Tastefully balanced Flemish-style old brown beers

We have the Flanders to thank for introducing us to the world of good old Flemish Browns. Originally, a classic blend of young and old beers, this style of tart brown ale carries a slightly sour and rustic taste, which also holds true for similar beers with a redder colour that were mainly produced in West Flanders.

As a means of creating a secondary fermentation, this method of blending is also a way of combining and balancing flavours. In the days before refrigeration when brewing did not take place in summer, a stock used to be laid out for those couple of months. By autumn, this stock of beer would turn winey and acidic, and then blended with sweeter, fresher, new beer to enliven its overall flavour. With time, these ‘old’ beers began to be produced purely as an ingredient for blending. While the Lambic and West Flanders brewers traditionally use wooden spoons for aging and blending, iron or steel is usual in the East Flanders breweries.

French chef Auguste Escoffier suggests a Flemish Old Brown in your Carbonade Flamande, over an old Lambic or Stout, as it tastefully falls between the two extreme styles. It is not as tart as the one and not as burnt-tasting as the other in its dark malt character.