Geuzestekerij Parrain: Difference between revisions

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'''Geuzestekerij Parrain''' is a blendery in Beersel, Belgium. It was founded by Julie and Thomas Debelder in the cellar of the 3 Fonteinen restaurant, where both Gaston & Armand Debelder used to blend lambics. The name Parrain means "godfather" and pays tribute to both Armand and Gaston Debelder.

==History==

==History / Process==

For the first ~~blends~~, the blendery used ~~wort~~ from Boon and Den Herberg. ~~Beginning~~ in ~~2024~~, they ~~started sourcing~~ from ~~other~~ lambic breweries as ~~well~~, and ~~had around 8~~,~~000 L~~ of lambic ~~maturing~~ in the cellar of the restaurant.

The idea for the blendery slowly made it's way over the years, especially as Armand Debelder was retiring. For the first time in years there wasn't an active lambic activity happening in the Debelder family. Around 2017, Thomas Debelder made calculations for the project, but it was then left aside. Forward to 2023, his sister Julie just finished working sales for the international wholesaler Metro and came back with the idea for the blendery to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the restaurant, and despite the rise in costs since the original business plan, motivation was high and they decided to put their plan to execution, keeping things as simple as possible, which also meant borrowing material.

The blendery is operating under the company "Cuvée Armand BV" which they inherited in 2022 at Armand's passing, but the name wasn't an option as a brand, as it was already used by [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]]. They opted for Parrain ("godfather" in french) as a tribute to their uncle Armand and their grandfather Gaston, who started the 3 Fonteinen blendery originally in the cellars of the restaurant in Beersel, where the new project would take place once again.

After that, things took off fairly quickly as lambic was purchased in 2023 with sufficient age to create a first blend, using lambic from Boon (1 and 2-year-old) and Den Herberg (3 year-old). The idea was to create an easy-access gueuze for everyone, mainly to serve at the restaurant, like in the old days.

Originally, the plan was to aim for about 8000 bottles per year, selling 5 to 6000 of them directly at the restaurant. While the first batch was smaller (about 4000 bottles), they reached the ballpark of 8000 bottles from batch 2.

The choice of lambic wort is up to the breweries they purchase from, as trust is established through years of friendship and they know exactly what the pair are looking for: a soft profile, easy-drinking without too much acidity but also some oak notes to add structure. Once the lambic aged to satisfaction in the cellar, Julie (who is known to have the best nose in the family) and Thomas work together on the blend.

There are no strong rules when it comes to the producers they want to use from vintage to vintage, and while in 2024 they started purchasing lambic from other producers and will most likely still purchase from other ones, it's all about taste and evolution in the cellar, so a vintage might use all of the lambic available at hands, or a single producer if that seems fitting to the continuity of the profile of the Parrain gueuze.

There are no plans to really expand the range, but the team isn't closed to the idea of small experiments in tiny batches if quality fruits are brought to them : they are actually macerating quinces in a demi-john and have been offered Schaerbeekse cherries that will be used for a kriek in a near future.

==Side Notes==

At the moment the gueuze is bottled at Boon, and best before date (dated 20 years after bottling) printed by machine can be found either on the back label or cork.

The cellar can hold about 8000L of wort spread through 40 barrels (though in November 2025, 27 were filled), which are freshly emptied clean wine barrels, to extract some wood notes in the overall profile, without going overboard or provide any clear wine notes from the previous uses.

Sales are handled directly at the restaurant/blendery so there is no real distribution, except a small amount shipped to Italy and the shop Être Gourmet who ships internationally.

==Beers==

* [[Geuzestekerij Parrain Oude Geuze Parrain|Oude Geuze Parrain]]

* [[Geuzestekerij Parrain Lambiek Parrain|Lambiek Parrain]]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 '''Geuzestekerij Parrain''' is a blendery in Beersel, Belgium. It was founded by Julie and Thomas Debelder in the cellar of the 3 Fonteinen restaurant, where both Gaston & Armand Debelder used to blend lambics. The name Parrain means "godfather" and pays tribute to both Armand and Gaston Debelder.
-==History==
+==History / Process==
-For the first blends, the blendery used wort from Boon and Den Herberg. Beginning in 2024, they started sourcing from other lambic breweries as well, and had around 8,000 L of lambic maturing in the cellar of the restaurant.
+The idea for the blendery slowly made it's way over the years, especially as Armand Debelder was retiring. For the first time in years there wasn't an active lambic activity happening in the Debelder family. Around 2017, Thomas Debelder made calculations for the project, but it was then left aside. Forward to 2023, his sister Julie just finished working sales for the international wholesaler Metro and came back with the idea for the blendery to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the restaurant, and despite the rise in costs since the original business plan, motivation was high and they decided to put their plan to execution, keeping things as simple as possible, which also meant borrowing material.
+The blendery is operating under the company "Cuvée Armand BV" which they inherited in 2022 at Armand's passing, but the name wasn't an option as a brand, as it was already used by [[Brouwerij_3_Fonteinen|3 Fonteinen]]. They opted for Parrain ("godfather" in french) as a tribute to their uncle Armand and their grandfather Gaston, who started the 3 Fonteinen blendery originally in the cellars of the restaurant in Beersel, where the new project would take place once again.
+After that, things took off fairly quickly as lambic was purchased in 2023 with sufficient age to create a first blend, using lambic from Boon (1 and 2-year-old) and Den Herberg (3 year-old). The idea was to create an easy-access gueuze for everyone, mainly to serve at the restaurant, like in the old days.
+Originally, the plan was to aim for about 8000 bottles per year, selling 5 to 6000 of them directly at the restaurant. While the first batch was smaller (about 4000 bottles), they reached the ballpark of 8000 bottles from batch 2.
+The choice of lambic wort is up to the breweries they purchase from, as trust is established through years of friendship and they know exactly what the pair are looking for: a soft profile, easy-drinking without too much acidity but also some oak notes to add structure. Once the lambic aged to satisfaction in the cellar, Julie (who is known to have the best nose in the family) and Thomas work together on the blend.
+There are no strong rules when it comes to the producers they want to use from vintage to vintage, and while in 2024 they started purchasing lambic from other producers and will most likely still purchase from other ones, it's all about taste and evolution in the cellar, so a vintage might use all of the lambic available at hands, or a single producer if that seems fitting to the continuity of the profile of the Parrain gueuze.
+There are no plans to really expand the range, but the team isn't closed to the idea of small experiments in tiny batches if quality fruits are brought to them : they are actually macerating quinces in a demi-john and have been offered Schaerbeekse cherries that will be used for a kriek in a near future.
+==Side Notes==
+At the moment the gueuze is bottled at Boon, and best before date (dated 20 years after bottling) printed by machine can be found either on the back label or cork.
+The cellar can hold about 8000L of wort spread through 40 barrels (though in November 2025, 27 were filled), which are freshly emptied clean wine barrels, to extract some wood notes in the overall profile, without going overboard or provide any clear wine notes from the previous uses.
+Sales are handled directly at the restaurant/blendery so there is no real distribution, except a small amount shipped to Italy and the shop Être Gourmet who ships internationally.
 ==Beers==
 * [[Geuzestekerij Parrain Oude Geuze Parrain|Oude Geuze Parrain]]
 * [[Geuzestekerij Parrain Lambiek Parrain|Lambiek Parrain]]