Fantôme Saison - Brasserie Fantôme

AtLagerHeads

Ohio

4.22/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Yikes! Thar she blows, the cork that is. What a great start as the brew pushes out with eagerness to fill the glass like a fine Champaign. The nose is full of fruit and some earthy muskiness, rather like walking through the orchard late in the picking season.

The flavor is just great and one of the more complex I've ever tasted in terms of the way each taste progresses. In the front there is a peppery, fruity start; in the middle a transition that leaves great warming; and in the back, the flavor and feel become sweet and give carmel notes. Lovely stuff this.

The feel is somewhat Champaign like with a sense of carbonation in each sip. Less full feeling and greatly crisp in the finish. Very drinkable despite the alcohol level which never beomes noticeable.

Serving type: bottle

10-26-2003 15:48:08 | More by AtLagerHeads

Winter

Wisconsin

4.43/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Pours a cloudy golden orange with a fluffy white head. Lively aroma has an intriguing citrusy sour and tart smell to it. Hints of yeast, fruit and pepper can be detected. Delectable flavors of fruit emerge upon first taste. Pear, green apple mandarin orange all come through. There's a wonderful spicing here. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and smooth but with a real effervescent quality to it. Alcohol flavor is detected midway but doesn't detract at all from this saison's drinkability.

I sampled this with spicy shrimp and thai rice noodles. It paired very well. The effervescence of the beer cleansed the palate and flavors helped to soothe the heat. Quite a delicious offering. My only problem was opening the bottle. The soft cork broke apart and I had to decant the beer before I could pour it into a glass. Not the worst of things, but certainly an inconvenience.

Serving type: bottle

10-07-2003 12:50:32 | More by Winter

Gueuzedude

Arizona

4.78/5  rDev +9.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

2007 Release to the US; Sampled February 2008
As I pour this a distinct, interesting, loud, tropical fruit note comes through. The beer is pretty well carbonated as a careful pour easily produces a three-finger thick, pale tan colored head. The beer is a honey color, but shows a lightly hazy, yellow-gold color when held up to the light. Upon closer inspection the amped up tropical fruit note continues; it is perhaps a mix of mango, pineapple and papaya notes. Underneath the dominant tropical fruit note is a dusty, cracker like grain character, some toasty grain notes, a touch of spicy pepper, piquant young ginger, notes of citrus honey and a green, herbal-lemon note with touches of nettle and a substantial lemon character that becomes more noticeable as the beer warms up.

Soft up front, but a fizzy, yet somehow light carbonated froth kicks in towards the middle; strangely this is well carbonated, but the bubble size seems fine enough that it does not make this seem excessively foamy. Only lightly sweet, which seems to reduce the amped up tropical fruit notes from the aroma to an almost equal billing with the rest of the flavor components. This has a very light body to it; it is quite the quaffable brew and drinks way easier than its 8%. This has quite a bit of spiciness to it at times, it can be much more piquant, like black pepper, than is contributed by the carbonation, this note especially lingers in the long finish were it lingers on as a spicy tickle at that back of the throat. There is a very light herbal note here that is slightly green, with an astringency to it as well as a light bitterness and a grassy note, these flavors balance out the noticed tropical fruit flavors that lightly dance around the flavor profile here. A touch of cracker like malt and grassy grain character comes through just a touch towards the finish.

As the beer loses its carbonation the tropical fruit note becomes a bit softer. The second pour of the bottle restores the carbonation and the accompanying tropical fruitiness though. This really is fantastically intriguing; the interplay between tropical fruit, spice and funky herbal notes is quite engaging; somehow, despite the light body and quaffable character, this beer is actually quite contemplative. Apart from the characterful, single yeast strain that is purposefully use in this beer, this is pretty clean. It has not picked up any funkiness yet, but it is still young. As usual, this is a fantastic brew; I am really digging the interplay between tropical fruit and spice found in the flavor.

Sampled May, 2004
Pours a hazy straw color with lots of carbonation that generates a cream colored thick head. A lightly sour/ acidic aroma wafts from my glass, mixed with notes of apple, strawberry, flowers, and a certain mustiness. The taste is lightly sour as well, with some interesting tropical fruit notes, that are picked up by a light sweetness, and some unspecified spicy notes. Typically light bodied, which is just perfect. A soft wonderful beer this time around.

Sampled Sept 7, 2003.
The cork explode from this bottle like a champagne. This beer aroma is one of cider and sweetness, there is a bit of mustyness in the nose as well. A very cloudy straw colored beer that is well carbonated and has a thick off white head. The taste is very complex with competing flavors all over the place; cider, off dry sweetness, an acidity, and yeast character up the wazoo. This beer is just world class, and I love it.

