“white,” referring to their cloudy appearance.
Some American breweries now produce
wheat beers on the German model, but usually
without the phenol-producing yeast; they are
mild, tart, and cloudy.
Belgian Lambic Beers The brewers of
Belgium have been more inventive than any
others. They allow many different microbes to
participate in the fermentation; they ferment
some beers for years, either continuously or
by restarting them; they flavor their beers
with spices and herbs, and even re-ferment
them with fresh fruits to make a hybrid beer
and fruit wine. They generally used aged hops,
which are less harmful to the unusual brewing
microbes, less bitter, and higher in drying,
slightly astringent, wine-like tannins.
The most unusual Belgian beers are the
lambics. The hallmark of brewing traditional
lambic is a spontaneous and months-long
fermentation of the wort in wood barrels.