From August 30 through September 3, 2012, the 3 Fonteinen Brewery near Brussels held their annual open beer days. This is a rare opportunity to visit one of the premier brewers of the local specialty lambic beers. The event includes free tours of the brewery in Dutch, French and English, a chance to taste some of their products, and most importantly, a chance to buy some of their special, old bottles not usually available for purchase in the shop. You may also get a chance to meet Armand and Lydie Debelder, the owners and brewer of the 3 Fonteinen beers.
Available for tasting at lat year’s event were the 3 Fonteinen Lambic, Oude Geuze, Oude Kriek, and Faro as well as the Beersel Blond, Lager and Zwet.be. I had to partake of a Faro here, as they don’t bottle this for normal sale. The Faro seems to be usually available only in the 3 Fonteinen Restaurant located next door. Faro is a lambic blended with caramel and candied sugar. It retains the normal sourness of a lambic, but with a nice sweetness that makes it quite smooth. These beers are usually short lived, only three to four weeks in the bottle, as the added sugars result in very active fermentation that could make the bottle explode!
For the bottles for purchase in the store, the following options were available:
Beers available for purchase at 3 Fonteinen Brewery
3 Fonteinen
Oude Geuze 0.375 L €2.50
Oude Geuze 0.75 L €4.45
Golden Blend Oude Geuze 0.375 L €8.00
Oude Kriek 0.375 L €3.85
Schaarbeekse Kriek 0.75L €12.00
Armand D4 2010 Limited Edition Oude Geuze 0.75 L €24 each for Autumn, Summer and Winter.
Spring is only available as part of the limited edition (500) collector’s box at €110.00
Horal’s Oude Geuze Mega Blend 2011 0.75 L €7.00
Beersel
Blond 0.33 L €1.25
Lager 0.33 L €1.15
Zwet.be 0.33 L €1.75
Special Offerings during 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days (2012)
Oude Geuze Vintage 2003 0.75 L €24.00 (max 1)
Oude Geuze Vintage 2005 0.75 L €17.00 (max 1)
Oude Geuze Vintage 2008 0.75 L €10.00 (max 6)
Oude Geuze Vintage 2008 0.375 L €6.00 (max 6)
Doesjel Vintage 2006 0.75 L €7.00 (max 6)
Doesjel Vintage 2010 0.375 L €4.00 (max 6)
Oude Kriek 2006 0.375 L € 6.00 (max 1)
Schaarbeekse Kriek 2006 0.75 L € 20.00 (max 1)
Schaarbeekse Kriek 2008 0.75 L € 15.00 (max 6)
Straffe Winter 0.75 L € 34.00 (max 1)
The 2013 Open Beer Days were held from Thursday, September 5 through Monday, September 9, 2013. Much of their offerings were same as from 2012, however there was less to choose from.
The 2014 Open Beer Days were held from Thursday, September 4 through Monday, September 8, 2014. Much less to choose from than 2013 even. They were considering a focus on special beer-tasting dinners throughout the year, but I’m not sure if those continued. Hoping for more selection in 2015…
The 2015 Open Beer Days will be held from Thursday, September 3 through Monday, September 7, 2015. If you’re looking to pick up a few of the rare older bottles, try to get there on Thursday or Friday, as quantities are often limited and they run out of choice vintages fast!
If you’re driving to 3 Fonteinen, they’re off Exit 19 on the R0 Ring Brussels.
Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen
lambik-o-droom
Molenstraat 47
1651 Lot
http://www.3fonteinen.be
Restaurant 3 Fonteinen
Herman Tierlinckplein 3
1650 Beersel
+32 (0)2 331 06 52
7 comments
My husband would have loved this!
Less than two months until the 2013 event, so he can have a chance coming up soon! If 3 Fonteinen can’t work Cantillon has their open beer day in November I believe…but the weather is usually better for this one 🙂
We’re moving to Europe next year and I am so looking forward to trying out all the various beer and wine festivals!
Cool! Where exactly are you moving to in Europe? I’ve had such a great time living here, though I do admit, I still miss living in Asia. Such a difference in cultures…I love them both!
That’s awesome! Nothing better than a nice Belgium brew!!
So much beer, so jealous Brett!
It’s really worth a visit. And it’s always timed pretty well with many of the major Brussels beer events each year, such as the Brussels Beer Fest that takes over the Grand Place.