I had this beer with a cheese platter that included some Stilton, and aged funky Brie, a young Brie, a mushroom brie, sharp Irish cheddar, and edam. This beer was able to hold its own with each of these cheeses (though perhaps overpowering the edam). It acted as a nice contrast to each, a palate cleanser so to speak.

This beer can have wildly different flavors depending on the year that one tries it, in the past it has been much more acidic and lacking in the fruit character, but still world class.

Purchased: Plaza Liquors, Tucson AZ

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2003 16:50:05 | More by Gueuzedude

moulefrite

Massachusetts

4.45/5  rDev +2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Certainly one of the strangest (in a good way) beers I have tasted to date! First off, the beer poured an awesome, hazy, very unique color-a shade of very light caramel with some orange and golden hues. The aromatics were extremely complex with peach, citrus-orange and lemon-some spice, coriander perhaps? The aromatics were so very insidious it was hard to stop smelling and take a drink! In the mouth a lovely jolt of bright citrus, especially grapefruit zest, followed by some orange and lemon. The ever present bitter grapefruit zest component was very refreshing and unrelenting! As the beer warmed a bready/ fruitcake flavor surfaced and added to the flavor profile. I paired this with beer batter catfish, and a bit of leftover fried rice oddly enough. I used a simple belgian white-witekerke for the batter. This was a nice match, and I will say that I will search out, with celerity, my next brew from this brewery. Cool stuff here! Oh, how cool, this is my 50'th review!! One to remember.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2003 23:40:29 | More by moulefrite

beerguy101

California

3.9/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light gold color. Medium head. Aroma is barnyard and yeasty. Medium body. Yeasty and somewhat barnyard-ish. Slightly sour. Well balanced. Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly bitter. Yet another nice Biere de Garde from Fantome, one of the funkeyist brewers on the planet.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2003 03:58:39 | More by beerguy101

BeerBuilder

Minnesota

4.65/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The cork almost blew by itself when I released the cage. When poured there was a huge rush of carbonation that continues to bubble. The color was a golden-orange with a thick tan head. It has a super fruity, medicinal aroma with the hay-like qualities of a lambic. It has just a really fresh smell. The aroma is more complex than any other Saisons I have had before. The flavor is fruity and medicinal with a different spiced flavor that I have never had before. It is light on the palate, but full and sneaky. This is a complex beer in aroma and flavor. A definite top notch beer in my opinion. Excellent.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2003 14:47:12 | More by BeerBuilder

TheLongBeachBum

California

4.88/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

The Black & White label says Fantôme Belgian “saison” beer.
1 Pint 9,4 fl.oz green glass bottle, corked with a crown cap.

The Cork was steadfast & really hard to remove, indeed a loud explosion & a deep grey misty fog signalled its difficult extraction.

Appearance: A massive egg-white frothy head masses above the beer as I pour the first glass. As I stand the bottle, still 2/3rds full, the head continues to form in the bottle, & a slowly expanding bubble-froth continues to ooze from the thinning bottle neck like flowing lava. Hazy golden orange in color, it has a strikingly marvellous appearance as the huge head rescinds it settles to about 2” - but only after lacing the Glass with a smattered random pattern. Each subsequent pour from the bottle produced an equally massive head.

Nose: Very fruity with some floral aspects. I got Apricots, mild Grapefruit, Apples, Pears, Peach & Orange aromas. These mix well with the Pilsener Malts that are used to produce a never forget Fantôme nose for lovers of this Artisanale craft-brewer.

Tastes: I first tasted the head of the beer, as I attempted to check its volcanic overflow from the bottle. The froth had a deeply bitter taste. The body is exceptionally fruity, sometimes sweet; this is probably from the fruit juices that are used. There is a light grain malt in the middle, fresh herbs & an overall spicy bitterness that come from the Hallertau & Goldings Hops. Bloody Hell this is superb!

Mouthfeel: How can you miss this one? It’s all here, “upfront, in yer face, and doing it large”. This is one serious beer.

Drinkability: 8% ABV yet it still makes a great thirst quencher in the warm weather - now that’s Class. So what can I say apart from just, “Five”.

Overall: Wonderfully Fruity, Hoppy, Bitter, Herbal, Terrifically Spicy, and all this is majestically fashioned into an Extraordinary, High Class, Complex, Multi-Layered, Regal Saison. Guaranteed to induce multiple orgasms. Oh, err, well maybe I made that last bit up!

An Artisanale Saison of the VERY highest Quality, a True Classic & an unrewarded (IMVHO) Great of the Beer World. Almost perfect.

