Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

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

Ball-breaker beer. My kinda name. Aroma is quite hoppy for a Saison, but it is not that west coast essence of grapefruit and pine hoppiness it is bitter, but quite floral and herbal in nature. Actually has a very enticing aroma and lets a bit of sweet fruity malt sneak through. The color is a hazy yellow/orange and the head is a creamy white affair about a thumb thick and it diminishes slowly. Fore is floral, tastes a little like a rose petal (yes I have eaten rose petals) and has a smooth almost buttery feel to it. Very bitter on the bank end, but mildly pear and apple accented through the middle. Some citrus peel and fruit asspect are also present in the middle and finish. Very nicely balanced. Not at all tart or overly bitter. A damn tasty brew that is going down amazingly well despite having come in from sweaty yardwork. Excellent beer.

Pours a hazy orange color with a gorgeous fluffy white head that eventually sits on top of the beer like a dollop of whipped cream. Extremely hoppy nose, almost IPA like with hints of citrus along with the usual Fantome funkiness that we all love. Flavor is heavily bitter at the start before giving way to a creamier earthy finish. Absolutely spectacular.

Bottle sampled with beerded_one. Pours hazy orange gold with a decent off-white head. Aroma of citrus, spices, fruit, some floral and sour notes. Flavor is carbonated, spicey, citrusy, fruit, smooth, floral. Good body, good brew.

(750ml bottle) Purchased through the Bieropholie/SAQ private imports. As good as this brewer is (and I love his wild ways) I cannot say that I particularly enjoy this recipe. The nose is great - the usual crazy spiced yeast and funk yet many of his beers are "peculiar" by design. Brise-BonsBons is overly tart and sour with orange flavour and weak on his strongest feature - his crazy, funky yeast. The spices do not pull this beer out of the mud, its too tart and acidic to be enjoyable. Its like a grannysmith sour apple with lemon juice.

A very interesting variation on the Belgian schtick, though I’m not too experienced with saisons. It’s bitter, but not in a hoppy way as much as a mineraly/herby way. The body is full though a bit foamy from the bottle. A real nice beer for something unusual, but the bite is kind of harsh, though not as dramatic as I think they’d make it out to be. The bitterness is abrupt against a estery honey full mouthfeel.

Pour is dark hazy amber with a thin dense lasting tan head...smell is wet leaves, funk, straw, maybe some bacon.,,,taste is funky and sour, then turningg quite bitter...interesting indeed...

"Not a typical saison. Not near as much of the barnyard funk to it. Poured a dark golden color nice lacing and some sedimentation. Aroma was peppery with some funk to it. Flavor was of pepper wheat and hops. FUll mouthfeel."

Lot 086/477044: Not as much funk and barnyard as I was expecting, this one poured with a golden-amber cloudy appearance with a nice large head and lots of sedimentation. Lacing was good. The aroma was slightly funky, but lots of pepper. The flavor was nice smooth wheaty base with some hopping, lots of pepper hopping. The bitterness was welcomed, as this was a very fine Belgian Saison. I loved the interpretation on style with high hopping. Mouthfeel was full and hearty. Great stuff.