Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

Brewed by Brasserie Fantôme
Style: Saison
Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Glowing yellow with a rich creamy head. Definitely has more hops on the nose than the typical saison. Smells like it belongs with all those other earthy and ephemeral scents. Substantial body, especially for a saison, which I think can run too thin sometimes. This is hop-heavy for the style but it all still balances out.

Clear gold, tight pillowy white head. Nose is orange & fruit, barnyard funk, hay, grape, slightly fishy (?!) grassy hops. Flavor is caramel, lemon, funk, clovey butterscotch finish w. plenty of hops.

Bottle. Typical Fantome. Lots of peppery spice, nice slightly wild farmhousey characters. Apricoty/peachy sort of fruit,with a nice, dry peppery backbone.Nice bitterness and the alcohol is nicely hidden, yet still has a slight warming effect. Nicely balanced.

750ml - The initial aroma is Fantome signature barnyard funk followed by half-baked bread dough, lemon zest, coriander, fresh herbs, and hops with some spice on top. Pours cloudy orange/brown with a nice big fluffy head and great lacing. Flavor is similar to aroma but not as funky. It is actually kind of sweet like fresh melons or peaches, then you get hit with some hop tartness. Palate is oh so smooth and creamy. I love it!

The body on this one was medium orange with some haze. The thick head was large and white. The aroma was typical Fantome with oranges, leather and earthy dandelions. The taste was leather with apple cores. There was also some cinnamon and sweet peaches in the finish. Plenty of carbonation in the mouthfeel.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours orange/gold with an off-white head. Aroma of citrus, fruit, and spices. The flavor is citrus, fruit, spices, and carbonation. I hate the style, but drinkable and somewhat enjoyable.

75cL bottle, goblet. Ruddy golden straw hue crowned by a large, but curt, fizzy white head. Hops leap forth from every angle with powerful aromas of fresh cut grass, cilantro, lime zest, sweet basil and a dozen other herbs I can’t possibly fathom. Round out any would-be sharpness are gentle yeast aromas of leather and barnyard. A soft toasted bread and straw malt profile leaves the hops and yeast to show off. A subtle undertone of mangoes and pineapples brings another level of freshness to the mix. Curiously sweeter than expected, a juxtaposition of honeydew and fresh bread melts across the front palate with a crisp and lively acidity dancing about, all in contrast to a pleasantly sour lactic note. These flavors hold so firmly to the palate that it becomes challenging to separate individual flavor events after the beer moves further back on the tongue. The aftertaste, however, clearly spells out what has transpired. A juicy and funky center rolls into a herbal and grassy hop bite and everything ends in a semi-dry, lactic-tart bite. Upon warming the entire experience becomes more earthy and herbal yet. The body is silky smooth with pinpoint carbonation and a light enough touch to make the beer appear much less than 8%abv if it weren’t for that wonderful warming sensation I always get from Danny’s masterpieces. A clever creation that demonstrates both the impact and depth of hops (as well as yeast, per usual). I could have withstood a little more dryness to really bring out the bitterness, thoug.

Bottle: Orange color, nice white puffy head, retentive, nice lacing. Nose of skunk, orange, yeast and barny notes, some anise too I recon. The flavor is rich and chewy, herby malts with some celery and thyme. The finish is dry with some lemon and yeast. Odd wooly tail. A bit odd for fantome, usually they’re more balanced.