Fantôme Saison - Brasserie Fantôme

jbertsch

Massachusetts

3.3/5  rDev -24.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

The first pour from the bottle showed great clarity. The last pour was completely murky from the sediment. But I’ll base this off the first pour…

Poured into a tulip. Golden color with a fizzy white head that fades to a cap.

I smelled something that was borderline cider. A nice funk, with some bright, grassy lemon grass notes and a little noticeable yeast. Smells like a summery saison.

The taste was tart with a little sweetness, but not too tart for me to handle. Cider-like. Some spicy notes outline an earthy funk to the taste. It’s pleasant tasting if you’re in the right mood. I feel like I want it in warmer weather.
Fairly dry and very crisp.

I enjoyed trying this, and I can see it has its own greatness, but I won’t buy it again. The one other Fantome brew I had was Noel, and I enjoyed that more.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 02:38:53 | More by jbertsch

ballewblake

New Jersey

3.33/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured from bottle into Duvel tulip.

Oh bummer. Label reads "Biere artisanale sur lie"

White head that kills fast. Sporadic lacing, low carbonation. This is a different version of the 'Fantome Saison' that I've grown to love and seek out. Rumor is that the brewer changes the fruit brewed in out with whatever of his choosing. I have had the 'brewed with spices' variant so many times before and this one is more of a pineapple version. Heavy pineapple and tropical notes on the nose. Hate to say it, but the dehydrated pineapple is an upset on this one, it isn't working. I would say the labeling on the two is confusing and misleading. Stick with the 'brewed with spices' and stay clear of this one.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2009 03:14:48 | More by ballewblake

stcules

Italy

3.35/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Oranged-golden coloured, cloudy, and with a lot of floaters. Good head, compact.
The smell is sweet (almost grenadine...?). Sugary and sweet. Fruity too, obviously: raspberry, mandarine, maybe strawberry. Unripe apples. Maybe too sweet, but interesting and complex. Something "tied"... (japanese persimmon) and peach.
At the taste: fruity, with strawberry, wild berry-fruits. Honey. Sugary and sweet, maybe too sweet, again (strawberry candy like). A hint of hop in the background, Dry. And pepper.
In the aftertaste a crazy pepper. Spicy, and chilli too. Citric.
Medium body.
At the end, the smell is ripe pear.
Very complex.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2004 17:57:35 | More by stcules

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3.35/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from bomber into a tulip glass. Pours a hazy deep orange color with a big vanishing white head. Aroma consists of light sourness and balance between malt, yeast and hops. Notes of flowers, grass, citrus, with hints of pepper too. The flavor has the same balance and acidity of the aroma and a very pronounced fruitiness (citiric and tropical fruits), and grass, flowers, hops and some peppery spiciness. Medium body, decent carbonation, very dry long finish with medium bitterness. Nice complexity and decent drinkability. I kind of expected more out of this well embraced beer. A little bit disappointing.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 14:34:41 | More by CuriousMonk

litheum94

California

3.35/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Green bottle. Enjoy by Jan 2013.

Very murky straw yellow body with some brownish tones. Thick head that yellow tinged. Leave a very small covering and some decent lacing.

Slight citric sourness and grass. Musty earthiness. Some 'barnyard.' slight skunk aromas.

Tart citric sourness, lemon rind. Green apples. Tons of grass and earth. Light spicing with a good dose of carbonation. Very dry with a lingering sourness, almost metallic.

Wasn't expecting the sourness, but I do enjoy it. Would have liked to seen some more spices. I don't like the finish; it makes me think the bottle is slightly skunked. Don't know if this is how it's supposed to be, or if it's because of the green glass. Not bad, but not as great as I'd heard.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 03:47:50 | More by litheum94

Dope

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev -23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bottle states best before July 2013, lot "d"

A: Pours a clear amber with a small fizzy white head. Fades away at a moderate pace, leaving decent rings of lacing.

S: Smells like overripe peaches, apples and pears. Kinda smells like burning tires too, just a little bit. Not necessarily in a bad way, I love the smell of a dragstrip. A touch grassy too.

T: Very sour, tart, funky fruits up front. Similar to the aroma, pears and apples primarily. Maybe some rotting apples and apricot? Kind of has a bile-like taste for a moment. Wet, decaying grass. Aftertaste is interesting, kind of reminds me of key lime pie. Tart citrus and graham cracker.

