3 Fonteinen is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

, specialized in

geuze Gueuze (Dutch ''geuze'', ; French ''gueuze'', ) is a type of lambic, a Beer in Belgium, Belgian beer. It is made by Blending (alcohol production), blending young (1-year-old) and old (2- to 3-year-old) lambics, which is bottled for a second ...

and kriek. The brewery is situated in

Beersel Beersel () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. The municipality comprises the towns of Alsemberg, Beersel proper, Dworp, Huizingen and Lot. On 1 January 2018 Beersel had a total population of 25,069. The total a ...

, near

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and produces classic versions of both kriek and geuze.

Geuzestekerij

3 Fonteinen was founded in 1887 as a café and ''geuzestekerij'', a place where geuze is produced by blending old and new lambics, acquired from other breweries. The enterprise was bought by Gaston De Belder in 1953, who expanded it with a restaurant and left it to his sons Armand and Guido in 1982. In 1998, a brewery installation was bought. Apart from using its own lambic, 3 Fonteinen uses lambic made by

Boon Boon may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Boon (game), a trick-taking card game * ''Boon'' (novel), a 1915 satirical work by H. G. Wells * ''Boon'' (TV series), a British television series starring Michael Elphick * The Ultimate Boo ...

, Girardin and Lindemans for its geuze. 3 Fonteinen is one of the few remaining ''geuzestekerijen''. The ''Mijol Club'', a literary club, founded by

Herman Teirlinck Herman Louis Cesar Teirlinck (Sint-Jans-Molenbeek, 24 February 1879 – Beersel-Lot, 4 February 1967) was a Belgian writer. He was the fifth child and only son of Isidoor Teirlinck and Oda van Nieuwenhove, who were both teachers in Brussels. As a ...

, used to convene in the café. In May 2009, a faulty thermostat caused 3000 bottles to explode. The remaining overheated geuze was made into an

eau de vie An ''eau de vie'' ( French for spirit, §16, §17 literally " water of life") is a clear, colourless fruit brandy that is produced by means of fermentation and double distillation. The fruit flavor is typically very light. In English-speakin ...

called "Armand's Spirit", the sales of which enough allowed the brewery to continue operations. In March 2013, after four years of interruption, Brewery 3 Fonteinen inaugurated its new brewing installation and is brewing its own lambic again. During the four years without its own installation 3 Fonteinen managed to keep its head above water by blending lambic that they bought from nearby lambic breweries like

and Girardin.

References

External links

* * Breweries of Flanders Companies based in Flemish Brabant {{Belgium-company-stub