Fantôme Saison - Brasserie Fantôme

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

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

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

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

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

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

faernt

Illinois

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

This beer pours with a yellow, cloudy (maybe not left to its own for a few days), slightly rocky head which subsides to a skim. Little bubbles come up through the beer from the bottom of the glass. The smell is slight to me with a little lemon and no detectable alcohol.The taste is lemony, sweet, with a little malt always present, and very little bitterness except that contributed by a persistent apricot undertaste.The mouthfeel is like softened water with a slight prickle on the tongue. This reminds me of some mead homebrew that I once had. It's not the roller coaster of other Saisons. It's an 8% ABV beer that hides its strength with its fruitiness. I'll give it another walk as a food beer; probably pairing it with lemon chicken. As a session Saison it is somewhat boring. I can't help but compare it to DuPont which (in its Vieille Provision of 6.5%ABV ) is more of a strong session beer for me. Fantome is more refined, stronger, and more consistent from start to finish. This is actually a boring Saison by itself. I will edit this review after I've had another with food.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2004 08:30:15 | More by faernt

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

XicanoBeerRun

Texas

3.18/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I picked this up at the Davis Beer Shoppe. This is a green bottle with a bottle cap. Under the cap is a cork. When attempting to withdraw the cork, I broke it, which was really annoying. There was lots of yeasty sediment in the bottom of the bottle.

I poured the Fantome into a snifter. There was a lot of foam, but this may have been from shaking the bottle too much when trying to uncork it. The color was yellow, or golden. It was clear and not too cloudy.

This beer smelled fowl, not funky, but fowl. I thought maybe it was spoiled, and looked for mold in the bottle (I once saw a bottle of beer with a brain-like mold/fungus growing in it). Everything checked out so I figured I would drink it. It tasted like sour apples, and reminded me of a Lindemans Apple. It was not redolent of any other siason that I have sampled. Carbonation was light in the mouth. At 8%, I didn’t taste a bit of alcohol.

This was not what I was expecting. I enjoyed it overall, and perhaps if my expectations were different, then I would have been more pleased. I cannot say that I would buy another bottle, but one of my friends told me each bottle taste different. At $14, I am not willing to take the risk.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 14:40:37 | More by XicanoBeerRun

Mavajo

Georgia

3.15/5  rDev -27.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a cloudy golden color with a mild white head. Fair amount of lacing.

I'm not sure what I smelled here. To be honest, my first reaction was "This smells skunked as all hell." But I don't know if I'm simply too rookie to distinguish between skunk and barnyard funk. I'll say this though - I've smelled plenty of skunks in the area before, and this smelled just like that. Behind that, there seemed to be a bit of a lemony zest. The skunked/barnyard smell was just overwhelming though - extremely potent. Despite all that, there was an oddly enjoyable quality about it, and this style does tend to be funky to begin with, so I won't deduct too hard.

The taste had a nice tart/sourness to it, but there was an odd robustness that I didn't enjoy. Kind of earthy I guess, with a bit of spiciness or zestiness. Again, not impressed. The first couple sips were interesting, but it got more and more tedious as I went on. There wasn't a lot of depth of character here in the taste - basically, earthy and tart. Unpleasant aftertaste that lingered a bit on that tongue.

Mouthfeel was fine. Medium bodied and good amount of carbonation. No qualms here.

All in all, I did not enjoy this beer - and considering the price tag, I won't be buying it again. Very unimpressed and disappointed. It just seemed like a skunked beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2010 15:28:28 | More by Mavajo

RidiculedDisplay

California

3.13/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours fizzy and lively, but, strangely, with no head to speak of. Lacing is also not present. Body is a golden yellow color with a lot of floaties and opaqueness. Not a very good looking beer, unfortunately.

Smell: Smells like Cactus Cooler. Some barnyard. Medicinal back end. Not enjoying this aroma.

Taste: Ah. Better. Still some citrusy fruits that lended to the Cactus Cooler assessment. Banana, apple, apricot, pear, some guava. A lot of tropical-ish fruit esters, really. Fairly unique flavors. Not sure what to make of this beer.

Mouthfeel: Astringent. Too much so. Otherwise, fizzy.

Drinkability: This is drinkable, but damnit if I am not disappointed by this one. It *could* be my bottle, and I do have a local place I found that carries it also so maybe one day I will try again, but I got this from a reputable seller (Beverage Warehouse), and so that seems unlikely.