So it’s typically Fantôme…..

….Absolutely **First Class**!!!

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2003 22:38:30 | More by TheLongBeachBum

cokes

Wisconsin

4.15/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Misty golden bodied with a medium white head that retreats to a milky skim and stays the duration. Turns a turbid sand color after the addition of the yeast.
Pepper, spiced cider and coriander on the nose.
Intially quite tart. Green apples and concentrated lime juice. Sourness stays, but is quelled by a surging clementine juiciness. Notes of soft apricot and wheat. Sourdough bread become prominant, even moreso after the yeast is added. Moves in a white wine direction as it warms. Spicier as it closes, with a blast of cracked black peppers, coriander, cloves and orange peel. Dries towards the finish with a German-leaning hop spice. Lingering juicy friutiness with residue from the sourness.
Medium in stature with rushing carbonation. Light, and crisp, but substancial and firm.
Quaffable to a fault. Interesting and delicious.

Much props to Bighuge for this ghostly treat.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2003 20:13:52 | More by cokes

Wildman

Ohio

4.3/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This beer poured a cloudy light gold color and formed a small smooth white head that coated the glass with ring like lace as it subsided. A medium amount of carbonation is present. The aroma of this beer is amazing. It is hard to know where to begin. It is very floral, with aromas of green apple and various citrus smell with a background feel of standing out in an orchard. The flavor was of hops, citrus and some corinader. The finish was a medium body with a bit of sweetness to it, yet slightly tart with backing of the corinader creeping in. I have tried few saisons, but this looks to be a fine representative of the style.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2003 18:12:29 | More by Wildman

MJR

Missouri

4.95/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Appearance: Pours a murky orange-peach that looks like cloudy apple cider. A creamy, foamy white head forms almost two fingers deep and shrinks to a small cap, leaving a bit of lace.

Smell: Where to begin... The aroma is a whirlwind of green apple, pineapple, orange peel, honeydew, pear, apricot, honey, hops, various spices, and an earthy yeastiness. The smell coming from my glass is as impressive as any I've encountered.

Taste: The flavor starts out sweet and fruity, with loads of green apple, pear, orange peel, apricot, and pineapple. Midway through each sip, a solid bitterness undercurrent, along with a phenolic spiciness, takes center stage, but doesn't erase the memory of the sweet beginning. Big dose of spices in here too: ginger, coriander, black pepper... There's a wonderful musty, earthiness that calls to mind the terms 'farmhouse' and 'barnyard' that is present the entire time, but really asserts itself towards the finish. A touch of alcohol on the tail end. Causes fruity, medinical burps... Fruity, sweet, bitter, earthy, and spicy all at the same time. Wow...

Mouthfeel: Starts round and full, then turns to crisp and dry on the swallow, yet manages to retain it's creaminess. Nice medium mouthfeel.

Drinkability: I'd love to be able to drink one after another of this, but there's simply too much going on. My tongue would be numb from trying to decipher the countless flavors this brew offers. Plus, it's not exactly a weak beer either, at 8%abv. None-the-less, this is one brew I'll always try to keep on-hand.

A unique, sooo-left-of-center version of the Saison style, this is an incredible beer. It would be great to give to people who think all beer is boring and tastes the same!

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2003 12:52:09 | More by MJR

purplehops

Maine

4.55/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Fantome Saison pours a hazy honey yellow with a thin white head that leaves little lacing on the glass. The aroma is a merry-go-round of yeast, fruit, and malt odors. A sweetness of the summer fair cotton candy along with melon and berry aromas blend pleasantly with floral yeast and hints of fresh sweet wort and a wee note of alcohol hidden in the background. The taste starts with a rush of orange and coriander and then moves on to flavors of fresh malt and hints of berry flavors. The finish has some pleasant farmhouse sourness blending with the orange, spice, and malt flavors. Aftertaste is smooth and fruity with hints of alcohol and toasted malt. Mouthfeel is smooth and medium light in body.
Overall an ale that screams summer on the farm. Farm fresh with no artificial anything in aroma or taste. Light, refreshing, an aroma to die for, and a taste that's a malty fruit salad with just the right amount of carbonation. This is what Saison's are all about.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2003 17:04:07 | More by purplehops

SamuraiJack

Oregon

4.03/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

The missing link between artisan commercial belgian beers and homebrews...

First (and foremost) it has to be said that I think that it's a travesty that we cannot get more Saisson beers in the US. It's a great style for an early summer day and a really interesting style as well.

