Fantôme La Dalmatienne

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

This one is really different for a Fantome. Of course, since it’s Fantome, I imagine each bottle of Dalmatienne is going to be different. Dalmatienne tastes like honey, tofee and cake, but it’s not sickly sweet at all. It starts chewey and then gets nice and golden hoppy, then finishes nice and dry with a long lingering cotton candy and honey after taste. Weird, complex, indescribable flavors that are flat out addictive. I could smell citrus notes but not so much taste them. This kinda stetches the notion of Saison, but I don’t know what else it could be described as.

Pours a dark, hazed old copper penny color w/ a tall, semi creamy froth. Superb head retention slowly reducing to a full, downy canopy. Strong aromas of spicey tropical essence and granite. Full nectar w/ very shy residual effers that create a luscious, creamy texture. Nice! A big malty backbone supports a miriad of flavanoids and a paceful peachpit bittering unit. Nuances of tropical fruit w/ an emphasis on buttery banana nut. Mildly medicinal with complexities including vanilla cream, gummy kiwi, a hint of cola, and blackcherry tart. The finish is bittered nicely and midly tart. Lingering fruit adds to the romance. A very tastey brew indeed. This brew is rich and very generous yet balanced. Highly recommended.

Shared by Shyam. This one bottle of this stuff was fantastic. I am told that due to variation, it will be very lucky if it ever tastes like this again. Nose was right up my alley: thick aromatic jasmine, thick green and gray teas, light lavender, hint of anise, hop and wheat. Flavor is all those plus yeast and Taro. Color is a beautifully glowing brown with smattered yeast speckled and floating in the glass. Very full Saison etheral/ephemeral finish with only light soil. Unbelievable bottle.

Deep cloudy copper with a fine sea-foam head. Dried apricot notes swirl with a sublime, yeasty spiciness in the nose. Flavor adds a lightly sweet blood-orange tartness that melds well with the rustic, earthy quality of the brew. Mouthfeel is neither too viscous nor too thin ... striding gracefully between the two. The soft, ample carbonation lifts the sweetness from your palate for a subtle and enjoyably clean finish. Supremely easy to drink, and at 8% ... it is no joke. After writing this, I’ve taken a look at a few other reviews, and it looks like I am rating this quite a bit higher than my brethren (never to discount my lovely brew-sisters). I cannot help it, I am simply enjoying this immensely. In general, if you tend to enjoy the peculiarities and nuances of Fantome ... let this one haunt you.

Bottle generously shared by Shyam. Great label on this one -- too bad the beer gushed all over it. Pours amber in color with yeast floating everywhere in the glass. It looks like someone poured sand into a gelatin mold. Smells like a woman coming out of Bath & Body Works - jasmine, green tea, and lotion. Tastes of candied sugar and I want to say tamarind, so I will. Also features tart green apples and cinnamon toward the finish. A champion saison if you apparently win the Fantome bottle lottery like we did.

Pours a semi-hazy medium-brown with a nice head. The aroma has tons of grass and herbal spice. When you take a sip, the nose has a "full" quality that I find elusive... if the hops and herbs can be described as light, there’s something else there that’s just... fuller. ’Meaty’ comes to mind, but that’s too heavy a term. There’s some of that quality in the flavor, too. Nice and refreshing. Feels great in the mouth... a bit spicy, full yet light. Kind of reminds me of the first bottle of Chocolat I had... has some slighty bitter qualities, though this bears no resemblance to an IPA. Saisons aren’t really one of my favorite styles, but Fantome makes such imaginative variations on the style, I’m forced to declare my allegiance to farmhouse ales.

Bottled, thanks Oakes & Beershine! Cloudy pale orange. Funky barnyard aroma. Dryish with some yeasty vinegary tartness. Lactic with vital elastic malt. Lots of brett. Light salty finish. Ansolutely lovely!

Hazy amber with a rocky head. Nice grassy, spicy hop aroma with dry pale malts, and a bit of funky yeast, lots to smell . Frothy, expanding mouthfeel. A mainly dry flavor- starts with a faint caramel sweetness, then turns to dusty pale malts with dry hay and dry spicy hops. Subtle, complex flavors here with a very light sourness in the finish. A most awesome Saison !