Fantôme Saison

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

Serve in Tulip

Bottle pours out a hazy light gold orange with very little in the way of head or lace. There is a small surface haze and lace ring. The aroma is lemon, pineapple, barnyard, a walk in the north woods after the rain in high summer, leather, wallnuts, and spice. The flavor is lemon tart, sugar, leather, green apple, quite delicious. The palate is lightly carbonated and wet, quenching. As it warms, honey notes start to get exposed under the sourness - vastly improved. I remember having this several years ago and do not remember it being this good. I’m really into the honey and sour combination. This is a great rating experience.

750 ml bottle. No date notched in the side. Slightly funky aroma. Outhouse, wet barnyard and some sweeter fruit rind. Caramel apples with cinnamon as well. Pours a unclear burnt caramel with no visible carbonation and virtually no head. Creamy on the palate with not too much carbonation. Mouth filling flavor though. Sweet and tart. Musty and dusty. Some fruit. Not as funky on the tongue as on the nose. Quite nice now, and I can’t wait to see this one with some age on it.

Bottle, thanks to alexanderj. Hazy yellow / gold with white head. Aroma is a little minty, spices, barnyard, lemon rind. Good palate, slightly sweet malt, spices, slight funk, and a little mint yeastiness in the finish. Good beer overall.

Bottle; poured a frothy yellow with a smallish white head. Some lacing. Aroma was pretty good for the style (not normally a fan of the aroma); some distinct lemon/honey, spice and possibly flowers and mint. Flavor was pretty complex; with lemon, fruit, must, some slight sugariness, spice, biscuits, and mint. One of the better examples of the style that I have had.

pours a hazy, golden yellow with a thick, pale head. aroma is very interesting with notes of earthy funk, spice, citrus and tropical fruits. flavor is sweet and candylike, with hints of musty spices and fresh tropical fruits. probably one of the best beers I’ve had in awhile. looking forward to trying more beers from this funky brewery.

2007 Release to the US; Sampled February 2008
As I pour this a distinct, interesting, loud, tropical fruit note comes through. The beer is pretty well carbonated as a careful pour easily produces a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a honey color, but shows a lightly hazy, yellow-gold color when held up to the light. Upon closer inspection the amped up tropical fruit note continues; it is perhaps a mix of mango, pineapple and papaya notes. Underneath the dominant tropical fruit note is a dusty, cracker like grain character, some toasty grain notes, a touch of spicy pepper, piquant young ginger, notes of citrus honey and a green, herbal-lemon note with touches of nettle and a substantial lemon character that becomes more noticeable as the beer warms up.

Soft up front, but a fizzy, yet somehow light carbonated froth kicks in towards the middle; strangely this is well carbonated, but the bubble size seems fine enough that it does not make this seem excessively foamy. Only lightly sweet, which seems to reduce the amped up tropical fruit notes from the aroma to an almost equal billing with the rest of the flavor components. This has a very light body to it; it is quite the quaffable brew and drinks way easier than its 8%. This has quite a bit of spiciness to it at times, it can be much more piquant, like black pepper, than is contributed by the carbonation, this note especially lingers in the long finish were it lingers on as a spicy tickle at that back of the throat. There is a very light herbal note here that is slightly green, with an astringency to it as well as a light bitterness and a grassy note, these flavors balance out the noticed tropical fruit flavors that lightly dance around the flavor profile here. A touch of cracker like malt and grassy grain character comes through just a touch towards the finish.

As the beer loses its carbonation the tropical fruit note becomes a bit softer. The second pour of the bottle restores the carbonation and the accompanying tropical fruitiness though. This really is fantastically intriguing; the interplay between tropical fruit, spice and funky herbal notes is quite engaging; somehow, despite the light body and quaffable character, this beer is actually quite contemplative. Apart from the characterful, single yeast strain that is purposefully use in this beer, this is pretty clean. It has not picked up any funkiness yet, but it is still young. As usual, this is a fantastic brew; I am really digging the interplay between tropical fruit and spice found in the flavor.

Sampled May, 2004
Pours a hazy straw color with lots of carbonation that generates a cream colored thick head. A lightly sour/ acidic aroma wafts from my glass, mixed with notes of apple, strawberry, flowers, and a certain mustiness. The taste is lightly sour as well, with some interesting tropical fruit notes, that are picked up by a light sweetness, and some unspecified spicy notes. Typically light bodied, which is just perfect. A soft wonderful beer this time around.

Sampled Sept 7, 2003.
The cork explode from this bottle like a champagne. This beer aroma is one of cider and sweetness, there is a bit of mustyness in the nose as well. A very cloudy straw colored beer that is well carbonated and has a thick off white head. The taste is very complex with competing flavors all over the place; cider, off dry sweetness, an acidity, and yeast character up the wazoo. This beer is just world class, and I love it.

I had this beer with a cheese platter that included some Stilton, and aged funky Brie, a young Brie, a mushroom brie, sharp Irish cheddar, and edam. This beer was able to hold its own with each of these cheeses (though perhaps overpowering the edam). It acted as a nice contrast to each, a palate cleanser so to speak.

This beer can have wildly different flavors depending on the year that one tries it, in the past it has been much more acidic and lacking in the fruit character, but still world class.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

Corked and capped bottle pours a cloudy amber body with a large beige head that leaves generous lacing. Funky aroma is earthy, spicy, lemony, fruity melon, herbal, and peppery. Nice touch of caramel underneath. Medium body with sparkling carbonation. Taste is complex. Fruity sweetness balances a lemony dryness, complimented by notes of earthy funk, spicy pepper and coriander, and herbal hops. Nice pastoral feel. This would be one of my desert island beers.

Bottle. Strong gueuzey pineapple lemon, grapefruit, warm. Punchy. Mouth is pineappley warm, juicy and fizzy. Finishes slightly dry and sharp, never escaping that under-ripe pineapple. Excellent beer if a bit odd.