Fantôme Printemps

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

750 ml bottle. Vivid bright orange, dark yeast clouds lurk at the center, slowly swirling...thick white slowly diminishing head...sour, briney herbs sting the nostrils, fresh earthy tones and vanilla follow...very sour at first, somewhat bitter with notes of rusty iron and sour wine...interesting but somewhat difficult to drink..luscious, full body at first with low-to-moderate carbonation becomes rather watery and dry/hard at the finish. Definitely much more drinkable near room temp, and a fascinating effort, but not my fave...I suspect this bottle could be a little off.

Bottle, capped and corked. From South Bay Drug. Hazy orange-gold color with a frothy off-white head. Strong aromas of spice and funk. Medium body with creamy carbonation. Flavor is earthy, woody, funky, spicey. Finishes more funky and spicey than anything. Astringent. A slight pepper note. Really very good.

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.

Musty, barnyard aroma is lightly fruity with honeyish tones and an alluring, if gentle, spiciness. Hazy, tan-gold with decent white head that recedes to partial cover and ring. Woody, caramel flavour has a fair bitterness in the long, dry finish, Plenty of grassy, herbal hop character mingles with the spiciness. Medium body with fair carbonation that is lightly effervescent. Sampled at Mondial de la Bière 2005.

Rerate from a 3 y.o. bottle at Mikes: The sharp flowery and fruit notes combined with with belgian yeast funk to make this much more enjoyable than the first time I had it. The feel is more tart and Saison like. I improved my rating .3 after this tasting------Origina review: Thanks Mabdoney for the brew, you did get me this one, right? Had with Mike and Ann: Hazy golden hue with light head and some lace. Aroma hints of chocolate infused pipe tobacco, heavy spice, earthy and barnyard yeast, dusty, and grassy. The taste is yeasty and slightly fruity. Spicy and biscuit undertones are found throughout. Chalky and woody dry mouthfeel, lively in the glass, still didn’t quite feel right on the palate. Alcohol was well hidden. Disappointing, but hey, I got to try it once, so that’s cool. Disclaimer: Maybe too old or maybe my palate was trashed by the La Folie I had earlier?

Bottle. Thanks to Gazza for sharing this hugely expensive (£5.60!) bottle. Blond appearance. Fresh garden mint and nettles aroma. Softly spritzy. Mint again. Some bitterness. Lingering dryness. Wheaty finish, like those wheat cereals. Mildly interesting. £5.60 - I can’t get over that. I haven’t been impressed by the Fantome products I’ve tried, despite all the acclaim.

Sampled from 750 ml bottle, I don’t recall who to thank for sharing this one at Cellar’s Wine & Spirits last summer. Pours a cloudy golden pale brew with plenty of white fizzy head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of yeast funk, some fruity character with honey and something reminding me of some plastic styrene. Taste is medium bodied, slightly acidic with flavors of citrus zest, green vegetable, and some lime. Finish is metallic and acidic. hard to say if this one needs some aging or was infected. Willing to try again.

Bottled. Poured a translucent coppery orange with a short white head… got much hazier with later pours. Aroma picked up lots of funky, dusty, crazy spices.. some caramel and dusty toffee… sweet, gummy-like candies emerge toward the back. Flavor found sweet candy, heavy coriander and peppery spices.. toffee and more spices… some lemon sourness at the finish… also some ugly spices. Somewhat thin on the palate with oddly-placed heavy caramel and toffee thickness. Not one of my favorites that night.