Lambic sour beers are the products of a spontaneous fermentation that lasts for one to three years before bottling. The present study determined the microbiota involved in the fermentation of lambic beers by sampling two fermentation batches during two years in the most traditional lambic brewery of Belgium, using culture-dependent and culture-independent methods. From 14 samples per fermentation, over 2000 bacterial and yeast isolates were obtained and identified. Although minor variations in the microbiota between casks and batches and a considerable species diversity were found, a characteristic microbial succession was identified. This succession started with a dominance of Enterobacteriaceae in the first month, which were replaced at 2 months by Pediococcus damnosus and Saccharomyces spp., the latter being replaced by Dekkera bruxellensis at 6 months fermentation duration.

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An acetic acid bacterium, strain LMG 27439 T , was isolated from fermenting lambic beer. The cellswere Gram-stain-negative, motile rods, catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence revealed the strain was closely related to Acetobacter okinawensis (99.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity with the type strain of this species), A. ghanensis

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