Serving type: bottle

03-08-2008 03:38:04 | More by RidiculedDisplay

gatornation

Minnesota

3.13/5  rDev -28.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

poured a honey golden color with zero head ..smell was musty and funky with sour lemon juice and grass that was good..taste was the same it just had very little flavor no carbonation..i love saisons one of my favorite styles ..so many good/ reviews on this esteemed saison..i must of had a bad bottle ...but the side label said good until may of 2012 it was just so flat..will try again and do another update when i have $14 to burn

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2010 21:55:08 | More by gatornation

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

3.1/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bland, dull, vapid, humdrum…all of these words describe this beer, surprising me. This is not like the Fantome that I know and love. I must assume that this is a bad bottle, however, I will review it because there are no terrible qualities. This one just seems muffled and boring.

Appearance is great. The bottle pops with an explosive orce. The crown is huge, lasting and magnificent. The body the perfect color, cloudy stawlike gold. The sediment is a bit on the high side. Using a decanter is a good idea for this beer.

Smell…Not much. I get a little straw, a little sour twang, some lemon grass, some wheat, peach here, pepper there but all are muddled. This beer smells like it would if I had a cold, but I don’t have one. It’s just not very pungent or exciting.

Taste is just like smell. Floral notes and citric acid. Light fruits. Nice…but weak.

Mouthfeel is alright. Sweet front, slightly sour finish and just a bit of tang. Thin…but thickening towards the end. Bitter in some ways, juicy and sweet in others. Very complex as it should be.

Drinkability: even this seemingly off sample is highly drinkable. I’ll try again and rereview at the next opportunity. I expect positive results.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2006 02:38:02 | More by DaPeculierDane

champ103

Texas

3.08/5  rDev -29.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours a cloudy yellow/orange color. At first a two finger white head forms, but recedes in a second. Very light lace is left behind.
S: Funky barnyard and bready yeast up front. Lemon zest and some spices.
T: A lemony citrus flavor is most prevalent. Lightly sour and yeast. Dank and musty. There is not much here.
M/D: A light body that is a little under carbonated. Thin and watery. Not hard to drink, but I am really not all that interested in this.

I was looking forward to this, but I am underwhelmed. This is one of my favorite styles, but this did not do it for me. There is nothing much here. Mostly watered down lemon juice. Nothing I would recommend.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2010 04:01:33 | More by champ103

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance- Poured a good head into my big tulip with good retention until half the beer was finished. Then retention went out the door and a bland, flat looking beer was all I could see. But their was still some lacing to behold. REDEMPTION!! Color was a light mahagony grain color.

Smell- A dry mix of toasted candies interlaced with amber waves of grain. Very earthy.

Taste- Pretty tart. Not what I expected compared to my tastes of Saison DuPont. But then again Fantome is supposed to be a very out there brewery. Anyway, A tart and dry mix of potting soil, grass, hard bread, and country air.

Mouthfeel- Pretty puckery. Not too say my mouth puckered whilst drinking this beer. But it was tarter than I expected. Almost cloying.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2006 02:49:16 | More by scruffwhor

jujubeast6000

Texas

3/5  rDev -31.4%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Reviewed 8/21/2009 (Bottle BB ??/??, cork 086/477044):

Pours a very cloudy dark yellow, almost orange but not quite, color body. With a big creamy white head, lasting. Muted, musty aroma, fruity and sweet spicy. Maybe some plasticy. Soft taste, very muted, very light tasting. Some light fruitniness. Very light taste, drying. Almost watery. Thirst quenching, would be good on a hot day. Almost a plasticy taste. Just okay, not the greatest, not much flavor to speak of.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2009 22:42:45 | More by jujubeast6000

frazbri

Ohio

2.98/5  rDev -31.8%
look: 5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 2

Fantome Saison poured cloudy and golden with a slight orange hue in my chalice. The aroma had notes of apples, pears, and cider along with a very distinct barnyard smell. (more to come) Fruity and earthy in flavor with hint of Vernor's ginger ale and a spree candy aftertaste. Body was light and highly carbonated with a dry, woody finish.

That smell. There's something in the nose. It's not overpowering, but it's omnipresent. A familier farm aroma. Hog manure...

That was it for me. I just couldn't get past the smell, but I still was intrigued. I will revisit this some day. Strictly because of the smell, this Fantome was a bit too funky for me.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2005 02:01:07 | More by frazbri

Brew33

Ohio

2.9/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3

I've been dying to try this beer. Luckily I was able to score a couple of bottle recently.

