Fantôme Saison

Slightly hazy yellow gold hue, with a frothy white head, leaving laces, yeasty nose showing a bubblegum accent, with spicy notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, coriander, ripe apples, earthy pale malt, floral herbs in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with yeasty, zesty, spicy characters, with an earthy grainy pale malt, ripe apples fruitiness, hint of acidity, faint floral hops, leading towards a subtle hops bittering finish

(Bottle, White Horse, Parson’s Green, London, 23 July) Well, you never know what you’re in for when you get you hands on a bottle of Fantôme. It can be infected to the core and absolutely awful ... or it can be absolutely brilliant. If it’s bad ... well, you forgive and forget and go on in search of the next one. If it’s good it will save your day (or even month) and you realize it was worth hitting a few mines on the way. So what was this one like? When the bottle is opened, a large lump of sediment falls from the neck down to the bottom, disintegrating. Oh dear, is this really a good sign? Pours a brownish yellow colour, hazy, with an explosive white head, slowly diminshing. So did this survive? Nose is ... lovely! Fruity, acidic (a bit like a gueuze) and with loads of spicy hops, not a hint of vinegar or other suspicious notes. Taste is fruity, slightly acidic with pink grapefruit, a lovely spicy hop character and a hint of raspberry. Slightly harsh, but that goes with the territory. Long, hoppy, spicy finish. Oh dear, what a fantastic beer ... on a good day that is. And this was a very good day. Thank you very much. Looking forward to next one (probably after a mine or two).

Gold color – white thin head - sweet/sour apple, wheat , sea smell sharp nose - wonderful sour green apples, as well as sweet red apples well balanced – light fluffy body – aftertaste slightly bitter with black olives

Strong citus and spice aroma. A little tart. A slightly sour bitterness, citrus flavors. Peppery. A slightly dry bitterness. Very good beer. THis is my first saison. I’ll have to try some more.

75 cl. bottle. Cloudy golden colour with a creamy head that fades quickly. Aroma is scaringat first: barnyard, horse leather, a damp musky place. Later you can find fruits, honey, floral, and spices. Flavor is pungent, sour. Acid, citrus,. It reminds me of cava. Fruity, orange, pepper and some other spice. Great beer.

Big thank to Beerdrenched for picking this treat up for me. Pours hazy dark orange with a frothy white head. Aroma is spicy, fruity, tart and peppery with hints of earthiness. Medium bodied with carbonation that is fairly soft, but with the spice in the finish seems a little sharp at times. The flavors start sharp, tangy and fruity - a combination of apricot, passion fruit and peppery spices. The finish brings out more of the spice and sharpness. There seems to be some spicy hops as well, bits of Belgium earthiness come out late in the taste. When yeast gets into the mix it gets much more rich and creamy tasting. Very complex, yet easy drinking beer. Excellent beer.

Partly cloudy golden body, big and long-lasting creamy off-white head with great lacing. Looks great. Nose is a bit spicy (including some coriander), fruity and freshly but hay. Mouthfeel is very yeasty and the palate was thick. The yeast character is mainly cheesy and fruity (mangos & peaches). The cheesy and fruity flavours mix extremely well together. The spices in the smell do not show up in the taste. Alcohol presence is minimal. Appropriate soft-medium carbonation. Finish is cheesy with mildly bitter hops. Since I got a case of this stuff I’ve put myself on a Fantôme Saison diet, I’ve lost 3 days already!!!

I had this beer at Milltown in Chapel Hill a few weeks ago. It was by far the best Belgian farmhouse ale I’ve ever tasted. I’ve been a beer lover for a long time and have had many different examples of Belgian beers. But this one has renewed my interest. I’ve been searching for other farmhouse ales and saisons lately (hennepin, dupont, a couple of others). None can match the perfect bottle of fantome I had. The aroma was incredibly pungent with yeast. It overwhelmed the nose. The beer was golden, translucent (little hazy) with a decent bit of sediment. The sediment was even attractive - fine particulate instead of the chunks of ropey yeast I’ve seen in other bottle-conditioned beers. The beer had a nice white head. The flavor was fantastic - slightly grassy (but not in a bad way - like grassy beers that smell like horse blankets), malty sweet, intense bready flavors (though not near as yeasty as the smell), and a very mild bitterness that did an excellent job of balance. The taste also hid the alcohol content quite nicely - a fantastic beer and amazingly quaffable at the same time (dangerous for a beer of this strength). The mouthfeel was also nice - full body with a lot of carbonation.