Fantôme La Dalmatienne

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

Very good, lighlty yellow head, stable, over faintly hazy (end of bottle fully laden) copper-golden beer, very carbonated. Both spicy and floral aromas; coriander, Szechuan pepper and horseradish powder, citruspeel. Mouthful jumble of very lively mix of spices, (citrus)fruit, farmyard flavours and malts, syrup and organic acids, honingbollen, apricots and fruitblossoms. And more esters than one could throw a stick at. Alcohol in the finish only. Surprisingly light palate, if viscous, for such a heavy beer; refreshing, very carbonated, rectifying the "Saison" nomer, all proportions taken into account. Balanced, which is even rarer for Fantôme brews. Very nice beer - thanks to Ignace for the bottlewatch.

Hazed rufous. Morphing big-bubbled ivory head condenses into a fine yet broken cream. Boisterously bright notes of fruitcake, apricot jam, Juicy Fruit gum, and rum reduction sauce delight the olfactory. Sweet whiff of sugar-cookie maltiness and dusty yeast notes. Soft and subdued carbonation. Gentle tartness gives way to a prickly clove and coriander fusion coupled with slippery plum and explosive peach-flesh fruitiness. Faint lacto tartness obscures what would otherwise be the beers defining characteristics in the nuanced esters and delicate dustiness. Still artfully layered with peppery and fruity esters and soft, well-placed malt. Immensely quaffable. Finishes with lots of teasing delicacies along with a quiet yet drying flourish of alcohol which works to illuminate the apricot, sweet cookie, and spice esters. A commendable work of art despite the fact that it’s slightly infected.

Bottle: Poured a deep cloudy orangey color ale with a huge foamy head with perfect retention and great lacing. Aroma is lightly sour with typical funkyness from Fantome. Mix of orange and fruity ester with a light spicy yeast and a tart aftertaste. Full body with limited filtration and great carbonation with no signs of alcohol showing up. Quite unique like so many beer from this brewery and somewhat indescribable but still lacking a little something to makes it truly great.

Technically a saison, this beer seems to share more characteristics with a trippel to me, with its very sweet and fruity extremities. Granted, an amber trippel at that. Very spicy sweet, with notes of orange, and a slightly lactic/barnyard and dusty character. Very mouth filling, with low hop character and bitterness.

White head on hazy amber body; Orange dry spicy good nose; Soft carbonation in very dry harsh sharp body; Harsh finish like dry pine needles are in the beer. The only not good Fantome I have ever had.

25 oz bottle, via FlacoAlto. Pours a hazy amber with lots of small chunkies floating about. One finger frothy off-white head, minimal visible carbonation. The nose is very fruity with lots of spice and yeast, a little bit of brett and horseblanket notes. The flavor is really spicy, but I’m not sure what might be used here. Cinnamon? Nutmeg? Just lots of yeast derived spice? Not as earthy or funky as many other Fantomes I’ve had. Mouthfeel is very fizzy with a nice full soft texture, lingering spicy finish. I really liked this one, unique for Fantome.

decent gusher. not immediate, but it kept coming. pours a hazy orange-brown, with a big fluffy cream head that sticks around decently and laces a bit. granular bits of yeast float around inside. smells of light spice and lightly-colored fruits and brown sugar. closer to a belgian strong dark than fantome’s saison. there are hints of the bits of citrus brett, but they’re dominated by the normal esters and the brown sugar malt. the taste is a big surprise! the brown sugar malt is still there, but the esters have changed to cherry and orange and even a bit of grapes. still some light spice. and it’s surprisingly tart. not puckering or anything, but it was unexpected. also a tiny hint of bitterness, and light sweetness. creamy slick mouthfeel, made by the carbonation. this is tasty stuff. i had an oerbier the other day, it sort of reminds me of that, but with more of a fantome character.

75cl bottle at Delirium cafe. Pours hazy orange with a small bubbly head. Matured nose of yeast, fruits and alcohol. Full bodied. Fruity, sweet, hoppy, round and vinous. Good balance. Dry end . . One of the well made fantome brews.