Start the new season with taste: what beers to drink in autumn
- Lambic: born in Belgium
- IPA: a hoppy classic
- Lager: not just light
- Dark ale: rich and deep flavor
- Gose and Sours: for those who enjoy a sour taste
September and October are peak months for beer lovers. With Oktoberfest and other festivals in full swing, it’s the perfect time to explore seasonal styles and discover brews that pair beautifully with crisp air and hearty food. Here’s your guide to fall-friendly beer styles and their ideal pairings.
Lambic: born in Belgium
Spontaneously fermented and deeply traditional, lambic offers a sour, earthy profile with notes of leather, forest, and aged cheese. Fruit lambics add berries or juices, faro includes caramelized sugar, and geuze blends vintages for wine-like complexity.
Pairing: Classic lambic with cheese and seafood; fruit lambics with red meat or veal salad.
IPA: a hoppy classic
Bold and bitter, IPA was born out of necessity — extra hops preserved it during long voyages to India. Today, it’s a favorite for its aromatic punch and assertive bitterness.
Pairing: Spicy dishes, grilled meats, kebabs, and fruit-based plates — the bitterness amplifies flavor.
Lager: not just light
Clean and crisp, lagers are brewed at low temperatures. While pilsners are light and hoppy, dark lagers offer caramel depth. Barrel-aged lagers are gaining popularity for their woody richness.
Pairing: Spicy cuisine, pizza, burgers, and Asian or Mexican dishes — lagers balance heat and fat.
Dark ale: rich and deep flavor
Top-fermented and roasted, dark ales deliver flavors of nuts, chocolate, caramel, and smoke. Barrel aging adds layers of vanilla, oak, and spirits. Barleywine stands out with 10–13% ABV and aging potential.
Pairing: Smoked meats, aged cheeses, and chocolate or coffee-based desserts. Serve slightly chilled (12–14°C) and sip slowly.
Gose and Sours: for those who enjoy a sour taste
Gose is salty and citrusy, thanks to coriander and salt. Sours — especially smoothie sours — are thick, fruity, and vibrant. Rapid fermentation with lactobacillus speeds up production.
Pairing: Gose with salty snacks or sweet desserts; smoothie sours as standalone dessert drinks or digestifs.
Celebrate autumn at Lambic beer restaurants. We offer the best brews from around the world, delicious food, and a cozy atmosphere. See you soon!
Belgian cuisine: food for connoisseurs
Contents Belgian waffles Flemish beef Mussels in sauce Mitrayet French fries Belgian cuisine is often unfairly overshadowed by its famous neighbors — France and Italy. But this small country offers a culinary heritage that blends French sophistication with German heartiness. Belgians treat food with reverence, turning every meal into a celebration. They value high-quality local ingredients, generous portions, and bold experimentation. Let’s take a flavorful tour through Belgium’s most iconic dishes. Belgian waffles Brussels waffles: Light, airy, rectangular, and yeast-based. Their porous texture makes them perfect for both sweet and savory toppings. Liège waffles: Dense, oval, with caramelized pearl sugar crystals that create a crispy crust. Legend credits their invention to an 18th-century chef in Liège seeking deeper flavor. Flemish beef A hearty stew from Flanders, slow-cooked with dark Belgian beer like Bourgogne des Flandres. The beer adds sweet, spicy, and slightly fruity notes. Onions, thyme, bay leaf, and mustard-smeared bread enrich the sauce. After hours of simmering, the meat becomes tender and the sauce thick, malty, and complex. Traditionally served with mashed potatoes or crispy fries. Mussels in sauce Moules-frites is a national pride. Classic preparation — Moules marinières — includes shallots, celery, white wine, pepper, and parsley. Variations abound: with beer, cream, garlic, or tomato. The sauce is savored to the last drop, often with bread or fries. Pair with white wine or light beer. Mitrayet This street-food sandwich — named after a “machine gun belt” — is a student favorite. A baguette stuffed with a meat filling (cutlet, sausage, burger, or fish sticks) and hot fries, drenched in sauces of your choice. Invented in mid-20th-century snack bars, it’s a symbol of Belgian indulgence and practicality. French fries Despite the name, fries are a Belgian invention. When winter froze the Meuse River, villagers fried potatoes instead of fish. The name “French” may stem from American soldiers in French-speaking Wallonia or the verb “to french” (to cut into strips). Dense, starchy varieties for crispness and softness Technique: Double frying — first at 160°C, then at 190°C Tradition: Originally fried in beef fat for rich flavor Some dishes, like the mitrayet, are best experienced in Belgium itself. But you can enjoy authentic Belgian waffles and tender Flemish beef right in Moscow. Visit Brasserie Lambic — we offer a rich menu, a wide selection of great beer, and a cozy atmosphere. We’ll make your visit delicious!
30 September 2025
Coffee and beer - a match or a flop? Exploring the myths about the famous combination
Contents How did the combination of coffee and beer appear? Is it true that coffee helps sober you up? Coffee with beer: harm or benefit? Coffee and beer are drunk at different times and on different occasions, but they have much more in common than meets the eye. Beverages that were considered ordinary 10 years ago have now become gourmet products: craft beer and specialty coffee have won millions of fans. But what if you mix the two? Let’s find out how justified this combination is and what myths are associated with it. How did the combination of coffee and beer appear? Experiments with coffee and beer began in the middle of the XX century, when brewers and bartenders began to look for new flavors. But the real boom happened in the nineties and noughties due to the growing popularity of craft beer. The first successful variants were coffee stouts and porters — dark brews with deep flavors that perfectly complemented the coffee notes. Brewers added coffee at various stages: — during brewing — for a rich flavor;— during fermentation — for softness;— into the finished beer — as a cold coffee infusion. A good example of such a recipe is the Japanese beer Hitachino Nest Espresso Stout, which can be tasted in Lambic beer restaurants. It’s a flavorful, dense ale brewed in the style of American imperial stouts with coffee beans added for espresso. Bartenders, too, have contributed to popularizing this unusual combination, creating original cocktails from coffee and beer. The most popular is the Black & Tan, which includes stout, lager and espresso. Today, such mixes are part of the craft culture. Is it true that coffee helps sober you up? One of the main myths is that coffee supposedly neutralizes alcohol. In fact, caffeine only masks intoxication. It creates the illusion of liveliness, but coffee does not actually lower blood alcohol levels. In addition, a cocktail of coffee and beer can increase the strain on the heart. If you drink coffee before alcohol, it will temporarily increase the activity of liver enzymes that break down ethanol. But this does not mean that it is necessary to increase the dose. Coffee with beer: harm or benefit? In moderate quantities, low-alcohol coffee beers (for example, stouts with 4-6% strength) are relatively safe. If you want to try such a mix, choose drinks from quality ingredients. For example: — Dark beer (porter, stout) and cold espresso.— Lager or ale and light coffee syrup. There are contraindications for such cocktails. Mixing coffee with beer is not recommended for people with hypertension, heart and GI diseases, as well as those who use drugs incompatible with caffeine. The combination of coffee and beer is an interesting gastronomic experience, especially if you respect the measure. Come to Lambic — we will treat you to interesting drinks without harming your health!
20 May 2025