Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen

Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen is one of the last pure, strong-headed and -heard lambic breweries in existence. Rooted in the Senne Valley (just outside of Brussels) since the end of the 19th century, it prides itself in making the most natural and fully spontaneously fermented lambic beer, brewed with local ingredients only, and with years of ageing in wooden barrels. No shortcuts are made during the whole process: no filtration, no pasteurization, no acid control, and no artificial yeast. Nothing is being added, tampered with, or sped up to possibly influence the beer. Nature and terroir are the essence of what and how they do it. It is why 3 Fonteinen’s hard-headed aim to put back the ‘terroir’ in traditional lambic beer and restore the natural link from field to glass. That is why they founded The 3 Fonteinen Cereal Collective, a renewed and resilient agro-ecological model, together with 10 organic farmers, all located within 15 kilometers of the brewery. A model in which farmer, brewer and baker, miller and malter are joined around original/old land races (and so organic by default), typical to the regional soil and at a price point that fully values the farmer, his artisanry, quality and passion. To achieve this, they started an ambitious research program, to find and revive old heirloom / landrace barley and wheat varieties, which once thrived on local soils, but have slowly disappeared due to monoculture and the “industry’s greedy quest” for the most economical path, not taking the soil into account. Going through old (lambic) recipes and research, 3 Fonteinen brought back, replanted, revived and reactivated approx. 70 barley and wheat varieties. Thus not only bringing back the polyculture in farming (through the Cereal Collective), but also emphasizing even more the broad complexity, nature and nuances in their lambic beers; a beer that cannot nor should be standardized or produced by formulas and machines. It will only improve the unique terroir of the beer style. It has resulted in an official bio certification in 2021; now brewing 100% organic, as one of the few Belgian breweries who have such a certification. Furthermore Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen set up sustainable links with organic fruit farmers in Belgium to broaden the network of locally grown fruit and in doing so preserving old disappearing varieties of f.e. plums and sour cherries. For their hops they collaborate with a local farm, producing a Belgian variety of organic hops. On site at the brewery they keep their own beehives. For their grape lambics, 3 Fonteinen collaborates with European biodynamical / natural wine makers.