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In the 1999-2000 season, Armand began to make preparations to begin foreign exports. In 2006, Drie Fonteinen Oude Geuze and Oude Kriek received recognition and protection as a traditional Flemish regional product.<ref name=Horal3F>Horal, - 3 Fonteinen, http://www.horal.be/vereniging/3-fonteinen-beersel</ref> As the lambic revival picked up in the early 2000’s, Drie Fonteinen continued to be one of the most prolific and traditional producers. This all changed on May 16, 2009. As Armand entered his warehouse in Essenbeek that day, he was met with a blast of hot air that signified a massive failure of the climate control mechanism. The Thermostat Incident, as it would come to be called, was the result of a faulty thermostat causing the hot air blower to not turn off. As a result, the temperature had risen to as high as 60 degrees Celsius (140 degrees Fahrenheit) essentially cooking over 80,000 bottles of lambic and causing some of them to explode. Only some bottles of the Oude Kriek were salvageable and today are affectionately known as “Hot Cherry” bottles amongst lambic aficionados.
[[File:3 Fonteinen Bottle Storage.jpg|thumb|left|Bottle storage at 3F]]
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 is brewing his own lambic again, along with Michael, and the future of Drie Fonteinen appears to be very strong.
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