Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

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

750 ml bottle from SBD. Pours a very cloudy-murky amber with small white head that soon fades away. The aroma is a bit tart with barnyard funk, musty fruits and Belgian yeasts. The flavor is tart-sour with musty fruits, sweet biscuit and biter walnuts. The mouthfeel is a bit on the thin side with lively, prickly carbonation. The finish is long with lingering citrus. Overall: A very tasty Saison.

Bottle from Sam’s Clybourn. This may have been the top for me with regards to Fantome. Pour is a cloudy orange. Nose is a bit skunky and barnyard, some tartness in the nose. Taste is the same. Lots of bitterness, dry finish with a ton of tang. Nice and frutiy/tart, some Bretty character as well. Very, very good.

After having 2 beers from them that I thoroughly enjoyed I wanted to try everything that they had to offer. So I was pretty excited when I picked this up at State Line Liquors. Until I drank it that is. Not that is is bad it just wasn’t any where near as experimental and unique as previous Fantôme experiences. It is basically a hoppy Tripel with a sour tinge. I even thought I detected a bit of DMS but my friends didn’t get it so maybe I am wrong. Not bad but not up to the usual Fantôme standards.

750ML BOTTLE VIA MYS SWAP 3.0. Thanks to whoever sent Pours a hazy orange with a huge head. Nose is funk, spices, belgian yeast. As for the taste.......hard to describe, but all the flavors are dull and muted....cardboard, soap, dirt, nail polish and nuts. Nasty stuff. Carbonation is high, body is medium. Horrid beer.

#900 25.4oz bottle obtained at the wonderful John’s Grocery. I let it warm for a few minutes and it appears it will be left to warm a little longer since it appears to require a corkscrew, which I’ll have to go get out of the kitchen. The initial aroma is wildflower honey followed by lemons, yeast, candi sugar, and floral hops. It smells great! The beer is light orange/copper in color with a one fingered head a persistent carbonation. The head presents a slight barrier when tasting the beer and gives the drinker a little foam mustache before they discovering the taste hiding underneath which is biscuty, spicy, moderately bitter, a mild bit of funkiness and some delightful citrus. The finish is flavorful with a hint of attic or basement that lingers in the background. Wonderful crisp finish, very easy to drink and a near perfect summer beer.

This corked and caged bottled brew from Indianapolis, IN had a cork lettered 086/47704. The bottle poured almost all foam with white colored fine to large sized mostly diminishing bubbles that left behind a typically carbonated slightly hazy yellow colored body. The mouth feel tingly but initially off palate with a slightly acidic aftertaste. The aoma was of mild dirty socks malt coriander. The sour flavor contained notes of soft malt and hops.

From a 750mL Bottle. Mostly transparent, pale dandelion gold colored pour with a thick head of fine bubbled, fizzy white foam. Perfumey, doughy yeast with hints of white pepper and orange peel. Subtle notes of light malt sweetness that comes across as a marshmellow-scented character. Clean, floral hop aromas with a hint of lemon peel freshen up the bouquet. Medium bodied, well carbonated mouthfeel with a soft, sparkling texture. Doughy, wheaty malt flavors up front on the palate, followed by lemon and some musty funk, cardamom, and leather. The body is a bit full for the style, but not so full as to make this heavy or cloying. Herbal hops and black pepper spice linger in the finish. The flavors and aroma are pretty solid and complex overall, but the quaffability just isn’t there.

Bottle from the generosity of CaptainCougar... thanks! This brew challenges my stable of words to describe beer. Lovely bright golden/amber cloudy pour with one-finger lasting head. Earthy/veggie nose with lots of yeast, wet hay, horseblanket and almost a stinky cheese thing going on. Challenging, but quite interesting. Similar taste with a little added citrus. Quite a dry finish, with a bit of an ashy taste near the end. As someone else noted, some sweetness shows as it warms. Unique and tasty. My first Fantome, but I don’t expect it to be my last.