I speak a lot in my beer tasting events about the differences between beer and wine, one of which is appellation. So much about wine is determined by the earth in which the grapes are grown and the climate of the growing region. This is true down to the micro level with grapes on one slope making different wine from grapes grown on a nearby slope. This so-called “terroir” doesn’t hold true for beer. While there are differences in malt and hops from different regions, even when the same hop varieties are grown in different countries, pretty much any brewing ingredient is available to any brewer anywhere in the world, even homebrewers. If a brewer wants to make a traditional English ale with all English ingredients, they can. They can even alter the chemistry of their brewing water to mimic that of a particular city.

The only beer where the idea of terroir might truly be important is Lambic. Spontaneously fermented with the natural airborne yeast and bacteria from the area around Brussels, a traditional Belgian lambic cannot be exactly recreated anywhere else in the world. However, a bevy of American craft brewers have begun making their own spontaneously fermented brews. The question now is whether these beers can rightfully be called “lambic” or should they instead be called “lambic style.” Is Lambic an appellation or a brewing process?

Beer writer Steven Beaumont posted an interesting article about this question yesterday on Blogging at World of Beer. Check it out.