Fantôme Pissenlit

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

Serve in Tulip

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Well this one really formed a split opinion at the table - some didn't finish it and at least two of us found something to like in it. Poured with varying degrees of murk - glasses from the beginning of the bottle were hazy yellow with some floaties. By the time it got to the end, I know I saw a big dark chunk of something float out, and the color was more like dirty dishwater. The aroma was really something too - Debbie said "It smells like mulch!!" - and that about sums that up! The taste had a sour edge to it and mixed in with sugar, weeds, spices and yeast. Very unusual. Neither the best or worst Fantome I've had - they are always interesting.

UPDATED: OCT 23, 2004 2004 bottle. Head is large, frothy, off-white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted grain, cookie), moderately hoppy (flowers, grass, lemon), moderately yeasty (cobwebs, barnyard), with notes of clove, wood, hay, sand. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, velvety/creamy texture, lively carbonation. The latest release of other Fantomes, such as Black Ghost, have not quite measured up to older versions (perhaps a less than stellar batch of grains), but this one is wonderful...one of the first Fantomes I've noticed with a genuinely creamy mouthfeel. Over the last year I've become fiendishly addicted to saisons...Fantome, Blaugies, Dupont, I can't get enough. And this is a great example of why...farmhouse character all the way, amazing balance, impeccably clean tasting, and Dany's expert hand at the controls. Saison most completely captures what I feel is the purest form of beer...so genuine, so visceral, so freaking *real*. To get poetic for a moment, it is to drink life itself...it is the smell of the barley and wheat in the fields, it is the smell of the earth in which the plants grow, it is the smell of country air, the hay in the barn and the flowers by the brook. Saison is life.

Spring 2001. Lightly floral aroma, can't tell if this is yeast spice or due to an addition. Amazingly mellow and smooth. Less sour than many fantomes I've had. Flowery flavor, with a mellow cinnamon spice deep, touch of vanilla as well. Subtle and beautiful.

Spring 2001 bottle: Pours a hazy goldenrod with a thick lacing white head. Rich malty aroma filled with dark fruits, flowers, and Belgian yeast. Starts sweet, thick and malty with a very pleasant flowery taste which I'm assuming comes from the dandelions. Finishes dry and sweet with a light bitterness. Very smooth, and very enjoyable, one of the best saisons I've had.

permit me to attempt a brief, probably spurious french lesson: "pisser", the infinitive, slang, to urinate. "en", in. "lit", bed. hence: the "bedwetter's ale". what an appetizing name! yummy! (BTW, the usual french name for dandelions is "dent de lion", which is "tooth of the lion"). there is evidently a variety of that weed which is called 'pissenlit' because of it's qualities as a diuretic. end of french lesson. art lesson now: the label shamelessly sucks-- sucks like a fat swamp leach. just a blank yellow triangle would have been vastly better than the scrawl they scanned from some high school kid's notebook doodles. with the beer itself, i can't pressume to be too professorial , but my observations as a mere scholar impressed upon me an apricot cloudy yellow pour that darkens by bottle's end under the influence of ever more yeast-- and finally reaches a cinnamon applesauce color. yards of gauzy head and big dripping werewolf fangs of jagged lace. citrus and wheat aroma, peeled apples, coleslaw, rising bread doughs... the first jolt of sourness raised my hackles somewhat (me being gunshy of sour beers), but my uppity hackles were restored to ease and went back to where ever hackles go when their not in a provoked state-- because the acidic factor was moderated by just enough sweetness, fruitiness throughout the yeast textures, and malts spoken for with crisp woodiness. like a wheat beer-lemonade melange, with a creamy body; quite unique. wins you over by bottle's end. just remember to hit the ol' restroom before bed...

Cloudy straw color,medium sized white head with a nice long lasting head to be sure.Very nice floral aroma with a decent very mild malt and mild spice to it.Highly carbonated taste with the taste itself being mostly sweet fruit at first that later changes to a mild sourness to it.mild yeast taste but that doesn't seem to alter the brew in any way.The after taste is fruity and sour with a nice long carbonation dance going on,on the tongue.I believe this is my 2nd Saison i've ever had and i have to say i'm definately starting to aquire a taste for these fine brews.This one is a little spendy at $12/bottle but IMO very well worth it.

First pour was bright, golden with a medium white head. Very mild aroma, herbal with a little spice. flavour was a nice balance of bitterness and fruit. Only moderate yeast taste. Dangerously drinkable at 8%.

Aroma like a garden in the dead of summer, herbal, green, flowery and with some white grape vinous notes, a bit of apparent yeast as well. You can almost discern the chlorophyll. Glowing golden-orange amber color, with a persistent, creamy, whitish head. Herbal, spicy and farmy flavor profile, just very green and somehow yellow, too. Lightly bitter, sour, tart, spicy and perhaps fruity? Somewhat winey mouthfeel, enhanced by the low effervescence. I never thought I'd be drinking dandelion anything, but this is good. Bizarre, yet intriguing.

Slightly bigger bodied than I would have thought for a Fantôme (though still plenty light and airy) - dark and turbid and mysterious looking as usual. Musty spiciness, sourness, arises from the glass and that's the predominant flavor characteristic; sweet and sour alternation. Nice, but clearly brewed (as per the new more professional label) for Spring 2003 and not in the same batch as the 2002 ratings. This seemed youngish....I have one to "mature"...

Pours a cloudy dirty blond with a rich foamy tan head. The nose is sour-ish and there is some medicinal notes and some earthy ones as well. Tart tongue with a honey and citrus fruit mix. Made with dandelions, but since I have never eaten one, I'm not sure if this has a dandelion taste. Regardless, this finishes semi-sweet with a little spiciness left over. Another great Fantome beer!