First pour shows a lightly orange-tinted gold with a huge amount of suspended floaters and a massive layer of yeasty sediment on the bottom of the bottle. The head is white and creamy (though perhaps less substantial than is ideal for the style) that subsides to a reasonably sticky lace. The aroma is incredible - sweet fruits and sugary candy notes riding on a wave of malt and yeast with a sort of "barnyard" whiff drifting throughout.
Initial taste is sweet and tart - a sort of bitter fruit syrup flavor, closing out to a crisp, sour main body that puckers the mouth and brings to mind citrus and hops. The finish is soft, with dying carbonation and a lingering tartness with some alcohol warmth.

This is best described as an "interesting" brew and an "interesting" version of the style. Sadly, there are better examples of the style but they seem impossible to find here. Given the options, I guess it's worth getting (though, IMHO, it's quite over-priced).

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2003 18:27:34 | More by SamuraiJack

mickeymac

California

4.38/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

It pours a hazy grapefruit color with plenty of yeast bits floating about. The head is a fizzy white that leaves traces around the edge of the glass after the initial fade. Swirling the glass brings the head back to life. The smell is on the fruity side, specifically apples and pear, with some tartness and a bit of that musty barnyard smell. The tartness is quite noticeable in the taste but certainly not overwhelming and, in fact, balanced nicely by the fruit flavors. The alcohol smell and taste blends in nicely and doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment of the beer. Good stuff.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2003 17:46:48 | More by mickeymac

aracauna

Georgia

3.98/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Maybe an adolescence spent sucking on Warheads and chewing crybabies killed my ability to perceive sourness, but I didn't think this was sour in the least. First pour was clear dark gold with nice white fluff. The second pour was cloudy. It seems hard to keep the yeast out of the bottle, but you might as well feed me yeast as much as I like yeast in my beer so that's not a problem. The dominant flavor and aroma is the estery fruitiness. Ripe plums, melons and bubblegum make for a soft, thick front. The middle is a mild bitterness and ends with a lingering crisp malt. Reminds me of spring. It has some of the same aromas I remember from the back yard of my parents' house beside the horse pasture with the Jonquil flowers and pecan trees. The horse blanket is there in the tiniest degree but I'd say it's more like the inside of the horse shed where the hay and horse feed dominate the smell of tackle. Not an earth-shattering experience but I like this.

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2003 22:16:47 | More by aracauna

hyuga

North Carolina

4.8/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

An apple juice colored brew on the first pour from this 750 ml bottle. What an appropriate color... A medium-sized but thick head forms on top, and retains well. Second pour: looks like an aquarium that hasn't been cleaned in months, even though I Ieft a good amount in the bottle. Floaties galore. If you don't like yeast sediment in your saison, leave quite a bit of this in the bottle. Wow, the aroma! Very unique and powerful. Super-tart sour apple and candi sugar, making it similar to a sour apple candy, like others have said. Some barn-like or "horse blanket" aromas are present as well. Spicy yeast undertones too, almost Christmasy. The taste, although very different from the aroma, is also unique and wonderful. First in at the front are malt and yeast characteristics. The maltiness is bready and caramelly. The yeast provides some spiciness and more of that sour apple and candi sugar, but it's much more subtle here on the palate. As the beer gets closer to the back, it gets more hoppy. That muted hoppiness that is present in many Belgian-style beers. You know what I'm talking about, right? Now I'm starting to think in musical terms describing this. You know what that means? It means that this is a damn good beer, and I love it, therefore it's influencing me to be more creative with my review. Anyway, back to the description. The tart fruitiness stays all the way through as an undertone. The mouthfeel is slightly chewy, almost sticky, which fits with the sour apple theme. Smooth and thick finish. This beer says "why didn't you buy more bottles of me?" to me. It's expensive, but it's definitely worth it. I may have to cheat and forget my rule of buying only beers I've never tried before next time I'm on a beer run. Give me more, now!

Serving type: bottle

01-31-2003 05:00:56 | More by hyuga

yen157

New Jersey

4.55/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

The cork had some sticky goo on top and broke when being removed. I had to punch the bottom 1/3 of the cork in. I don’t think that the bottle had been mistreated by the store because I’ve purchased a great number of corked items (beer, wine, and liquor) from this store without and problems.

