Fantôme Saison

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

Pours cloudy gold with a fizzy, medium sized white head. The aroma is fantastic, spicy, cloves, yeasty, banana, fruity. Taste of pear, apple, yeasty, not as much as I would’ve expected from the aroma. Some spice comes in at the end. Medium body, carbonated. Slighty dry and spicy finish. Very good.

Have you ever opened a bottle of beer and then realized you’re too tired to drink it? This is what happened with this one. Kind of wasted this, as I didn’t even finish it. I will have to rate again sometime. I didn’t find it to be as complex as I thought it was going to be. From what I understand, this beer is actually different depending on the season. No idea which season I was drinking. Huge white head to the point of being annoying. Tiny haze with a spicy nose. Had slight taste of lemon-lime Gatorade with a little sweet malt and spice. Alcohol was masked well.

Really interesting taste...not exactly like other saisons. Fruity. Not real sweet. Little sour mixed in. For weeks I eyed the row of Fantomes at the store, and when I finally decided to buy one, all that was left was the saison. Not at all disappointed.

I attempted trying two bottles of Printemps and both were absolutely skunked. So I ended up getting the Saison. Not a bad beer, poured a cloudy golden with high carbonation. After I popped the cork, I instantly could smell the sweet aroma of mild spices and fruit, especially pear. I usually do not drink Saison’s, so I forget how complex the flavors can be. I really enjoy the citrus and fruity bite of pears and grapefruit. Great beer.

Bottle. Clear golden coloured with a white head. Aroma of fruits, berries and spices. Flavour of fruits, berries and spices.

Bouteille verte de 750 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur d’épices et d’agrumes. Apparence: La couleur est blonde voilée avec une forte densité de bulle. Présence d’un énorme col mousseux, d’un dépôt et d’une fine dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes, de poivre et de gingembre. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de pomme en arrière goût. (Rating #594)

[Bottled] Hazy golden. Striking aroma of pear and winegum. Medium sweet with wonderful, elastic mouthfeel. Juicy and intense, an ultraperfect world classic in it’s own style.

Either (a) I got a "dud"--there were no signs of this, as far as I could tell--(b) this beer isn’t up to par for its style, or (c) I can’t appreciate the "intentional sapidness" of this white, sharp styled saison. I’ll sample it one more time, per Svesse’s recommendation (below), but I truly doubt my bottle was tainted. On to the usual stuff: ostensible amounts of caked sediment, undistributed; color-wise, pours like a pilsner, with a faint white head (I always pour at extreme angles to avoid dampening the effervescence with rough pouring); has a pungent, citrice, "saison" smell, but the taste--unlike the Dupont Avec les Bons Voeux--is dulsome and blasé (for a Belgium ale, that is). Green bottle, capped and corked, 1 pt 9.4 Fl. OZ, 8% abv.