M: Medium bodied, smooth.

O: Whoa. Super funky saison, which is pretty much what I was expecting. Tough one to rate. I was not a fan of the tart fruits up front, but I did enjoy the finish. Overall an interesting experiment but I doubt I've ever buy this again.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 01:32:56 | More by Dope

jdhilt

New Hampshire

3.38/5  rDev -22.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours with a one-finger head that fades to a ring leaving a good lace. Cloudy amber color, a lot of yeast left in the bottle. Good carbonation. Nose is floral and spice. Starts as sour orange with yeasty overtones. Finishes crisp and tart. $8.55 for a 750ml bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2004 22:45:48 | More by jdhilt

oggg

California

3.4/5  rDev -22.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

I picked up this 750 from Whole Foods, from their refrigerated section.

It pours a light tan color with a soft white head. It's cloudy as heck. Then it gets murky with the sediment at the end. The aroma is slightly floral but mild, and does not improve with warming. Carbonation is moderate. On tasting, I get a relatively harsh bitterness of neutral hops. There seems to be some spiciness. Perhaps a bit of fruit. Very cluttered and confusing to me. Surprisingly there is a pretty clean malt flavor that surges near the end. Medium bodied. Alcohol is subtle but the effects are felt later. Overall: I need to try this again sometime, but not too soon -- I tried the beer over a long time, at various temperatures, but the harsh bitterness is out of balance. Like a bad american lager recipe with a tiny bit of spices added.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2004 18:34:50 | More by oggg

jvillefan

California

3.41/5  rDev -22%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

As a note, I lowered all categories by one point because the first bottle I opened was contaminated. It pour like chunky syrup and smelled very sulfury.

A: A hazy pale yellow with a minimal white lacy head.

S: Ester aromas are dominate here. There is not a whole lot else present.

T: A pleasant ester flavor with rich pale malts.

M: Rich mouthfeel with sharp carbonated bite to it.

O: Depite Saisons not being my favorite style of beer, this is one of the better beers I've had.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2013 15:21:55 | More by jvillefan

Paddez

Belgium

3.45/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I ordered this at the beffely hills café in Beffe; a small village just south of Soy where the brewerie itself is located. I was surprise to find the café inhabited by numerous Dutch tourists. The waitresses were all Flemish and Dutch too. Peculiar. Nonetheless, the beer was served at the proper temperature in the proper glass.

Appearance: Golden & hazy with a big, slightly off-white head. Some sediment. Quite a lot going on inside the glass.

Smell: Hmm, what's that smell. Grains, malts & citrus fruits and lots of odd farmhouse aroma's. It's hard to point out what it is exactly.

Taste: Again, the farmhouse aspects overwhelmed my palette. Lots and lots of odd & classic flavours comingtogether; beets, tropical fruits, lemon, spices, roasted malts, candy, ...
Ridiculously complex almost.

Mouthfeel and drinkabillity: Pleasant mouthfeel with plenty of carbonation. The alcohol is well hidded, but once you try to get up you'll notice this is a hard-hitter. Quite fuddling.

Conclusion: This brew is both everything and nothing. It's just how you interpret the tastes and aroma's. For me personally though the huge 'barnyard' aspect was a bit too much. 'Artisanaal' is ok, but this was too much. One thing's for sure though: it's got character aplenty.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2005 18:44:56 | More by Paddez

chrisafari

California

3.48/5  rDev -20.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours cloudy orange with little to no head. (The first sign that this bottle might have been a little too old) Aroma is citrusy, herbal, funky and a nice finish of yeast. Flavor is salty and sour. Not quite what I was expecting. I guess this Saison tends to be more on the sour end, but I was expecting something more citrusy with an intense yeast profile. I'm just not a fan of sour beers.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2008 06:56:02 | More by chrisafari

pioppo

Italy

3.5/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A - Straw yellow colour. Hazy with a quite fine and quite persistent white foam. Good carbonation.

S - A very high smell of yeast.. Almost unpleasant!! Citric (lemon, orange peel) and a little spicy.

T - Citric also in mouth, not much bitter with and acid aftertaste.

M - Very acid and astringent beer!! It's dry and the alcohol is hidden by the acidity..

D - It can be a drinkable beer but its characteristics of acidity and astringence make this beer more difficult to enjoy!!

