Ghost
Foam Brewers

500 mL bottle. Clear golden body. Brief white head. Smells of strong brett, a little fruity, light lemon. Tastes of lemon, then a little grassy. Lightly tart. Brett builds into the finish and makes it bitter. Light body. Well carbonated. Simple, but nice. Maybe a little too grassy, but otherwise nice.

 

 

 

Poured from a 500 ml bottle at Foam in Burlington.

Clear light orange, with a soft, dense foam.

The smell is floral, with some lemon, and a whole lot of pear. Great smell!

Taste is even better. Still some pear, mixed with lemon and grapefruit. Lots of floral notes and just a hint of tartness. Really excellent.

Mouthfeel is light and crisp, very refreshing.

Overall, one of the best saisons I've had, love the pear notes and the subtle tartness.

Straight pour from a 500ml cork-and-cage bottle. This was purchased at the Ghost release back in October, so it’s a couple of weeks short of four months old, I’d wager. It’s been hanging out in a brown bag since then, and refrigerated for a few days before drinking. Poured to an oversized wineglass (Jester King stemwaaaaaaare).

Appearance (3.75): Two full fingers of fluffy, extremely fine-grained white foam rise off of the pour, capping a slightly hazy, 24-ct. golden body. The head dies down at an average pace, leaving surprisingly no lacing to speak of, fading to a thin film on the surface of the beer. As the beer goes on, it leaves just a few broken, leggy splotches of thin, filmy lace.

Smell (4.25): The aroma is all brett, musty and slightly farmy, with wet, fresh-cut grass, dry straw, a light amount of yellow grapefruit rind and lemon zest, slightly medicinal phenols, and a subtle spice. The malt comes through as extremely dry and grainy, with common crackers, crusty white pain de campagne, and a touch of lightly toasted sourdough—fairly pale, very rustic, and dry. As the beer warms, however, the musty, slightly dusty character comes out more and more. Overall this smells great, clean, dry, and brett-forward.

Taste (4.5): Whoa, this beer goes through a series of transformations on the palate, and I dig it. It starts with dry, grainy, bready malt accompanied by a slightly citrusy tartness, followed by a very juicy (but tart and dry) fruit character, like yellow grapefruit soda without any additional sugar. There’s a definitely medicinal (like aspirin) phenolic character that starts on the mid-palate and grows toward the finish, but it remains moderate, at most, allowing it to blend in a bit rather than be distracting (unless you’re very sensitive to that type of phenolic flavor). In the finish, it kicks up a quietly pretty juicy, fruit-forward splash of kumquat, red grapes, a touch of red grapefruit, and limeade. Man oh man, that fruity finish (which crops up more and more as it warms) really hits the nail on the head for me. Long story short, it’s extremely funky and brett-forward, in the vein of slightly tart, musty, musky, bucolic farmhouse ales.

Mouthfeel (4.5): Not surprisingly, the body is light, lean, and quite dry—and quenching. The carbonation comes in with a very fine grain, quietly spreading out across all surfaces before giving a champagne-like, prickly tingle, before foaming up voluminously. It finishes bone-dry with a fruity flourish, asking for the next sip. The only thing that slows you down is the fine, rich carbonation.

Overall (4.25): Without a doubt, the yeast strain here really makes the beer, and it has the feel of an extremely authentic Belgian farmhouse ale. That said, Foam clearly created a beer well-suited to this type of yeast strain and fermentation, and then handled that the fermentation process and bottle conditioning expertly. In the end, this is a straightforward brett saison in that it’s dry, yeast-forward, well-attenuated, and pretty clean; at the same time, it’s funky, musky, and complex, with layers and waves of flavors and aromas that unfold throughout the course of the drink, thanks to that beautifully executed brett fermentation. This is excellent. Not sure if they’ll release it again, but it’d be really cool if they did so in different variants, particularly with some fruit and/or spices. White Sage Ghost? Yes please. Meyer Lemon and Lavender Ghost? Yes please. But this is still excellent as it is. Highly recommended.

 

 

 

 

 

L: Pour bright orange yellow and clear. Thick white head.
S: Best part. Nice floral notes with a lemon citrus and some grape character.
T: Light tart quality with a bit of citrus, slight bitterness, and a light bretty funk.
F: Quite dry with relatively high carbonation. Crisp and pleasant.
O: Refreshing and delicate while still offering a lot of complexity.

Bottle from the recent release. Pours almost completely clear with a bit of yeast dregs left at the bottom of the bottle. Light orange peach color with a solid white head. Floral tropical brett nose with a bit of grape must. Definitely a bit of lemon citrus as well. Flavor follows the nose with pineapple, lemon, light bready malt, and an additional crisp tart bitterness. Very dry and delightful. Moderate to high carbonation. Refreshing..

Bottle picked up at the brewery a few weeks ago.

Pours a somewhat hazy bright orange color with a finger of white head and moderate carbonation evident. Light brett, floral hops, crisp apples, spices, Belgian yeast, perfume, and earthy notes. Light body and moderate to high carbonation.
Overall a nice, light brett saison.

 

 

 

 

On tap at the brewery, perfect balance - one of the better sours I've had.

On draft at the brewery as a sneak peek before the bottle release... Served in a nice tulip style glass.

A: Bright, clear, straw yellow with a thick pillowy head that leaves nice lacing on the glass
S: Pineapple, grape, and lemon on the nose. Very appealing
T: The taste is similar to the nose with a nice balance of bitterness and tartness.
M: Lively carbonation, finishes very dry and refreshing
O: Fantastic beer! