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Eventually, anyone who ventures into the realm of sour brewing comes across the passionately defended protection of Belgian lambic. While Belgian lambic brewers assert that lambic can only be brewed in Belgium, there is no question that comparatively good spontaneously fermented beer can be made outside of Belgium. Similarly, production methods employed in lambic (e.g. turbid mashing, using aged hops, etc.) are not inherently tied to a region. However not all spontaneously fermented beers are true lambics, according to the tradition and culture of the Belgian brewers who have preserved this historical brewing practice. And turbid mashing or using aged hops does not inherently lead to mixed fermentation. So this section deals with the ethical, personal, and legal considerations that brewers may need to factor in when determining whether or not to call their beers lambic.
In the EU, the terms "lambic", "gueuze", "kriek", and "framboise-lambic" have some [http://www.horal.be/lambiek-geuze-kriek/juridische-bescherming process-orientated legal protections] ([https://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.horal.be%2Flambiek-geuze-kriek%2Fjuridische-bescherming&edit-text= English translation]) through a Traditional Specialty Guaranteed (TSG) law, but they do not have regional protections under the "protected designation of origin" (PDO) nor the "protected geographical indication" (PGI) regulatory body bodies in the EU <ref>[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.C_.2016.174.01.0024.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AC%3A2016%3A174%3ATOC European Commission. Agriculture and Rural Development. Publication pursuant to Article 26(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs as regards a name of traditional specialty guaranteed. Legal protections for 'Vieille Kriek, Vieille Kriek-Lambic, Vieille Framboise-Lambic, Vieux fruit-Lambic/Oude Kriek, Oude Kriekenlambiek, Oude Frambozenlambiek, Oude Fruit-lambiek' and 'Vieille Gueuze, Vieille Gueuze-Lambic, Vieux Lambic/Oude Geuze, Oude Geuze-Lambiek, Oude Lambiek'. 2016. Retrieved 01/03/2021.]</ref><ref>[https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A32017R2216&qid=1609718086144 European Commission. Agriculture and Rural Development. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/2216 of 1 December 2017 entering certain names in the register of traditional specialities guaranteed ‘Vieille Kriek, Vieille Kriek-Lambic, Vieille Framboise-Lambic, Vieux fruit-Lambic/Oude Kriek, Oude Kriekenlambiek, Oude Frambozenlambiek, Oude Fruit-lambiek’ (TSG) and ‘Vieille Gueuze, Vieille Gueuze-Lambic, Vieux Lambic/Oude Geuze, Oude Geuze-Lambiek, Oude Lambiek’ (TSG) 2017. Retrieved 01/03/2021.]</ref>. For example, it must be a spontaneously fermented product. That means that any beer receiving any pitched microbes (from lab cultures or bottle dregs) cannot be called lambic. Although this has no legal binding outside the EU, this is a fundamental characteristic of lambic and any brewer who decides to call their beer lambic should follow spontaneous fermentation. Belgian lambic brewers also insist that these terms should be reserved for spontaneously fermented beers in Belgium (note that the TSG rules do not make a legal requirement for this in the EU). Some lambic brewers claim that the microbial terroir within Belgium is what gives Belgian lambic its unique flavor profile, and this is another reason that lambic can only be brewed in Belgium. However, studies have shown that American coolship beers brewed at Allagash in Maine, USA, contain a very similar set of genera and fermentation phases (see [[Spontaneous_Fermentation#Microbial_Succession_During_Fermentation|Spontaneous Fermentation]] and [http://www.lambic.info/Culture_vs._Chemistry#Terroir lambic.info] for more information). Lambic producers have made it clear that while they encourage others to spontaneously ferment, they do not approve of the use of the term lambic for beers made outside of Belgium <ref>[http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/membersarchive/sourhour2015_05_wildfriendship.mp3 The Sour Hour Episode 11 with Rob Tod and Jason Perkins from Allagash, Jean Van Roy from Cantillon, and Vinnie Cilurzo from Russian River]</ref>(~20 min in). While lambic has no legal protection outside of the EU and EU laws do not give lambic a regional designation (unlike other alcoholic products such as Champagne and Kölsch), many brewers outside of Belgium chose not to call their spontaneous beers lambic out of respect for the Belgian lambic tradition. Some brewers choose names alluding to lambic such as Sonambic (Russian River) or label their spontaneously fermented beers with the term Coolship (Allagash) to convey to consumers that their lambic-inspired beers are spontaneously fermented and follow parts of the lambic tradition without actually using the terms lambic or gueuze <ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUa0QH6niiQ Sour Beer Panel, Firestone Walker International Beer Fest] </ref> (~6 min in).
There are also arguments that are contrary to the idea that only spontaneous beer brewed in Belgium should be labeled as "lambic". For example, this includes [http://phdinbeer.com/2014/07/27/beer-pendantry-1-what-is-lambic/ Matt Humbard's argument that lambic brewers themselves aren't upholding their own traditions], and that "if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it is a duck, regardless of what nest it was in when the egg hatched." Another example is that [http://www.funkfactorygeuzeria.com/p/about-me.html Funk Factory Gueuzeria also makes an argument] for using the term "American Lambic" for it's spontaneously fermented beers.