Fantôme Printemps

I love this beer! Beautiful, dense head appears orange-creme. Kind of subtle compared to most Saisons I’ve had (especially other Fantomes) but very quaffable and tasty. I tasted hints of beeswax and clove. Really! Definitely got the citrus peel thing at the end, but also malty and sour tang. Great mouthfeel.

Fantôme beers seem to glow from an internal source; they go beyond hazy to hazily illuminant. Great big glug glug body; big-bubbled frothy head that settles more compactly. Coppery, as Trap says. Tea and squashed dandelion and mint, yes, all combine with a weird earthy sweetness (what is that, initially? - it fades so quickly) - then profoundly bitter tastes of dried hops, root vegetables (turnip?), lemon rind and -- the only thing I can surely identify -- unwashed kale. Bizarre as usual from Fantôme; second on my list only to the BBB Babillard?

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!

After another June day in Charleston without AC this is certainly the beer equivilant of morphine. Beneath the satiny foam cape tiny beads of CO2 can be seen gliding to the top. Fresh, ripe, bartlett pear on the nose with a grassy hop spice and crisp minerality. Champagne-like? This gives underripe pinot noir a run for it’s money. Soft malt roundness, almost a super Kolsch like fruitiness gives way to a dry white-wine finish leaving a touch of pinot blanc fruit. Critisism is two fold: Not enough made, and too damn drinkable for 8%! The fact that the recipe changes and the brewery has consistency issues drives up the points on this beer for me. I like suprises. 95

In short: A very wild and rather tart blonde Saison. Complex and mega-refreshing
How: Bottle 750ml. Age unknown (but tasted fresh and lively). Sent to me by ygtbsm94, thanks a lot Brad
The look: Cloudy yellow body topped by a medium white head
In long: The nose is barnyard, flower petals and cheese. Oh man I’m in for a treat!!! Taste of bubbles gum, green apples, white cheese, apricots, mangos, flower petals juice, super nice tartness. Very wild. Full body. Chewy doughy mouthfeel. This bottle really tasted like a cross between a good batch of Fantôme Saison and a good batch of Fantôme Pissenlit. The type of quality batches Fantôme were putting out 3-4 years ago. Either this bottle was old or Fantôme Printemps is the new Fantôme Pissenlit. Given Fantôme less-than-inconsistent releases I’m not sure that my next Printemps bottle will be half as good as this one. One thing for it wont’t be twice as good, because if it is I’ll have to hack the site to enter my rating.

Head is initially large, frothy, white, mostly lasting. Body is hazy medium yellow, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), moderately hoppy (herbs, flowers), lightly yeasty (barnyard), with notes of white pepper, honey, clove, dried pineapple, a country meadow bursting with flowers and small furry creatures. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Light to medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation. Quite an aromatically hoppy little Fantome, this one...smells like a blend of Saaz and Hallertauer. Wonderful balance, extremely quaffable yet deliciously sippable, with a bright, fresh, and varied aroma of both noble hops and country air’s splendor. Awesome, just jaw-droppingly awesome. No way it’s 8%, though...tastes like 5-6%.

It reminds me a lot of Saison de Pipaix, with a difficult-to-describe spiciness. Body is medium-to-darkish amber, hazy; head is big, receding very slowly. A slow pour. Oh, geez, I’m not going to be able to describe this very well. Spicy, dry, a strong bitterness at the end. I get a bit of apple in the middle, but it’s hard for a novice to really describe this beer very well. Maybe coriander and ginger, but I think the better palates need to evaluate this one.

Tons of spices in this beer, not the least bit subtle like many other saisions. Cedar notes, orange zest, this is just a crazy concoction. Coriander too. Quite nice.