Fantôme Printemps

Sampled at le Mondial de la bière 2005. Slightly dark orange / brown pour with a ring of offwhite lace. Aroma and flavor of perfume, barnyard and spices, the finish is bitter. Light to medium body, creamy texture.

[from a bottle at "the Mondiale"] Orangey-brown and opaque from the yeast that I got since it was the end of the bottle. Wispy tan covering. Fruity aroma of banana and apricot with strong notes of the yeast esters and some powdery peach and perahps a bit of higher alcohols. House flavour of woody grape with a nice bit of sweet malt and significant bitterness. Light to medium body with medium carbonation and a little lingering bitterness.

Mondial 2005. Good cork explosion. Incredible amount of foam in initial pour, that the sever poured off just foam for Olivier. Creamy smooth, creamy finish. Yeasty, fruity. Unknown spices, woodiness

Robe orangée voilée aux reflets rouges surmontée d’une mousse beige jaunâtre épaisse qui persiste. Arômes de poussières, de liège et de levure. Saveurs de citron, de poussière, de liège, d’écorces d’oranges, de levures et d’épices.

This was one of my least favorites from fantome (besides some of the ones I have had that were contaminated). This one may have been partially contaminated too but it was still drinkable and decent. Pours light cloudy and golden with a minimal head and very low carbonation for a saison. Aroma is yeasty, fruity, some spice and definately some lactic acid sourness. Flavor is somewhat fruity, farmhouse-like with hay and barnyard smells but finishes off with lots of sourness. Finish is tart acidic and sour, which isnt over the top so it actually makes it nice and drinkable but still I dont think that much sourness belongs in a saison which is why I believe my bottle may have been partially contaminated. I will retry after I go through all the other available Fantomes.

Bottle courtesy of Wohlfs. Don’t have much to say really. Bottle was 100% euro-skunk, from front to back. Which of course I can’t stand. Sorry.

the cork exploded out of the bottle. the body is cloudy golden yellow with a big creamy, pillowy tall white head. lots of fiss in the body. aroma is lightly sour, dried apricot, barnyard too. body is light to medium, lots of carbonation. dry and tangy flavor, some sweet stone fruityness like peach and apricot. a little peppery like mild white pepper. faint dryish alcohol finish but very pleasant. what a great spring saison, a nice way to come down from alcohol heavy winter beers, while still being a bold saison.

Hazy, dark honey color with a minimal, short-lived white head. Very interesting nose of wildflowers, roses, pepper spice, grapefruit and orange peel, yeast, and a touch of barnyard. Lots of grainy depth with phenolic notes that lean slightly toward band-aid. Spicy with understated bitterness, some lightly tart acidity and more barnyard, but like a clean barnyard. Complex and nice. I want more. More thanks to axilla.