We’ve been visiting 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days for more than a decade, from the earlier events in Beersel to today’s much larger gatherings at the lambik-O-droom in Lot. It remains one of our favorite opportunities to experience 3 Fonteinen beyond a normal visit. Here’s what to know if you’re planning to attend Open Beer Days 2026.

What is 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days?

Open Beer Days is an annual event held by Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, one of Belgium’s best-known traditional lambic breweries, at the lambik-O-droom in Lot. The event dates back to 2010. For visitors, it is one of the best opportunities to visit and tour the brewery and barrel room while taking in the offerings of the public tasting room and shop. The event started at the old brewery in Beersel, moving to the lambik-O-droom in 2016.

When Is 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days 2026?

The Open Beer Days take place on the first weekend in September each year. The 2026 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days will take place from Friday, September 4 – Sunday, September 6, 2026. This will be the 18th edition of the event. The Open Beer Days take place from noon until 8:30 PM on these days.

What Can You Expect at 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days 2026?

Open Beer Days gives visitors a rare opportunity to explore the brewery and barrel room at 3 Fonteinen while tasting special lambics alongside beer lovers from around the world. Admission to Open Beer Days, including the brewery tour, is free. Guided tours take place each day at 1:00 PM, 3:00 PM, and 6:00 PM.

Visitors who want to get more hands-on with lambic can also sign up for the “3 Fonteinen Private Blend” workshop and create their own geuze blend.

Participants in the workshop will get to taste different component lambics, create their own geuze blend, bottle six bottles of their blend, and return approximately six months later after refermentation/maturation to collect them. Workshop sessions are limited to 12 participants and will likely fill quickly.

The beers available for drinking at the lambik-O-droom during “OBD” are usually more exclusive than the normal menu offerings. Along with the normal offerings, there are often special and vintage editions of beers such as Zenne y Frontera and the Spelling van het Lot (Twist of Fate) series of special experimental batches. In 2026, there will be no fewer than nine new releases!

There are also often vintage and exclusive bottles available to buy in the shop during the event. While the lambic world has changed a bit and lineups such as the one at the 2013 Open Beer Days may never be seen again, great bottles will definitely be available during the weekend.

Open Beer Days isn’t only about what’s being poured. Food trucks, music, children’s activities, and other entertainment are planned throughout the weekend, making it easy to spend an entire afternoon at the lambik-O-droom.

What Beers Will Be Released for Open Beer Days 2026?

3 Fonteinen has announced nine new releases for the 2026 Open Beer Days, ranging from new Zenne y Frontera blends to fruit lambics and a vintage Armand & Gaston.

The announced beers include:

• Zenne y Frontera Blend 13
• Zenne y Frontera Manzanilla Edition (Blend 12)
• Cuvée Clandestina x Arianna Occhipinti
• Gamay op amfoor x Alex Foillard
• Zenne d’Auge 2026 x Dupont
• Oude Lambik 375ml
• Chardonnay
• Oude Geuze Cuvée Armand & Gaston Vintage 2023
• The rather wild Zenne y Fortificado at 17.5%

In addition to the nine bottle releases, 3 Fonteinen will be pulling Oloroso lambic straight from the cask on the Open Beer Days hand pump.

I’m always a big fan of the Zenne y Frontera releases, as I love the combination of sherry and geuze. The Oloroso lambic straight from the cask is high on my list to try this year, too. And, as a fan of 3 Fonteinen’s fruit lambics, I’m especially curious about the new grape blends.

Be sure to check out (and subscribe to) the 3 Fonteinen newsletter for more information on these releases.

How Do You Get to 3 Fonteinen From Brussels?

The 3 Fonteinen lambik-O-droom is located in Lot, Belgium, around 10 miles southwest of the center of Brussels. You can get there by train in under 30 minutes. You can also drive there, but parking can get crowded during the event.

By train: Take an S2 train from Brussels Central or Brussels Midi/Zuid to Lot Station. The journey takes less than 30 minutes, and the lambik-O-droom is about a 5–10 minute walk from the station. Check the departure board carefully, as the final destination displayed for S2 trains can vary.

How Much Does 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days Cost?

Admission to Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days is free, including the scheduled brewery tours. The “Blend Your Own Geuze” workshop is ticketed separately at €90 per person.

Bottles for drinking at the event can be purchased with cash or credit card inside the lambik-O-droom and picked up at the tent outside. Bottles are also available for purchase to take home in the shop. Bringing outside beers is discouraged, at times even forbidden, so it may be wise to leave your own bottles at home.