The appearance is average for the style. A glowing, light gold color. TONS of sediment in the second half of the 750 ml bottle.

The aroma was good. Fruity and fairly funky. Bretty and tart aroma. Really good.

The flavor craps all over the aroma. The funk is gone. I get a ton of spices. Just a melange of random spices that seem out of place and unnecessary. Tons of fruitiness in the flavor. Fairly dry. Tripel like fruitiness. Out of balance. It tastes like something is missing. I'm missing out on the complexity of this one. IDK if it's because of the overwhelming amount of spice or because it's just not there.

The mouthfeel and carbonation were excellent. The best part of the beer by far. Overall, I didn't love it. It's kind of a mess. Not something I'd revisit, especially at the price point.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2011 12:48:32 | More by Brew33

ypsifly

Michigan

2.88/5  rDev -34.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Undated 750 that is capped and corked.

Very loud pop when the cork was yanked. Loud hiss from the bottle, I'm letting it breathe a bit bit before decanting into a tulip.

Hazy, slightly blonde amber with a white head that boils up without going out of control only to fall to a ring in a minute or so. Still very loud.

Smells tangy and funky. Lemon zest thats been in a basement for a while. Overall very dry and tart, with that earthy dank aroma.

The taste is too tart for me. Almost like those big size Sweet Tarts, too much of a bitter jolt. I don't taste the abv, and there's a nice champagne like effect from the carbonation, but the lemon notes are over the top.

I'm going to drop another $10 and give this one more shot as I will admit this isn't a style that I get into, and this could have been a bad bottle.

Serving type: bottle

06-28-2005 04:56:33 | More by ypsifly

GooberMcNutly

Florida

2.83/5  rDev -35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

750 bottle with cork and cap. Gave a hearty pop when the cork was pulled. Poured with high carbonation but almost no head. No lace. Fruit and spice notes in the taste were subdued in the aroma. Aroma was more of the sour lambic quality, with almost no lambic taste in the beer. Odd. Palette was active, due to high carbonation, and quite complex for such a light colored beer. Slight fruity after taste of strawberries and lemongrass.

Serving type: bottle

10-06-2006 18:50:30 | More by GooberMcNutly

TexIndy

Texas

2.8/5  rDev -35.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 750ml corked with a crown cap green bottle into my NBB glass. It had a notching system on the right side of the front label but no notches - wtf? It was a hazy golden color with a bunch of yeast bits floating around. Excellent carbonation and lacing that slides down the sides after each drink. It had a large off-white fizzy head that quickly settled into a broken foam with a collar.

The aroma was excellent with great spicy overtones. It was very strong when poured but then faded as it warmed up and became very subtle. Was hoping it would stick around more. The taste was off for me. Not sure if a bad bottle since no date and in a green bottle or if it's just the flavor of this one. Fantomes do tend to have funky non-traditional flavors to em so who knows. It starts off good but then the extreme sourness hits you like a smack in the face. Has a strong vinegary, acidic taste which leaves a really nasty after-taste. Other reviews mention a fruitiness which I never got in my bottle which would have been great to offset the sour. The balance was way off. Without it, it's way too sour. I do love sour beers but they are meant to be sour and have the right setup. This one is sour but doesn't have the good base to begin with. For mouthfeel, the carb is great but again really bad after-taste.

Overall, either a bad bottle or a major disappointment. I hope bad bottle and will try again but for now have to go with this review as it could just be the normal flavor. If this is normal, then one and done for me. I love saisons but this one is not good at all.

Serving type: bottle

01-02-2009 03:03:11 | More by TexIndy

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

2.78/5  rDev -36.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Thanks to the BAer who brought this to the Nov. '12 Philly 'burbs bottle share.
I also have a bottle in the fridge with an alternate label. (Actually, I think the one we tasted had the alternate label compared to the one pictured here.)

To sum this beer up with one phrase: Oh, you Belgians and your green bottles. This probably is a good beer, I don't know, thanks to Mr. GreenGlass. Hazy golden-yellow pour with a decent foamy white head that receded leaving a bit of lacing on the glass. Aroma of grass and hay, a good hit of smoke, stale funk, and fruit skins. Tobacco was the dominant flavor in this beer, from the bottle we had anyway, grassy funk, old perfume and light spice, wheaty malts, bland aftertaste. Light-medium body, fairly dry. I sensed a good beer in there somewhere, but I couldn't tell for sure from the condition that it was in. Hopefully my bottle will yield something more palatable.

Serving type: bottle

11-06-2012 08:38:26 | More by Rifugium