Fantôme Saison

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

Serve in Tulip

What a beer! Pours hazy gold, minimal head, slightly fizzy, nice lacing. Aroma of grape juice, hay and grass. Flavor is nice and understated... nice spice at the end. Smooth drinking, medium to light body, absolutely perfect saison... went great with my lunch of salami, cheese and fruit.

Bottle. Pours a hazy orange yellow body with a big crisp champagne rocky head. Lots of spices cinnamon predominating. Citrus and lemon and lightly acidic. Some hop character with a solid etoh kick. Awesome beer.

Shorts tasting with The Club and a few more. Pours a very hazy orange with a tiny white head. Smells of wheat. Low sourness Aromas of wheat and sour saison. Hints of leather, wienerbrød and dust. Also hints of honey and flowers. Light bodied. Mellow dry finish.

UPDATED: DEC 14, 2008 Bottle shared by Crosling, thanks man. Poured a hazy copper orange color with a thick light beige head that slowly receded to a layer and left thick sheets of lacing. Aroma of lightly funky yeast with a nice fruitiness including orange, apricot and tangerine as well as berry with some light barnyard character and a bit of straw and wheat. Sweet, lightly tart entry with some fruity undertones of orange, green apple, tangerine, and some moderate cranberry like tartness with some funky barnyard yeast finishing moderately dry with some dry yeast and light straw in the background and undertones of fruit. Crisp on the palate, the finish was nice and dry.

Bottle at home. Cloudy yellow/golden - white head. Soapy, sweetness, winegumms, fruity, orange, yeasty, dusty, spiderswab, bubblegummmmm. A bit unpleasant.

What took me so long to get around to this classic? The body is a pale and cloudy, stratified, golden straw color. A fizzy, foamy, off-white head leaves soapy swaths of slow drying lace on the glass. The aroma is a virtual enigma, seemingly neverending in its complexities and unexpected components. Estery fruits, including peaches, strawberries, aged pears, and melon emerge from the musty, earthy, barnyard depths. Tart, citric fruits join the foray, orange peels and yellow grapefruit coming to mind. Bright and inviting, the dry, fruity nose begs for the first sip, and that first sip does not disappoint. The flavor starts out with a dry, musky, farmhouse baseline, quickly shifting to the bright and tart citrus notes. Layer after layer of jubilant fruit comes out of the woodwork, everything from strawberry and pineapple to sweet-tart peach and musty apple. Hints of grassy, slightly spicy hops lend a hint of bitterness to the equation. The palate is simply perfect, substantial and round up front, finishing very dry and lightly fizzy. This is as refreshing as a 8% beer gets, and there isn’t even a hint of alcohol detectable. Simply fantastic. A masterpiece.

UPDATED: JUL 13, 2010 Sample @ Stockolm Beer Festival 2008. Some changes after trying it from bottle at home. Looks pale and hazy. The aroma is very inviting, like a geuze but also fruity and sweet. Tastes like a sophisiticated strawberry chewing gum.

UPDATED: OCT 30, 2008 This is a great saison that I also tried at the Ratebeer tasting...citrusy flavor with a hint of honey and corriander with a dry finish. A must try if you like saison.