Fantôme Printemps

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

Bottle shared by someone at the BA Numbskull line tasting. A gold-amber pour with a small white head. The aroma was bold and funky with spices and bit of horse blanket. The flavor was spicy with thyme, grapes, leather, and oak. The finish was short and dry. The mouthfeel was medium and crisp. Overall: A very enjoyable saison.

Bright glowing golden brown color, very cloudy, floating chunks. Full bodied yet soft on the palate. Fruity but no particular fruit stands out. A mildly burning spice kicks in seconds after the swallow. Wild stuff.

bottle, ealing festival. Maple coloured with no head. Orange/apricot aroma. Yeasty with fruity hints. Some barnyard funk. Taste of unripened oranges with slight spice. Overall fruity and light. A nice drink.

11/10/03: bottle.
yeasty nose with some esters and banana. hazy, golden-brown body with a slightly creamy white head. average lacing. very active. champaigne-like mouthfeel. flavors included bread yeast, grapefruit, sour apple and lemon. there was also some spice noted, towards the back of my mouth. clean, crisp and refreshing.

Pours cloudy amber with off white head. Sour, spicy aroma. Mildly sour and peppery with some earthiness and fruitiness. Medium body with less carbonation than a typical saison. Short dry finish. Different but good.

Dull brown, white foamy hat. Aroma of herbs, dry cheese, cider fails to deliver. Weak but spicy carrot-tomato-fruit soup flavor. Thin, watery mouthfeel. I wish I knew what other people see in this one.

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.

Poured opaque orange with yellow yeast sediment floating around. Huge off white head. Aroma is sour fruits, orange peel, belgian yeast, with some vacuum like odors. Flavor is dried fruit, some lemon, orange, and pear. Slightly sour and bitter with a flat dry finish that leaves a apricot hoppiness behind.