Ever wonder about a brewery named after three fountains? That’s Drie Fonteinen. Its story starts long before the brewery even existed. Drie Fonteinen is Dutch for three fountains.
Let’s travel back to the late 1800s. Jacobus Vanderlinden and his wife Joanna Brillens opened an inn. It was in Beersel. This inn had a beer blending business. It was possibly as early as 1849. The inn became known as De Drie Bronnen. Gaston and Raymonde later renamed it.
The name Drie Fonteinen came from the hand pumps. They served three types of beer. These were lambic, faro, and kriek. The inn changed hands several times. Jean-Baptiste Denaeyer Vanderlinden took over. He was Jacobus’ son. He also became mayor of Beersel. People considered him the best lambic blender.
In 1953, Gaston Debelder and his wife Raymonde bought the building. They named the business 3 Fonteinen. In 1961, the Debelder family acquired property near the Beersel church square. They demolished the building but kept the warehouse below. Originally, Drie Fonteinen lambics were kegged. Bottled beer was not common. Gaston eventually started bottling his beer. He was pleased with the results. Bottles were stored in the caveau under the building. Gaston himself hand-dug this caveau.
The bar became popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Gaston worked with his sons, Armand and Guido. The inn, cafe, and lambic blending business thrived. Gaston handed the business to his sons in 1982. Armand became the head blender. He later became a brewer. Guido managed the cafe and restaurant.
By the 1990s, lambic’s popularity declined. Only a few lambic brewers remained. These were Girardin, Lindemans, and Boon. Armand’s Oude Geuze blend won an award in 1993. This improved the outlook for Belgium’s lambic tradition.
In 1997, Armand helped found HORAL. This is the High Council of Artisanal Lambic Beers. It protects traditional lambic beers. Until 1998, Drie Fonteinen was strictly a blendery. In 1998, Armand leased a computerized brewing system. He became the first new lambic brewery in decades. His first batch was brewed on December 16, 1998. Banks were hesitant to fund Armand’s venture. Armand and his brother split the business. Guido took the restaurant. Armand formed AD Bieren bvba. This became the corporate entity for Drie Fonteinen beers. Brewing his own lambic allowed Armand to control his product.
In 2006, 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze and Oude Kriek gained recognition. They were protected as traditional Flemish regional products. The lambic revival occurred in the early 2000s. Drie Fonteinen became a leading producer.
However, disaster struck on May 16, 2009. Armand found that the climate control system had failed. The “Thermostat Incident” cooked over 80000 bottles of lambic. Some exploded. Only some Oude Kriek bottles were salvageable. These are now known as “Hot Cherry” bottles. Armand had to rethink the future of Drie Fonteinen. He divested capital to meet financial obligations. His last official brew of that era was in March 2009.
The remaining Oude Geuze bottles were distilled into Armand’s Spirit. Sales of this and special blends helped Drie Fonteinen recover. In 2012, a new brewing system was installed. Michaël Blancquaert began helping with brewing and blending. He started brewing alone in 2013. In 2015, Michaël’s first solo blends were the Cuvée Armand & Gaston blends.
That summer, Drie Fonteinen purchased a new warehouse in Lot. This consolidated barrel storage. The 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom opened on September 1, 2016. All barrels were moved by 2018. The new facility houses barrels, a bottling line, and a tasting room. Drie Fonteinen continues to produce traditional lambic beers.