Words and photos by Ashley Joanna
Edited by Breandán Kearney
Humans of Belgian Beer is a series of photographic portraits which celebrate a people and their culture.
Michaël Blancquaert was an accounting major working night shifts at a hotel. He had become unhappy with the mundane nature of his job and was craving a role where he could work with his hands. In March of 2010, looking for a change in his life, he applied for a position he had seen in a newspaper. He wanted to work with a small company so that he could enjoy the feeling of being close to his colleagues. He wanted to learn from someone who had experience, and who would invest in him and his future.
The job for which he applied was production assistant at Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen. When he arrived for his interview, Lydie Hulpiau sat at a table in 3 Fonteinen’s original lambik-o-droom building, and rather than ask him about his qualifications or motivations, the interview took the form of a relaxed conversation over his first ever glass of Geuze. Lydie’s husband, the 3 Fonteinen brewer and blender Armand De Belder, came to say hello, but he was too busy cleaning barrels to talk for long and quickly left. Michaël didn’t know much about beer. But after the interview, he was hired immediately.
If he didn’t see much of Armand Debelder at his interview, he saw plenty of him on the job. Aside from showing Michaël how Lambic is produced during long hours in the brewery and barrel rooms, Armand took the time to teach Michaël the history of Lambic, of 3 Fonteinen, and of the area of Belgium in which it had been born.
Michaël and Armand would spend time together in the car, driving around the Senne valley, with Armand telling stories about the brewery and the special places he believed were related to Lambic and Geuze.
Armand took Michaël to old Lambic brewers that no longer existed at that time—Winderickx, Eylenbosch, and Goossens—and would bring him to Gaasbeek Castle and to Café de Zwaan to share with him the forgotten histories of the beer style in the region. Michaël should know these places before producing beer at 3 Fonteinen, he said. Michaël’s interest in this new world grew and the experience fuelled a passion for brewing and blending Lambic.
Early on Sunday, March 6, 2022, Armand Debelder passed away after a two-year battle with prostate cancer. “Not only did we work together, but we also had a great connection,” says Michaël. “Armand was my mentor, my soulmate, and a father figure to me. Not only in the beer industry but also in life.”
Now, 12 years after that job interview, Michaël is part-owner of the brewery, in charge of production at 3 Fonteinen. “I never went a day to work since 2010,” says Michaël. “I can never thank Armand enough for bringing this passion into my life.”
Not only did we work together, but we also had a great connection. Armand was my mentor, my soulmate, and a father figure to me. Not only in the beer industry but also in life.
Michaël Blancquaert
