Fantôme Printemps

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

Cloudy pale orangey amber hue, excellent carbonation and thick head formation. Sweet nectarine aroma with dry, grassy, lemony hops. Sweet nectarine palate with biting bitter hoppiness. Pretty tastey stuff but could have had a little more depth for its style.

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. Fruity (apple,pineapple) aroma, light metallic yeast. Cloudy orange yellow, nice golden creamy head. Medium body, fruity base (tropical, clementine, apple), light bready notes, a hint salt. Pleasant.

This is a good Saison light and not overpowering. Malty, yeasty, and sweet flavors. Finishes rich, creamy, and smooth.

Pale, hazy gold. Slight white head. Strangely behaving yeast (floats!). Herbal nose, and aroma of (Belgian) vegetable deepfrying oil. Yeasty, malt, grain. Overly bitter taste – dandelion-flavour, definitely, “bitter salad”, not hoppy. Malty underbuild. Medium bodied. Good carbonation. Fiery bitter from main taste is medium longlasting, no new aftertaste. Dany P. has used dandelion (pissenlit) often in his beers. I’m not a fan of this addition, and I’m afraid it shows in the rating. A “Saison” of 8% ABV, indeed!

Deeply hazy golden ale with a thick big bubbled white head. Nice spicey yeast aroma with notes of lemon, oranges and herbs. In mouth, funky herbal tatse, with lemony notes, and acid points. No alcohol noticed. Winter 2005

Bottled capped and corked with markings of 086/477044. The brew poured a large sized head of frothy medium sized white colored long lasting bubbles that left behind a good lacing. the body was a uncarbonated hazy dark yellow color. The aroma contained notes of fruity bananas apricots and malt. The mouth feel was tingly and sharp with a mild lingering fruity aftertaste. The flavor contained notes of malt mild delicate hops banana apricot dough and other flowery notes.

750ml Bottle: Beautiful marigold/straw yellow body, mostly hazy and definitely not clear, with a mountainous white head. The aroma is somewhat mild overall, with notes of apple, grass, wood, pepper, licorice, garden hose, faint lemon, and a gueuze-like sour yeast. Wow, the flavor came out of nowhere. Unlike the aroma, it’s not reserved. Initially there’s quite a bit of spice, pepper, light sweet apple, and a huge dose of sourness. Once the tongue recovers from the initial onslaught, there’s some more delicate notes of flowers, grass, honey, grapefruit, herbs, wood, and yeast. Finishes very dry and tart, with lingering flavors of wood, rose petals, and a bit of honey towards the very end. Interesting beer that really shows its true characteristics if you’re patient enough to let it breathe.