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 12:40:19 | More by pioppo

ithacabaron

California

3.5/5  rDev -19.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a juicy-looking peach with tangerine highlights. The weak pop from the bottle yields a mild, 1/8th inch head that soon settles down into nothing more than a halo. Lazy toads-eye bubble doze around the glass. Not great, not terrible.

Smell starts off with huge gobs of strawberry jam, the fruit leaping from the glass. There are also some notes of starfruit and shortbread. Underneath, there are hints of vinegar and seawater. Interesting.

As we arrive at the taste, the the roles flip from the aroma. At first, a pungently sour line appears at the side of the tongue, with sweet blackberry emerging as a shading note. On the swallow, acetone and a bump of pure CO2 show up as well. For so many different flavors, it still somehow comes off as dull.

Mouthfeel is a bit lower than I'd like; more foam would go a long way here.

Overall, I'm pleased by the creativity displayed here, but it's far from the best, or even the most original saison I've had. Due to the variations in quality from batch to batch (or, for that matter, bottle to bottle), it may be an unreviewable beer. That being said, there are better offerings from this brewery, and much better beers to have at this price point.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2012 06:26:30 | More by ithacabaron

BillyB

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750 ml Bottle from Discount Liquor in Milwaukee, Wisonsin. I had been looking for this one for a while.

Poured a lighted, hazy golden color with a one inch white to off white head.

Smell was a little funky. A little papery. Biscuity/bready notes. I may have gotten a bottle that was old. But it wasn't completely oxidized or skunked.

Some fruity tastes and not very dry. Light bodied and a little lingering of funk.

Not bad but I think I need to try a fresher bottle.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2006 20:37:13 | More by BillyB

PatronWizard

California

3.53/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

750ml with lunch. Can daddy do it? Yes he can.

Cloudy haze of golden yellow orange. Head is kinda pathetic. Wells up huge bubbles that commence popping immediately.

Smell is a little funky. And fruity. Very fruity.

Tart. Sour. Unique. Ends kinda chalky. Oranges. Not bad flavor.

Pretty thin and watery. Easily drinkable.

I expected a lot more from this. It's not bad, I could drink it all day but I don't think I would.

Overall: not impressed

Serving type: bottle

09-15-2008 03:24:21 | More by PatronWizard

Hautacam

Connecticut

3.58/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours out slighty cloudy yellow/gold..with a huge white head..drops slowly, with plenty of lacing...and lasts.
Smell is mild hay, funk and citrus.
Tastes quite sour...lemony- grapefruit, hay, earthy funk, hint of pear and cider....some spiciness that I can't identify. I did not like the first sip , but once uesd to the sour taste; and a little rise in temperature, found it pretty good. My girlfriend liked it right away. We differed on the Saison DuPont comparison...I like Dupont better; she likes this better. They are very different.
Mouthfeel was on the light side...medium/high carbonation and finished dry.
Drinkablity was OK...we split a 750ml...that was enough for me.

Serving type: bottle

06-27-2006 11:42:39 | More by Hautacam

MiScusi

California

3.6/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Had at Lucky Baldwin's in Sierra Madre...
Poured into a Belgian snifter appeared hazy gold with a very nice fluffy head. The smell is huge on funkiness. Very musty like barn animals. The taste is dominated by the Belgian yeast earthiness and funkiness, which is still strong but isn't as prevalent as the smell. A good standard mouthfeel... smooth... but the flavor of this is just slightly overwhelming for me to want to drink it a whole lot. Interesting saison though.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2008 16:16:21 | More by MiScusi

dsa7783

New Jersey

3.6/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

750 ML green Belgian bottle purchased corked, but not caged from Super Saver in Edison... Pours a hazy, misty, cloudy copper and tangerine hue with minimal frothy head that soon dissipated... smell was replete with nectarines, oranges, and citric acidity... taste strongly complemented the aroma, with spritzy, seltzer-like floral essences, some pear and grapefruit, and noticeable oranges... Crisp, clear, clean mouthfeel with a modest level of drinkability despite the 8% ABV, which struggles to make itself noticeable... Wasn't blown away by this particular offering from Fantome, which is rather unusual because most of their beers are top-notch...

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2008 00:47:56 | More by dsa7783

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured to give a hazy, straw-colored beer with thin white foam. The smell was very fruity: grapes and apples. The taste was of musty grapes, sweet but thin, with some maltiness in the finish. The mouthfeel was clean with modest carbonation, but the body was a bit thin. The drinkability was good.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2003 09:56:46 | More by UncleJimbo

EPseja

New Jersey

3.63/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Served from a 750 in a Duvel Tulip at cellar temperature.

