Faro, the sweetened lambic

Lambic first

To understand faro you need lambic. Lambic is a beer from the Pajottenland and the Senne valley around Brussels, fermented spontaneously by wild yeasts and bacteria from the air and the brewery. The wort is made with a large share of unmalted wheat, often 30 to 40%, plus aged hops chosen for preservation rather than bitterness.

The beer ages in oak barrels for months or years and becomes dry, sour and complex. Blends of young and old lambic make gueuze. Lambic aged on fruit makes kriek with cherries or framboise with raspberries. Our guide to lambic and gueuze covers the base beer in depth.

Faro is lambic with sugar

Faro is lambic sweetened with sugar, traditionally candi sugar or brown sugar. In old Brussels, faro was an everyday drink in cafés. It was often made from a blend of lambic and a lighter, weaker beer, which made it cheaper and less strong. The sugar softened the sourness and made it approachable.

Historically, the sugar was sometimes added in the café just before serving. That avoided refermentation, because the beer was drunk before the wild yeast could eat the sugar. Faro was the lambic of the working day, not of special occasions.

Why sugar and bottles do not mix easily

Lambic is full of living yeast and bacteria that will ferment almost any sugar, including complex ones ordinary yeast leaves alone. Add sugar to lambic and bottle it. The microbes start fermenting again. Pressure builds, the sugar disappears and the beer can turn dry, fizzy and sometimes dangerous.

Modern bottled faro avoids this by stopping the microbes. Producers pasteurise or sterile filter the beer after sweetening, which keeps the sugar in and the pressure stable. That gives you a sweet, tart, lightly carbonated drink with the character of lambic but a much softer edge. Our guide to Brettanomyces explains why these wild yeasts are so hungry.

What faro tastes like

Faro sits between a sweet drink and a sour beer. Expect:

• Brown sugar, caramel and a light candy sweetness.
• Lambic tartness underneath, softened but present.
• Earthy, funky notes from the wild yeast: hay, old wood, a light barnyard edge.
• Low bitterness and a gentle carbonation.

Strength is usually modest, around 4 to 5% ABV, lighter than many gueuzes. Some versions add spices, such as orange peel or pepper, but the classic faro is simply lambic and sugar.

Faro, gueuze and kriek compared

• Gueuze: a blend of young and old lambic, refermented in the bottle. Dry, sharply sour, highly carbonated and complex.
• Kriek: lambic aged on sour cherries. Tart, fruity and pink to red.
• Faro: lambic sweetened with sugar. Sweet and tart, softer and usually lower in carbonation.

All three share the same base beer and its wild character. What differs is what happens after the barrel: blending, fruit or sugar.

How faro nearly disappeared

Faro was common in Brussels in the nineteenth century. As lager and other beers took over cafés in the twentieth century, lambic's share fell and faro faded with it. By the late twentieth century only a few producers still made it.

Interest in traditional Belgian beer revived lambic. Faro came back with it, though it remains a small part of the lambic world. Today you are most likely to find it from established lambic producers and specialist Belgian beer bars.

How to serve and pair it

Serve faro chilled, at about 6 to 8 °C, in a tumbler or a small stemmed glass. It is a refreshing beer, more casual than a vintage gueuze. Pour gently if there is sediment.

Its sweetness and tartness suit food that is salty or rich:

• Salty snacks, cured meats and fried food such as onion bhajis.
• Soft cheeses and fruit.
• Light desserts, fruit tarts and pancakes.
• Spicy chaat, where sweet and sour meet tangy chutneys.

Faro is gentle enough for people who find gueuze too sour, which makes it a good first lambic for curious friends.

Taste it next to its parent

The best way to understand faro is to taste it with a gueuze side by side. Pour small measures of each. Notice how the sugar changes the sourness, the funk and the finish. The gueuze will feel dry, sharp and complex. The faro will feel round, sweet and softer, though you will still recognise the lambic base.

Comparing them trains you to read sweetness and acidity together, a useful skill across many beers and wines. Keep water on the table and do not drive after a tasting.

Your first step: buy one faro and one gueuze, chill them both and share small pours with a friend, noting how sugar changes the sourness.

Common questions

What is faro beer?

Faro is lambic, the spontaneously fermented beer of Brussels, sweetened with sugar such as candi or brown sugar.

Why is bottled faro pasteurised?

Without pasteurisation or sterile filtration, the wild yeast and bacteria in lambic would ferment the added sugar, building pressure in the bottle.

Is faro sour?

Mildly. The sugar softens lambic's sourness, leaving a sweet and tart beer that is easier to drink than gueuze.