Fantôme Pissenlit

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

Deep golden/orange in color with a small white head. Aroma of honey and fruit, slightly acidic. Fruity and spicey flavor reminscent of flower and herb gardens.

750 ml bottle. Corked and capped. Pours a darker color than most saisons- mostly amber- slightly hazy and a good head and lace. Aroma is on par with southampton saison- lots of spices- clove, mild fruitiness and awesome yeasty aromas. Aroma also gets much better as it warms. I wouldnt have noticed any dandelions except that maybe it darkened the color as it was a little darker than usual. Flavor is slightly less exciting as I would have expected from the amazing smell but it was still complex and on par with any other top notch saison. Pissenlit seems to have a more fruity and malty flavor than most yet still retains that farmhouse spicy character with lots of yeast especially in the second pour when some of the sediment gets into the glass. The finish is slightly bitter, and very clean and smooth.

750 mL, corked & capped (2004 bottle, sampled April 2005): mountainous off-tan head that leaves behind an outrageously thick, clinging Styrofoam lace. Sweet floral/herbal aroma with caramel coated, hop cones & apples. Spicy, green grape flavours start a very well developed palate: pale malts, orange zest & lemon flesh, soft & slightly acidic yeast, metallic and dirt straight from the barnyard, each making their own statement on a very light and creamy palate, wow. I have had a couple of Fantôme brews recently that haven’t been as good as I remember, but this one is back on top – complex yeast bill, tasty barnyard flavours and wonderfully smooth overall, in a word: beautiful.

Dark amber/orange, cloudy, good-sized diminishing white head. Bitter nose, slightly skunky, with a sour tang, some metallic tinge, iced tea, something like dandelion wine. Musty, bretty horseblanket flavor. Some skunk, decent hop bitterness over biscuity malt undertones, slight sourness. Strong effervescence. Almost reminiscent of a pilsener in its combination of grassy (and somewhat skunky) hops and a light malt flavor.

Big thanks to beeryum for this. Pours turbid dark straw with huge white head. Aroma of big hopcit, Brett, hops, some florals. Tastes malty, saisony. This one reminds me of McKenzie Bavay a lot. A great beer.

Funky smells: drainpipe, fresh grass, and a little farty. Pale amber color with a creamy biege head. Sweet-n-sour malt taste with some nuts and green apples. A slightly tart end. Chalky finish too. Medium body. Typical Fantome brew that is all over the flavor map, but it somehow comes together.

March 2005 (2004) 750 ml bottle (yellow label) drunk greedily all by my lonesome...dark, tawny translucent orange with a big slightly off-white lasting fluffy head...huge bretty-sour nose, with lemon and grapefruit dancing underneath and a whiff of pepper...amazingly smooth, creamy body never undermined by the huge spicy herbal qualities and slightly vinegary sourdough just offset by hints of honey...the perfect mouthfeel for this style with dancing effervescence and lovely earthiness married in harmony. 8/4/9/5/17 4.3

November 2005 (2004 or 2005 yellow label) 750 ml bottle shared with Da Montreal Crew at Fantômes and More! tasting. Similar to above, though this sample seems a bit sweeter and I find cherry and sour apples to leaven the big sourdough-vinegar component...easy to drink though perhaps less complex. 8/4/9/4 16 4.1

Same tasting, 2000 (lavender) label. Almond-whiskey-vanilla in the moderately oxidized, earthy caramel nose...very acidic, full of sour cherry, not as sweet as the above, earthy tones threaten to take over and finally do as vinegar and stewed fruit rampage towards the mineral-laden finish, joined by a touch of saltwater...Flemish sour character pronounced in this extraordinarily complex, odd monstrosity of an earthy balsamic vinegar festival. Totally awesome. 9/4/9/5 18 4.5

Overall rating is a combination of the three samples.

Wasn’t to fancy about this one. Hazy light amber color, malt and weird orange taste. Celery aftertaste. Kind of sulphury nose.