Our Tips for Visiting 3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days

• Take the train from Brussels rather than driving.
• Check the drink-in and draft lists when you arrive. Some of our favorite finds at past Open Beer Days have been special bottles or lambics from the cask that aren’t normally available.
• Allow time for the brewery/barrel-room tour even if you’ve visited the lambik-O-droom before.
• Don’t bring a bag full of outside bottles expecting a giant bottle share.
• Buy bottles you really want sooner rather than later. Don’t assume a special or vintage bottle you see in the shop will still be there at the end of the day.
• Plan a day of it. Between the bottles you will be sharing with others, a brewery tour, some food, and just enjoying the crowd, you won’t want to be rushed into an early exit after just an hour or two.
• Go with friends. There are a lot of beers available to try, and going with friends allows you to share bottles and split the costs of acquiring them all. And it’s just fun!

Frequently Asked Questions

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen | lambik-O-droom
Molenstraat 47, 1651 Lot, Belgium

Long-awaited beer released by lambic producers and blenders such as Antidoot, Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, Tilquin, and Bokke had to be moved online, or were even limited to local Belgian customers only. And events such as Cantillon’s Quintessence and the Night of the Great Thirst were postponed, with Quintessence being moved into 2021 and the Night of the Great Thirst currently being scheduled for September 11. Other events such as 3 Fonteinen’s Lambik Tastings from March and June have also been moved into September, surrounding this year’s Open Beer Days, while the BXL Fest scheduled for August has been cancelled for 2020 (though the Exclusive Beer Packs will still be released and will be available for pickup at Moeder Lambic Fontainas after August 24, 2020.

The fate of Cantillon’s Zwanze Day 2020 is still up in the air, with a final announcement expected by August as to whether there will be an event this year at all, and if so, will it be able to be organized globally or just more localized in Brussels or in Europe.

However, all is not lost for the lambic lover in Europe. Over the past month, restrictions have started to loosen, and many producers and blenders are now able to open their doors again for sales, and now even for tasting. Unfortunately, it is not quite as free and easy as it was before the pandemic. Hours are more restrictive than they were in the past, and reservations are required to visit some locations. If you are lucky enough to be able to get to Europe this summer, here’s some helpful information for planning your visits.

Cantillon Brewery/Brussels Museum of the Gueuze

On May 11, Cantillon reopened the doors of their shop for takeaway only on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, which until June 15 meant for Belgian customers only as the borders were closed between Belgium and the rest of Europe until then. As from June 20, Cantillon has also reopened their bar and the Museum of the Gueuze on Saturdays only, however reservations are required. Tours and the bar both start at 11AM, bar reservations can be made by email to info@cantillon.be, and tours can be booked on the Cantillon Website. The bar closes at 5PM, with the last orders at 4:15 PM.

I visited Cantillon for takeaway on Friday, June 26, and also the bar on Saturday, July 4. There was an excellent selection of bottles available for take away. the bottle list for on-site consumption on the 4th was nothing short of outstanding. the new upstairs bar area is set up for customers. There is adequate space for social distancing and a maximum of 10 persons per table.

Cantillon does still recognize the social aspect of a visit to Cantillon. You are still allowed to share bottles with others, as long as you use clean glasses and limit the movement around the bar area. If your group does grow, they will also accommodate with a larger table (if available) to help limit the need to walk or pass bottles between tables. They require the use of a mask when you are not seated at your table, and request that only one customer walks up to the bar at a time to order.

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen and lambik-O-droom

Also on May 11, Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen reopened their shop in Lot, again, at first only possible for customers within Belgium to Visit. As from Friday, June 12, the lambik-O-droom has also reopened for on-site consumption. The lambik-O-droom is open on Fridays and Saturdays from 12 Noon until 8:00 PM. Guidelines for visiting, as well as the current offerings available for on-site consumption, can be found on their website, however their on-site beer list is not always up to date, so you’ll want to scan the QR Code on your table to access the latest menu.

I visited the lambik-O-droom on Friday, June 26, and found it to also be quite well organized. Seating was only available outside on the grounds but it was covered and there was plenty of seating for a group (up to 10 people) to sit together and share. The beer selection was outstanding, with a number of the Twist of Fate (Spelling van het Lot) beers that would have been released in May being available for on-site consumption. Packs were also available for sale in the shop, with the same basic packs that were also made available on the webshop, as well as individual bottle sales.

Gueuzerie Tilquin

Gueuzerie Tilquin reopened their shop on June 6, and the shop and taproom are currently open on Saturdays from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM, though they will be closed from July 15 to August 15. Tilquin has a number of interesting packs available for purchase, including their recently released Grape Lambic packs, with Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Riesling lambics.

Visting a Belgian Lambic Tasting Room This Summer

We recognize this is a very unique time in the world right now, and our American readers cannot visit Europe under the current travel restrictions and ban. We are not advocating putting yourself at risk to travel, and we wholeheartedly believe in wearing a mask, and social distancing is still the best course of action. Our new cases in the Netherlands are minimal and some rules have relaxed even further as of July 1, 2020. We also drove to the brewery in our private vehicle and took proper precautions. We suggest following the regulations for the location where you live in Europe and adhere to all the rules that each brewery asks you to abide by. As the situation with COVID-19 is ever-changing, we also recommend you confirm the locations are open as you plan your potential visit to any Belgian brewery right now.