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== History ==
[[File:3FonteinenBrouwerij-2.jpg|thumb|right|Entrance to 3 Fonteinenin Beersel]]
Like many lambic breweries and blenders, the history of Drie Fonteinen starts well before the official founding of the brewery. The founding of Drie Fonteinen dates back to 1883 when Jacobus Vanderlinden and his wife Joanna Brillens opened an inn with a beer blending business on the side in the town of Beersel.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref> In Dutch, the name Drie Fonteinen means ''three fountains'' and originally referred to the hand pumps that were used to serve the three types of beer at the inn: lambic, faro, and kriek.
This huge financial loss of a year’s worth of product, coupled with the fact that the ten-year brewing equipment lease was about to run out, caused Armand to rethink the future of Drie Fonteinen. The remaining capital invested in his own brewing system had to be divested to meet other financial obligations of the brewery. Armand’s last official brew of the pre-Thermostat Incident era was in March of 2009.<ref name=GeuzeKriek>Jef Van den Steen, [[Books#Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer|Geuze & Kriek: The Secret of Lambic Beer]], 2012</ref>
Not all was lost, however, ; and the remaining bottles of Oude Geuze that had not been damaged beyond repair were distilled into an eau de vie called Armand’Spirit. This, along with the sale of special blends of Armand's remaining pre-incident lambics, has helped to re-secure Drie Fonteinen’s future. In 2013, the brewery installed a 40-hectoliter brewing system. The question of a successor to Armand is often brought up. Currently, Michael Blancquaert is working with Armand as an apprentice and has agreed to buy 50% of the brewery’s shares by 2017.<ref name=3fBrewing>Chuck Cook, [http://drinkbelgianbeer.com/breweries/3-fonteinen-brewing-again-in-beersel Drie Fonteinen: New Brewery, Same Great Beers], 2013</ref> After a four year hiatus to regroup and get the necessary equipment, Armand, along with Michael, is brewing his own lambic again and the future of Drie Fonteinen appears to be very strong.
In 2016, Drie Fonteinen signed papers paperwork to purchase a new warehouse facility in the city of Lot, near Beersel. That same year, barrels, and foeders began to be filled in the Lot facility. Current plans On Thursday September 1st, 2016, the 3 Fonteinen Lamik-O-Droom officially opened to the public for the site include opening up a large visitors center and tasting room as well as an interactive tour facility[[3_Fonteinen_Open_Beer_Days|3 Fonteinen Open Beer Days]]. The This new warehouse facility will also house many new currently houses barrels and foeders for of lambic, blending, and the bottling operations. The new facilityline, known as well as all of the Lambik-O-Droom, opened conditioning bottles. In addition to the public in September 2016production facility, a full tasting room including current, vintage, and specialty bottles and retail shop are also located on site.
==Production Notes==