A - Burnished gold and hazy with sediment in suspension from an aggressive pour. Nice white head with big, tightly packed bubbles. Frothy like steamed milk.

S - Smells similar to a typical european lager... some strawberry preserves hidden in the back. Some golden honey. Some vanilla. Fresh like dew covered grass on a summer morning. Appealing.

T - Aggressive in its sweetness off the bat. Doesn't posess the degree of smoothness or roundness that you'll find in other Saisons. Slightly tart and acidic in the finish. Good, but not great.

M - Slightly zealous, but creamy mouthfeel. Decently smooth finish.

D - Not a bad Saison, but for the money, there are better options.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2006 00:10:01 | More by EPseja

jdklks

Nevada

3.63/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I was a little disappointed by this one. Pours a shadowy golden color with a bright off-white head of small bubbles. Lots of carbonation, which is to be expected. The smell is mostly of belgian yeast, and perhaps some citrus fruit, but not nearly as pungent as I would have liked.

The taste was very impressive at first, but my palate was conditioned to it immediately and it became rather dull. It was very sour up front with the first two sips, then all of a sudden it died down. The yeastiness wasn't as apparent as in the smell, and the dominant flavor was green apple cider-like, with lots of carbonation and a little alcohol burn in the finish. Not very complex at all, at least not enough so to keep the palate interested.

The mouthfeel is okay: well carbonated but a little thin. The drinkability is fine, and it was easy to get through, but I do not see any reason to pay 18 dollars for another one.

Serving type: bottle

03-26-2010 00:11:17 | More by jdklks

mwilbur

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from 0.75 L bottle into snifter. Interestingly, this is a true corked bottle (no cage).
A: Nice cloudy orangish yellow with frothy, white, thick 2 inch head that slowly dissipates. Good retention. The head, when settling and backlit, looks like white glittery sifting sand...a very interesting quality.
S: At first, the smell is sweetly acidic...actually a little harsh...but this settles down. Candi sugar, honeydew, musk melon, and honey notes.
T: Similar to aroma...candi sugar, honey dew, pear, honey, and citrus. The sweeter candi sugar notes are a little overpowering.
M: Very light, sweet, bright, and mildly acidic and sour.
D: It is drinkable, but for me the overpowering sweet candi sugar note limited this factor. I was looking forward to this one, but honestly came away a little disappointed. (Once the higher ABV kicked in, it became much easier to quaff.)

Serving type: bottle

10-04-2008 03:23:32 | More by mwilbur

mikereaser

Pennsylvania

3.65/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a murky gold color with plenty of frothy foam

S - funky mix of sour apple and earthy wheat all in a slightly sourness

T - follows the aroma, fruit and wheat all mixed together with a hint of sourness

M/D - light bodied and well carbonated, easy to drink and very flavorful. The slightly sour taste just leaves you wanting more.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2009 12:51:28 | More by mikereaser

hooplehead

California

3.65/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance: Hazy, deep straw. Solid, lasting head.

Smell: Lots of funk on this. Otherwise expected semi-sweet malt nose with a very restrained hop character.

Taste: Slightly sweet, some funkiness, tart, but well balanced. A little astringent. Odd for the style - perhaps a poorly traveled bottle.

Mouthfeel: Nice mouthfeel, velvety, almost over carbonated. I have a feeling this bottle was stored somewhere very warm for a while.

Overall: Good beer, enjoyable. More funk/tartness than I was expecting. Would drink again, but wouldn't go out of my way for it.

Serving type: bottle

08-18-2011 22:53:39 | More by hooplehead

murrayswine

Arizona

3.68/5  rDev -15.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Bear with me, this is my first Saison.

The Aroma hit me like an herbal freight train. Extremely heady and sharp. Sharp tones of green olives and vinegar.

A golden brew with a good fog and a tight, clean, cotton head. The head stayed tight and you can see yeast floating in the glass.

On the tasting I was hit with an overpowering coriander and citrus zest. I can taste the superior craft in this beer, but wit the spice in it, you might as well add a lemon to a hefe weisen and call it even. The mouth feel is light and nice with a silk finish. If you like heady HW's, then go for it.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2005 02:34:07 | More by murrayswine