Fantôme Saison

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

This is a happy beer. Taste is happy. But then I see bottle with no date of any kind. When is it brewed? I don’t know. How long is it good? I don’t know. Then I take another sip, get happy again. It is gold in color, bright at first and then cloudy (later) as we get to the bottom of the bottle. Lovely, pillowy, white head is a fleeting thing. I’m amazed by a sweet, fruity nose of watermelon, pear, honey, spices, and a little funk. Taste is lightly sweet, with notes of pear, apple, an herbal touch, and maybe a little pepper. No tartness in this particular bottle. Only slight bitterness and maybe a little wetter than I’d like. Light to medium body. Refreshing and well balanced for its alcohol content. And a heavenly match for this bacon-and-apple quiche. Happy.

750mL bottle, shared with artusory. Bright, honey-orange color; white head with good retention and fizzy lacing. Slightly tart citrus and candy sugar in the aroma; medium acidity and funk; mouthwatering. Medium-to-full mouthfeel: excellent lively tartness and toasty vanilla coming through; perfect levels of acidity and tart citrus, though lacking some depth; doughy, belgian sugar notes appear at mid-palate; just a great mouthfeel and perfect refreshing tartness and funk. Medium, tart citrus and oily fruit finish; excellent.

Nice hazy orange pour with a sizable whitish head. Aroma has some nice musty, sour grain, citrus, and yeast. Flavor is a wonderful mix of sour malt and yeast with a hefty helping of funky citrus, spice, and bread. The original is still the best. Thank God Fantome exists, because I don’t think anyone could come up with such great saisons.

Bottle. Huge frothy white head that really lasted. Beautiful thick foam as it settles in the glass. Clear and very sparkling body with light cloudy particles in flow. Color was somewhat yellow like. Aroma of citrus, perfume, light notes of leather and soap, very grain like with some caramel and hint of spice. Medium bodied with a light dry texture and a lively carbonation. Light to moderated sweet and acidic flavor. Fresh citrus finish that lingers. Very nice beer to enjoy in the summertime.

Pours a cloudy golden brown with a sizeable head. Nose is light with an almost soap sud essence to it, but in an organic way. Somewhat of a bitter edge to it. But overall it is pretty smooth and light. You get a long term feel of yeast in your mouth and a touch of citrus for a whole, though not as long as the yeast. Feel is as it should be expected: frothy and smooth. Pretty drinkable, though it might not be a session brew of course.

Date: 04/14/2005
Mode: Bottle
Source: Tasting

hazy light yellow, huge white head, spicy lemony aroma, tart lemon flavor, lots of nice spicy character, very drinkable

Aroma: 5/10; Appearance: 5/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.4/5.0
Score: **4
-------- /> The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Sampled on tap. You like it or not... but you can’t be indifferent !! Sour fruity spicy taste like no other kind. Beautifull golden color

75cL bottle ingested early 8/16/07, BBE not notched. Vigorous pour yields about 1.4" of stark white foam atop a very nice golden colored beverage. Aroma is less sour than I’ve had from this beer, instead a much more tropical fruit note with hints of spice. Flavor is just divine, again not nearly as tart as previous bottles I’ve had, but instead full of rich fruitiness with such subtle spicing. It just pleads to be drank. This may be the one beer I can point to say that no matter what the mood, it fits the bill. Simply fantastic.