Fantôme La Gillmoir

Brewed by Brasserie Fantôme
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Serve in Trappist glass, Tulip, Tumbler

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This beer I got myself during my latest trip to Belgium, where I visited the brewery. The master of the brewery is known for all the time to throw himself into new experiments. I had a long list of beers that I should have, but almost all of them were no longer in stock. Instead he had some brand new brews to offer, among others this saison, which is made on mandarins. Mandarins I consider as a child-friendly version of the orange, and therefore I had imagined something like an old wivesbeer, but now that I had travelled this long way, I decided to give it a chance. I must admit that I became positively surprised. Hamoir is not at all child-friendly, on the contrary. The beer is extremely seasoned with shells of mandarins, which gives a bitterness so extreme as with an american IPA. Other notes are orange, citrus, ethereal olies, resin and tannic acid. The taste gives associations to a good retsina. The appearance is unclear and yellowish, the foam/head is rather small. The Carbonation is rather soft. The body is mildly full. The finale is dry and rather sourish. The alcohol you can hardly feel. This is one of the best and most strange beer I up to now have tasted.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange color with white head and a lot of floaties. Aroma of bitter orange peel, honey, yeast, cardboard, something slightly funky. Taste is quite orangey, some cardboard, over steeped tea and xeres. Palate is dry with a bitter finish, slightly astringent finish. Quite poor unfortunately, probably a very old bottle.

Shared this bottle at last weekend’s Fantome tasting. Served in a Fantome tulip. Pours a cloudy golden yellow with a thin white head. The nose brings some light citrus -- orange and lemon -- plus a bit of spice. Fairly nice. The flavor is quite odd and falls way off. It’s dry and a bit musty with faint citrus. Something way off about it, likely fermentation issues as this is like a bad Tripel. Strange spice and a dry finish. Very odd.

Desciption: Belgian saison brewed with oranges.
How: 750ml green bottle from Patrick.
Look: Orange hue with a white head.
Smell: Nice aroma of honey, fruity esters, mead, rancio and some oxidation.
Taste: Odd taste of oranges, tea and mead.
Feel and Drinkability: Medium bodied ale and easy drinking.
Overall: A fresh beer would have give a better idea of the quality of this product. The oxidation was omnipresent.
Score: 5/10

(75 cl) Une bière blonde et voilée. Des sédiments en suspension. Un anneau de mousse chétif. Un nez d’agrumes et de fleurs. Des pointes de miel. Des saveurs bouchonnées, des traces d’oranges et des fleurs. Des notes bien vinaigrées. Une bouche plutôt mince. Une effervescence parfois folle. Une texture légèrement huileuse. Une finale astringente.

750ml bottle. The body is a hazy, dark, orange-amber color. A small head of lasting white foam leaves behind splotchy, tattered lacing. The nose is completely different than any Fantôme I’ve ever had. Right off the bat, a huge waft of fresh, oily orange rind dominates, filling the air with distinct citrus aromatics. Beneath, notes of blonde-amber cereal malt, sweet cracker, and and secondary herbs all come through. The flavor is equally intense, booming with both oily and pithy orange rind in the foreground before transitioning into a smoother, candied cereal finish. Booze is somewhat prominent, certainly mores than in most Fantômes. Likewise, the signature minty, earthy, herbal yeast tendencies aren’t prominent, dominated by the citrus notes. The moderate body sports even carbonation and a somewhat drying, slightly astringent finish. Odd brew. This was just too pithy for me at the end of the day. Not bad, just not great either.

Bottle… Fantômepalooza 2011… Cloudy peach-colored ale with a small, creamy, white head. Fantastic retention. The aroma offers a boatload of spice-rack oregano. Medium-bodied with a milky mouthfeel and moderate carbonation. Both the flavor and finish are bittersweet and present spicy, herbal oregano. Bottle courtesy of Beerlando!

Pours a hazy golden straw color with a white head. Lots of orange and lemon aromas and flavors. It’s got an almost candied citrus thing going on. A bit of straw and yeast, maybe some mild booze.

Pours hazy yellow, nice white head and lacing. Aroma is candied oranges, more sugar, and some Belgian yeast. Flavor is orange juice and orange rinds along with a touch of lemon and bread. Quite nice overall. Thanks Brian.

Bottles at Goblin Pub, shared with MrChopin +2. Nice combination of sweet fruit and sourness that balance each other. A winner.

RBSG ’10. Citrus lemon nose with honey and cotton candy malts, cobwebs and dusty yeast. The taste is moderately sweet, very soft cotton candy, some basil and fresh herbs. Lots of spice on the finish.