Fantôme Saison - Brasserie Fantôme

cfrances33

Illinois

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle thanks to WhereTheWildBeersGo, poured into a Hill Farmstead stem.

Pour: Hazy bright orange, with two fingers of fluffy, sticky white head. Head leaves a little bit of lacing, and remains as a thick film.

Smell: Big tart lemon pith and pear skin up front. Some citrus and some green apples. A nice clean funk comes through. Maybe a slight doughyness.

Taste: Follows the nose with tart lemons and pear juice up front, and a sweet yeasty doughiness. Some light white pepper. Progresses into more sweet biscuits and finishes tart with citrus.

Mouthfeel: Great tartness, but a bit of a fuller, juicy body. Sweetness at depth and gives this beer a bigger body than I'd expect.

Overall: This beer doesn't disappoint, and is something I will regularly seek out.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 02:51:01 | More by cfrances33

gshackles

New York

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-19-2013 03:29:11 | More by gshackles

anson42

California

3.5/5  rDev -19.7%

06-16-2013 01:29:16 | More by anson42

ThrewRedButter

Massachusetts

4.64/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

A: Hazy golden orange with a finger's worth of head. Good carbonation on this bottle.

S: Classic Farmhouse rustic with a lot of fruit on the nose. Getting apple juice and some hints of grape juice. A lot fruitier than I had anticipated, and that's good news.

T: Wow! Strong apple and grape juice flavor. It's like being a kid and having a juice box. Also getting some lingering bitterness in the aftertaste.

M: My bottle was particularly well-carbonated. Goes down smooth. can't taste the 8% at all. Very easy to drink.

O: Outstanding. Perfect for a warm day like today. So much fruitier than what I had thought it would be. Easily the best saison I've ever had.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 23:20:40 | More by ThrewRedButter

ZethOfTheNorth

Louisiana

4.25/5  rDev -2.5%

06-15-2013 00:58:30 | More by ZethOfTheNorth

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

4.01/5  rDev -8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured out as a hazy orange golden color, the head is white and loaded with big bubbles. The retention is very strong, there isn't much lacing at all. The smell is slightly funky with some honey and grain sweetness in the mix, possible corn aroma on the nose and not much spice. The taste is a little on the smokey side at first, the more you drink the more sweet grain comes out with some subtle hints of spice. There is also some hints of fruit in there also. The mouthfeel of the beer is well carbonated and has a heavier body than expected. The beer is also kind of sticky. Overall it's a very unique, totally different than most Saison's out there.

Serving type: bottle

06-14-2013 22:46:57 | More by Knapp85

Dweedlebug

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%

06-14-2013 19:11:13 | More by Dweedlebug

2GOOFY

California

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-14-2013 01:07:02 | More by 2GOOFY

gory4d

New York

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-13-2013 19:26:43 | More by gory4d

SpeedwayJim

New York

3.99/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

750ml capped and corked bottle into Torst stemware. 2013 vintage. Shared with schen9303.

Pours a .5 finger foamy white head with poor retention. Beer is a clear orange. Lacing is patchy and sparse with little cling. A bit below average for the style.

Nose is subtle and sweet. Some soapiness with a touch of yeast and a sprinkle of spiciness. Nice citrus aroma too. Well put together.

Opens citrus, yeast, and some spices. Soapy with a sweet hay and barnyard presence in the middle. More citrus. Yeasty sweet cobwebs and funk at the end. Finishes clean with a spicy, clove and peppery aftertaste. Real solid.

Light bodied with ample carbonation. Prickly and lively in the mouth and goes down aggressive and quenching. Accented finish with a slightly lingering, though mostly clean aftertaste. Very very drinkable overall and considering the ABV, really impressive.

They say that a good bottle of Fantome is quite the experience. If that's the case, this is just a decent bottle. That being said, its definitely one that I would revisit. Certainly better than any of the other offerings I've had from Fantome.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2013 01:19:10 | More by SpeedwayJim

dunix

Vermont

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-11-2013 17:49:59 | More by dunix

Hopbully

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%

06-11-2013 05:26:17 | More by Hopbully

jarrgal

North Dakota

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-10-2013 11:55:21 | More by jarrgal

vicsju1991

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +8.9%

06-09-2013 19:05:48 | More by vicsju1991

Phillyz

Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +8.9%

06-09-2013 05:46:17 | More by Phillyz

HoppyLuckyGoGo

California

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%

06-06-2013 19:12:00 | More by HoppyLuckyGoGo

virinow

New York

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-05-2013 01:18:37 | More by virinow

Greywulfken

New York

4.61/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A: into a tulip, measured pour from the un-capped and un-corked bottle produced a hazy medium gold beer with suspended particles and effervescing bubbles; few fingers of head was easy to achieve; not much lace, but a fuzzy cap persisted all the way through the drink

S: sweet and spicy malts and hops, bright yeasts - suggestions of both citric and orchard fruit, grassy fields and fresh grains

T: exemplary complexity - this is a brilliant beer: sweetnesses from the malts and probably whatever spices are used; funky Belgian yeastiness with floral and herbal hops - moments of pale caramel sweetness mingle with an array of spice and waves of hops and yeast

M: smooth, but with a fuzzy sparkle, medium body, medium carbonation, faint chew, drying finish

O: obviously a world-class beer. Stunning.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2013 23:02:00 | More by Greywulfken

Anonymous1

Illinois

2.5/5  rDev -42.7%

06-03-2013 20:44:39 | More by Anonymous1

maxwelldeux

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -19.7%

06-02-2013 22:32:54 | More by maxwelldeux

robertmitchum

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -8.3%

06-02-2013 06:08:02 | More by robertmitchum

JamLand

Texas

4.25/5  rDev -2.5%

06-02-2013 01:26:29 | More by JamLand

Hugonaut13

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -2.5%

05-30-2013 13:18:16 | More by Hugonaut13

MasterSki

Illinois

4.35/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

I've had my fair share of Fantôme bottles over the year, so I know how difficult it is to capture the intangible essence of this beer. I've had this bottle for a few years, but have no idea how old it was when I purchased it from West Lakeview Liquors. Served in a taster glass at Adrial's place.

A - White foam settles to a collar, leaving behind minimal lacing. Slightly hazed pale golden body.

S - This bottle was particularly Pez-like, which is a flavor I've encountered often in the past. Some tropical fruit, a bit of funk, light grains, a hint of hand lotion, and perhaps a vague note of herbal hops and dandelion. There's a mildly aged quality to this bottle, but it's still well on the good side of things.

T - Taste is a tad sweeter, with more Pez candy and honey-kissed grains. Sweet tropical and stone fruits, nebulous floral notes, with a bit of spicy yeast mixed in. No alcohol at all, although I've never been convinced all these beers are precisely 8%.

M - Medium in body, and initially dry but with a bit of lingering stickiness in the finish. Soft, lower carbonation, and a surprising hint of alcohol warming late.

D - This was a good bottle, and it's in the top five or so regular Fantômes I've had. If I could reliably count on bottles tasting like this one I'd buy this beer more often. A very good example of a Belgian farmhouse ale, with that inexplicable Dany twist to it. We had no problem finishing this one.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2013 23:52:39 | More by MasterSki

nollie77

Ohio

2/5  rDev -54.1%

05-28-2013 00:41:42 | More by nollie77