The beer was a haze orange-tinted gold with a fairly creamy white head. There was a very fruity, tart nose, like apple Jolly Ranchers with a little bit of farmhouse funk thrown in for good measure. This was an extremely delicious saison. It was fruity and tart, but not puckeringly so. For balance it was lightly hopped and had a noticeable pale malt sweetness. That sweetness is important to me in the flavor profile of a saison, and some beers have too much or too little. Goldie Locks thought this one was damn near perfect in terms of malt.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2003 06:24:33 | More by yen157

UncleJimbo

Massachusetts

3.63/5  rDev -16.7%
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

Gusler

Arizona

4.03/5  rDev -7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A caliginous golden orange color on the pour, the beer is loaded with dross, some on the bottom; some suspended throughout the beer. Head is immature in size, the color bright white, the consistency creamy and the left over lace a thick and sticky sheet to coat the glass. I would say one of the sweetest bouquets of any beer I’ve sampled in years. Over ripe cantaloupe or cotton candy come to mind, malt underlies it all, a real treat for the olfactory senses, the front ambrosial, the top thick and sweet. Finish is sparsely carbonated, the hops apropos to the style, dry alcohol bitter lingering aftertaste and a satisfactory representative to the style. It is truly a shame that more “Saison’s” are not available here in the states, as I find them intriguing and quite tasty to boot.

Serving type: bottle

12-22-2002 14:34:16 | More by Gusler

Bierman9

New Hampshire

3.93/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Poured a medium-golden color, even a bit hazy. Became even more cloudy with the introduction of some bottom of the bottle yeasties! Had a minimal head and lacing. Verry fruity nose, with grapey, white wine characteristics. Medium bodied, and quite bubbly and spritzy on the tongue. Taste was again fruity, grapey, and very champagne-like. Enjoyable flavors, with a tart finish. Enjoyed as part of an impromptu sampling session with Artied2 and JohnnyP...with the the latter providing the samples! Thnx, Bro!

overall: 3.85
appearance: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | mouthfeel: 3.5 | drinkability: 4

403

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2002 17:20:45 | More by Bierman9

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.9/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours like champagne. Big fizzy white head. Reduces to a thin film in a minute. Murky golden orange in color. On the nose I get some bready tones, a blend of herbs and spices and yeast. Pretty nicely carbonated mouthfeel. Body is light. Taste is unlike other Saisons I've had. Very spicy and tart in the mouth, but not bad. It kind of grows on you. A little bit of an acidic tinge. I get a sour apple like taste. One that makes you pucker rather than wince. (And unlike the sour apple associated with a "green" beer.) I'm not sure what kind of spicing they use (if any), but maybe something like cinamon or bitter orange peel (curacao). Interesting beer, but not something I'm going to shell out out $6 a bottle for.

Serving type: bottle

10-30-2002 20:02:36 | More by Bighuge

mophie

Delaware

4.65/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

My first saison, so it's possible I will come back at some point and revise my score. Anyway, this is an amazing beer. Apple cider color, bubbly tan head. At first pour, the head is immense, and the incredible carbonation ensures that the head never goes away. In fact, the carbonation was almost volcanic in appearance; there were three separate mini-tempests in my glass from the eruption of bubbles rising through this brew. How to describe the smell? Imagine walking through an apple orchard in autumn while holding a ripe pineapple to your nose. Farm fragrances abound. The taste? Slices of green apples in apple cider, with a healthy amount of pepper and coriander. Spicy, earthy, intoxicating, complex. Oh yeah, this is the stuff of life.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2002 16:21:41 | More by mophie

marc77

California

4.43/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

The turbid, light oranged hued brew is topped by a formidably thick, dense whipped cream like head that leaves intricate lace. The luscious aroma is comprised of sweet apricot and peach fruit esters as the dominate components, w/ slightly tarter strawberry and citrus notes secondary. Subdued green apple acetaldehyde exists as an undertone in aroma. Buttery malt becomes perceptible as the beer warms as well. Bittersweet dried citrus peel is perceived initially, then yields to fructose - like sweetness mid - palate, while a combination of light sour dough breadiness and coriander round out the taste. Curacao provides most of the bitterness in this brew, since hop bitterness is very mild. Although highly carbonated, there's sufficient residual dextrins and protein for a relatively smooth mouthfeel. Finishes quite clean, w/ peppery notes briefly lingering. Fantome Saison is a highly enjoyable brew. It's got tremendous complexity, yet remains soft overall on the palate. Unparalled in drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2002 17:43:03 | More by marc77

Thrasher

Oregon

4.68/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Not sure which season this is for, so I just started a new one. Cork says 086/477044.

This is a miraculous beer, orange and thick with a creamy head. My first experience with saisons (Dupont) was less than ideal but this is something else. Mild euroskunk in the odor but that left once it was poured in the glass. Fruity, tart, with a hint of bitterness and a delectable finish. Hints of peach, tea, cinnamon, other tropical fruits but grounded so the sweetness is kept in check. Have been craving Hitachino Nest all day but this really did the trick. Highly recommended.

Serving type: bottle

07-24-2002 15:23:28 | More by Thrasher