Fantôme Printemps

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

This one poured hazy dark golden in color, with a huge fluffy white head. The head never eroded, and caused numerous repours. The aroma was spicy and citris, with some hops and funky malts as well. The flavor was floral and spicy up front, with hopcit, multiple fruity, and barnyardy elements at mid-palate. Medium and very carbonated on the palate. Another winner from Fantome.

Pours a hazy gold color with an inch or more of thick white foam. Very nice spidery lace. I smelled a strong, pungeant, tart cider aroma as I poured the beer into my glass. First sip - sour. I taste some unripe apple and lemon. A little grapefruit too. Beyond the tartness, there is a peppery-clove spiciness. Something suggests to me that the spiciness comes from spices, and the hops, and the yeast strain. Medium bodied, with lots of fizzy carbonation. Lots more of that spice when the yeast from the bottom of the bottle is stirred up. The most sour Fantome I’ve tried yet, but that’s what I’m looking for. Very good beer.

July 2007 - Wonderful fruity and spicey saison. Pale orange color wit good lacing and head. Frutiy, spicey with perfect blend of pepper, spices and fruit with the required barnyard funk. Call me crazy, but something in the spices tasted like Mountain Dew...and it seemed to work well. Really an excellent showing.

Jumping the gun for spring, here we have a classical saison appearance of a mildly hazed golden body topped by a vanilla head with lots of sheet and spiderweb lace. Aroma of lemon Pez, powdery spiderwebs, spice shop ginger, white grapes, and rain washed sheep. Silky body is slightly chalky. Taste is pastoral and makes me want to buy some sheep for the warmer months. Lemon rind, lemon pez, wool, a hint of ginger and nutmeg, floral and herbal hops, black pepper, earthiness, Oh My! Love these Fantomes. Beckons and evokes verdant pastures and herb farms. Fauns ands satyrs rejoice...

Hazy amber, medium white head. Kick ass aroma, dry, farmhouse, pepper, floral. Genuinely tart flavor, dry. Medium carbonation, medium body. I typically prefer saison’s with lower alcohol levels, but here it adds just the right amount of body. The tartness reminds me of Bruery Hottenroth, in that it is overt but not overpowering. Bready background; incredible delicious bready finish. This is the best Fantome beer I’ve had (honestly the only one I’ve truly enjoyed so far), and it’s also the best saison I’ve had.

750 ml bottle. An unclear dark golden beer with a generous, persistent, almost creamy white head. The aroma is very rich and not weak: yeasty and hoppy with notes of grass, flowers, hay, spices (pepper, maybe origan and other piquant spices), fruits. The flavour is less acidic than many other Fantomes, but obviously there are other trademarks of this brewery: the balance between the ingredients and the piquant spiciness. Medium body, lively carbonation, dry long finish with medium bitterness and no alcohol traces. Maybe less funky than other Fantomes, but well executed. Excellent.

Bottle, year unknown. Golden with a slight haze, topped with a nice white head. On the nose: funk, straw, spiciness. The first impressions on my tongue were musty strawberries. Hay, tartness, apricots, slight oxidized sherry notes, nutmeg, followed with a hop bitter dry finish. Drying and slight puckering effect. Well carbonated, slightly spritzy, besides a slight feeling of alcohol in the throat it never felt as big as it was for a saison. They musty fruits and strange tartness were very enjoyable. Great brew!

Pours cloudy yellow with a huge, foamy white head. Aroma is musty, zesty, pepper, something familiar I cannot pinpoint. Very nice balance between sourness and smoothness in the flavor. Drinkable yet quite flavorful. Yeasty, tart, and a little citrusy, grapes. This is my first fantome beer but certainly not my last.