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As with the naming of commercial beers as "lambic", there are many opinions on whether or not homebrewed sour beer should or should not be labelled as "lambic". While using the label "lambic" is an easy way for homebrewers to communicate that they've brewed some sort of sour beer, such labels are often harshly criticised by traditionalists in the sour brewing and fans of lambic communities. Ironically, another sign of this potential misuse of the term "lambic" by homebrewers is that when a homebrewer makes a 100% spontaneously fermented beer, they usually will not call it a "lambic" so as to avoid confusion with the typical sour brewing process which involves pitching lab cultures. Successfully homebrewing a 100% spontaneously fermented sour beer is not an easy feat, and great pride is taken by homebrewers when achieving success with these traditional methods. Other homebrewers choose to call their 100% spontaneously fermented beers "lambic" because they were brewed using the exact same process as the Belgian lambic brewers.
For many traditional brewers, the term "lambic" or even "lambic style" not only carries a cultural tradition but a specific process as well, so when brewers use the word "lambic" or "lambic style" to describe their beers that are not brewed using the lambic process, a simple miscommunication is bound to occur between the traditionalist and the more competition-minded brewer. Is a homebrewed "lambic" brewed with a mixed culture product from a yeast lab, spontaneous fermentation, a mixture of wild and lab yeasts, kettle soured then pitched with ''Brettanomyces'', or brewed in a bucket or an oak barrel? For the sake of understanding each other and communicationdiscussing brewing process, the word "lambic" has almost lost its meaning in the brewing competition world because process matters a lot less for brewing competitions than it does for brewing and drinking culture. This is an increasingly important point when discussing brewing process considering that the term "lambic style" has been encouraged in many homebrewing circles instead of "lambic", especially brewing competitions.
That all said, labelling homebrew as "lambic" has little consequence other than potentially forming a habit that some sour beer producers (and fellow homebrewers) might find disagreeable. We encourage all homebrewers to educate themselves about the production of Belgian lambic beers, as well as the arguments for and against labelling homebrew as "lambic" and deciding for themselves which philosophy to endorse. The words "lambic" or "lambic style" might have a totally different meaning to a traditionally minded brewer, while the term "lambic" might have a more generic "brewing competition" meaning to others, and so for the simple sake of communication, clarification should be considered for any in-depth process related discussion.