For the third year in a row, I’m going to attempt to eat every single item on Time Out New York’s annual 100 Best Dishes list. In no particular order, here’s my take on their Top 100. Let the gluttony continue…
I’m always on the lookout for potential items for my end of the year Top 100 list. Earlier this year, I tried Synergy’s Kombucha with Chia Seeds. It’s a pre-packaged drink that’s made in California but is available all over the country. The chia seeds added a new texture experience that blew my mind. No doubt this would make my Top 100, except it’s not made in New York. I thought it made sense since I was looking for 100 Dishes in NYC that the dishes be prepared here in the five boroughs (or maybe just upstate, if I’m pushing it).
The reason I bring this story up is because Time Out included a bottled beverage called Lambrucha. It’s available for purchase at the Bowery location of Whole Foods in their wondrous beer store. The only problem is this drink is made by a brewery called Brouwerij De Troch just a little outside of the city – in Belgium!!!
Lambrucha combines two drinks in one: a lambic style beer and kombucha. Kombucha (which I mentioned in the first paragraph) is a fermented tea with live cultures that is often touted for its health benefits. Lambic is a style of beer that is fermented with wild yeast. Combining the two makes total sense since they are similar in flavor and concept.
We popped open the 750 ml bottle of Lambrucha one night and enjoyed it with dinner. It poured a very golden transparent color with wild bubbles that took a little while to calm down. Wild yeasts yield wild bubbles.
The flavor was very tart, but light and refreshing. I can’t imagine most people would think this was actually a beer – it tastes much closer to kombucha. At a very low alcohol of 3.5%, it doesn’t taste very strong, but has a citrusy yeasty flavor with an easy finish. It’s certainly not for everyone since there’s barely a trace of sweetness. This is a celebration of yeast and effervescence.
In fairness, the concept and distribution for this beer is credited to Vanberg & DeWulf, a company based out of Cooperstown, New York. It’s a little closer to the city, but then that opens up the playing field to Ommegang Brewery as well, no? And while we’re at it, add my favorite Chia Kombucha to the mix.
Would Lamburcha make my Top 100 of the year? Well, considering it’s not made in good ol’ New York City, no. However, the refreshing and tart combination makes for an interesting and quaffable beverage so 7 out of 10.
