1997 - 2009
Armand Debelder stubbornly pursues as a brewer and blender.
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It’s not easy to hang on to your belief in a future for lambic when even your father, who has witnessed the downward spiral of geuze consumption with his own eyes, openly declares you a fool.
“Guis, da es allien nog voe d'aa peikes”,
those were the exact words that Armand still hears his father saying. “Nobody cares about geuze except the old geezers.” Luckily, Armand had not only inherited his father’s nose but his stubbornness as well. Unrelentingly, he went all in on lambic and geuze, to start brewing himself in 1998.
:quality(85))
The first barrels with 3 Fonteinen brewed lambic.It’s not easy to hang on to your belief in a future for lambic when even your father, who has witnessed the downward spiral of geuze consumption with his own eyes, openly declares you a fool. “Guis, da es allien nog voe d'aa peikes”, those were the exact words that Armand still hears his father saying. “Nobody cares about geuze except the old geezers.” Luckily, Armand had not only inherited his father’s nose but his stubbornness as well. Unrelentingly, he went all in on lambic and geuze, to start brewing himself in 1998.
Gaston Debelder, who has witnessed the downward spiral of geuze consumption with his own eyes, openly declares his son a fool. Luckily, Armand has also inherited his stubbornness.
In a small brewhouse in the Hoogstraat (still in use today), the first wort flowed into the coolship in December 1998. The "brewery" 3 Fonteinen is a reality and later also becomes official with the founding by Armand of AD Bieren in 2001, which now continues as Brewery 3 Fonteinen. The local, regional, national and international interest in lambic and geuze beers surged as a part of local culture. Tourists from all over the world now drove around Brussels, the Zenne valley and the Pajottenland in search of that unique taste.
:quality(85))
Armand with his first fresh coolship fill.Meanwhile, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen had steadily grown, and by 2008 the company was long-term financially stable. The yearly bottled production hovered around 800 hectolitres. This required a growing number of pipes, casks and foeders to buy and stow away. The wooden barrels now lay dispersed over four different locations, two of which were in Beersel and two in Essenbeek near Halle. Everything seemed to be going swell for Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, if it hadn’t been for the night of 15 May 2009...