Fantôme Hiver (Winter)

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

Serve in Tulip

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UPDATED: MAR 25, 2011 Bottle (new arrival, so probably brewed late 2010). Head is initially average sized, frothy/fizzy, white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), moderately hoppy (flowers, herbs), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of honey, lemon/orange zest, pear, spearmint, pepper. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/velvety texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Surprisingly wonderful, based on disappointing Fantome quality in recent years. This one is rife with delightful aromas, wonderfully balanced and flavorful, and quite clean (not infected).

750 ml bottle. Gorgeous dark strawberry-orange color, hazy, enormous snowy billowy head. Nose strong, sour, gueuze-like, with hints of mint and anise. Flavor- I like VENOM’s comment, sweet and tart and metallic. Very soft, soothing body contrasts nicely with the harsh, powerful, astringent qualities in the flavor profile. I’ve had few saisons, so comparisons for me are hard, but it comes closest to a sour ale/geueze overall, with some bare hints of berry sweetness towards the end. Although it was near room temp when I opened the bottle (with excessive difficulty I might add), the beer seemed to improve quite a bit out of the bottle and in the glass; I would let it sit for at least 5 minutes in the glass before sampling. Very good, but for me not close to Top 50, at least not yet.

Hazy orange, small, solid white head, spices and yeast in the nose. Fruity, yeasty, spicy; some honeyed sweetness, although not as much as, say, a Vervifontaine. Nice work.

Cloudy amber golden. Spicy aroma with cinnnamon and is chock full of glorious styrian golding hops. The tongue is tickled by sour and hops (the nine volt battery comment is right on, a nearly dead nine volt battery--no sting, just a light sting) comes together for an amazing lingering finish. I need to check out more Fantome beers, as I loved this one.

Cloudy straw color bubbling some what like champagne. Tall heavy white head. Aroma of spices and fruit. Spicy, sweet sour. Caramel malts and yeastiness blend with zest, fresh fruit and a touch of metal. Kind of like eating strawberries with a 9 volt battery in your mouth. Wild!

UPDATED: DEC 2, 2005 Yeasty aroma, Cloudy yellowish in color. The clove comes through loud and strong. I don’t think I’d like to drink alot of these, but was interesting to say the least.

Bottle. Amber with a laced white head. The aroma is impressive. Candy, citrus, sugars, bubblegum and floral notes. Tart and citric on the palate. Not a distinctive flavor and not well connected to the aroma.

UPDATED: JAN 22, 2005 First rating: Dec 25, 2002 (8-4-7-3-15, 3.7): Golden orange color, thin head. Herbal aroma, like oregano, with citrus fruits and raspberry, plus hints of clove. Spicy and dry, then sour, giving a tart palate despite the good fizz supporting it. My first reaction was that this was like walking through the cosmetics section of a department store, warming you with a sexy mix of perfumes and high-class hairsprays. In the end, it left me unsettled--not sure whether I could stomach much more of this. // I had a second chance at this on 21 Jan 05 but after finding a strange skunky, musty, citric stank of an aroma, and a salty/metallic edge jumping on the tongue, plus a surprisingly dull palate despite the decent froth on the beer, I decided that it was a bad bottle I will not put that score in (though I gave it a 7-4-6-3-13, 3.3)

UPDATED: FEB 23, 2004 750 ml [Corked and capped bottle, 1998 sampling: Deliah’s Chicago (vintage beer tasting, Feb ‘04)]: Glowing orange peach. Still very well carbonated with a pale yellow ring of foam. Beautiful aroma of funky cheese, iron, peach fuzz, citrus rind and chalk. Amazing how the flavours are even more developed and dancing together: tart green grape juice, sour cherries, horse blanket, sharp iron and funky wheat all with a nice rounded bitterness, still a whole bunch of fun after all these years.
2002 bottle, one year later: A fuzzy peach has melted into my glass. . . the lucious fruit has morfed into a complex array of tart lemons, sour apples and cinnamon flecks and floated on a cloud into my mouth. A heavenly brew.

UPDATED: JAN 5, 2003 Delicious aromas, tangerine, touch of honey, clove and half as much cinnamon. Some fruity esters, sour and sweet flavors. Just a wee touch of acetic acid. It"s off dry. Really wonderful. Fantome rocks. Thanks 2 DaSilky1!