, I sort've jumped on the bandwagon per se. Only thing is, I will never stop loving them. If anything, I really wish someone educated me on good sours 10 years ago, man would my cellar rock!

 

Yeah - another u

 

Another beer style will come along soon enough and all the cool kids will say it is the best thing ever...I fear the gueuze obsession is here to stay though.

 

+1 on the superman thing