Fantôme Printemps

Abso-fucking-lutely, beautiful beer. Tons of lemon, funk, fusty brett. That’s about it. Taste is slightly sweet, tart lemon, brett, spices, and barnyard and a touch of piny-bitter hops. Finish is slightly sweet, a bit of a hop bite on the finish that melds with the sweetness of the malt and the crisp lemon of the beer. Tastes a bit like a ginger-lemon beer without the ginger and a bit of hops and larger, more complex malt backbone. In other words, a completely different beer than the one I mentioned. Palate is a bit cloying, but at 8 percent what can you expect? Also very well carbonated, fizzy and slightly dry. Yum

750 ml. Pours a dusky golden yellow, half a finger of sticky, white foam head. Crispy sweet aroma of funk, and green apple. Flavor is initially laden with the carbonation, effervescent mouthfeel, and overall lightness. Then sweet/sour apples, grass, and something like anice-light kicks in. What a journey, I really can’t place the initial taste, but it’s strong and pleasant. This beer is above my paygrade in terms of trying to rate it, but it’s a special one. Thanks to the young lady at Holiday Wine Cellar in Escondido for steering me toward it. Upon further inspection, the inital flavor is almost like a sour apple, and banana? jolly rancher. Unreal. I like this a lot, but then saisons almost always float my boat.

Bottle. Pours a hazy yellowish color with a white fluffy head. With little yeast particles floating all around. Wonderful aroma...that barnyard funk that fantome is known for, grass, apple fresh cut herbs...maybe some thyme, and marjoram. Great flavor in this one. Lots of Apple, mustiness, funk, fresh cut grass, wheat, banana and clove. Nice mouthfeel very smooth, nice champangne like carbonation. Another great Saison from the master brewers at Fantome.

750ml Bottle: Aroma of light wood, grass, hops, yeast, slight lemon, slight herbs, and slight spices. Poured yellow/gold/tan/blond in color with a very tiny head that lasted 2 seconds. Cloudy. Not sparkling. Flavor is slightly sweet. Tastes of yeast, light menthol, light wood, light citrus, and dust. Light to medium body. Watery texture is really thin. Soft carbonation. Lemon, dust, and yeast, finish. 8%ABV is well hidden, but otherwise quite disappointing.

0.75l - Upon opening there was a sour aroma, then soy sauce. After a few minutes it faded to aromas of fresh cut flowers and lilacs, the smells of Spring. In the glass it looked like apple butter, the color and cloudiness. On the palate I’m not sure what I was supposed to get. There was some sour, floral notes and then dirt. Yes, dirt. This was was entertainign, but it will not be repeated.

A Fantome that I haven’t had? Sweet. You truly never know what you are going to get. Cloudy darker golden color with a minimal head. Huge earthy spiciness in the nose. This immediately reminds me of the nose of Pissenlit (the dandelion beer), despite it being years since I’ve had that beer. Grassy, earthy, flowery, wow. I swear, this smells exactly like dandelions. Loving it. Touches of sweetness in the nose as well. The taste itself is a very mellow, balanced, smooth beer. Low carbonation - tastes like a fair bit of wheat was used to soften the body. Slightly watery mid-palate. Could probably use a touch more carbonation. Still, nice. This beer is great, if only for the nose. The taste and body are good, but it is the nose that keeps drawing me back. Recommended. Oh, Fantome, how unique you are.

Nice hazy, cloudy orange. It smells weird like spicy candy, grass, and milkweed. It tastes weird as well but interesting, like weeds and wildflowers. Overall this is just a weird beer and I can’t imagine what spices are used for this one, it was worth a try but the standard saison is much better. Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 09-14-2008 04:11:25

750ml I got in Vegas. thanks to Wetherel for letting me know I hadn’t rated this. Shared with my gf over dinner. I usually love fantome but something about this doesn’t sit qutie right. Pours golden with a bright white head. Nose is sweet but overly spiced. The spice comes back in the taste and it just really doesn’t do it for me.