Fantôme Printemps

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

750mL Bottle. (Approximately a 2006). Brett dry pear nose. Dusty hay and barn. Plums right on the tree. Some indication of wildness. Subdued. Breezy. Pours a crystal clear gold, with a soapy white rim. Nice look. Good carbonation at this age. Crazy flavor! This is so complex and light. There’s vibrant, forward Tellicherry black peppercorns, Myrrh and ginger. Spicing is right up there, but melds beautifully with the yeast and the malt. There’s light Fantome funk, a signature. Spice shapeshifts into some more complex, perfume-like incense notes. So well integrated with the beers. There’s no way this is 8%! It’s so light, airy, refreshing and crisp. The nip of funk and yeast add a rounded edge of character to the beer. A long, dry lemony hop presence rounds out the long smack on this beer. This is fucking amazing stuff. Thanks Sean for the hookup!

I took off the cap and the cork slowly pushed itself up abuot 1/3 of the way out of the bottle. I thought I was seeing things. This is something I have never seen before, but I didn’t even need to use my corkscrew, I just popped the cork like it was corked and caged. This poured with a hazy deep copper body with a huge, slightly off white head. The aroma is floral with some lemons and a little bit of horseblanket. The taste is light and refreshing with some orange peel and apple cores. There is also some brown sugar and a little bit of black tea. This finishes surprisingly sweet. A decent brew, but a little bit of a let down for a Fantome.

This is really great. Pours a cloudy yellow gold, with a big foaming head. Aroma is initially funky with alot of grassy herbs, wet hay and general other funk, along with a yeasty bready malt. Flavor is bready malts, quite a bit of yeastiness with just a touch of tartness, and then a nice long bitter hoppy finish, along with some lingering herbal flavors. But its the bready yeasty malts that tie everything together here - everything else is a complement. Very refreshing and spritely with full carbonation and a fluffy airy palate.

This one is a little more tones down then the others - not as funky - slightly tart and sweet - tons of citrus, a little coffee

Bottle. Thanks Dave (dchmela) No idea how old. When I popped the cap the cork released itself with a ferocity. Tons of foam at first, but it died down to manageable levels. I never would have guessed that this was a Belgian Saison if you just gave it to me in a glass. It tastes like a Belgian ale. Pours deep blood orange with a massive head. The aroma is quite unique. It seems that it is built around the malt with some fruits (oranges, dates, grapes. and apples after I burped.) and spices. There really isn’t any funkiness present. It’s definitely not champagne like and it doesn’t smell light or refreshing. It does smell and taste good though. Not what I expected.

Easter dinner beer, 2008. Pours a hazy, glowing orange-yellow color. A large, foamy, snow white head shows excellent retention, leaving a thick film on the glass. Light candy sugar malts set a sweet foundation for the nose, with lemon rind, coriander, and chamomile providing bright, citrusy notes. The signature Fantôme funk and dusty, earthy hops complete the beautiful aroma. The flavor is again bright with citrus, with an excellent balance between dry, earthy hops and a candy sugar, honey, and cream background. The body is substantial, with a creamy mouthfeel. Finishes clean and crisp. Perfect with Easter dinner. Another great Saison from Fantôme.

Bottle pours a straw yellow color with a big head and decent lace. The aroma has big hints of lime, funky yeast wet leather, and damp spring forest vegetation (including old growth forest floor moss). The flavor starts out sweet and malty, has some understated funky notes (almost too little), spices are there, but seems quite hoppy – and more hopped than I ever thought a Fantôme would be. I’m not sure where to put this one. This is not as wild as this brewer tends to be with the other offerings. Perhaps I’ve never had such fresh Fantôme? This is very refreshing, lively, and almost too tame. It is tasty, and very drinkable, but I want to be more challenged with this brewer.

July 2007 - Wonderful fruity and spicey saison. Pale orange color wit good lacing and head. Frutiy, spicey with perfect blend of pepper, spices and fruit with the required barnyard funk. Call me crazy, but something in the spices tasted like Mountain Dew...and it seemed to work well. Really an excellent showing.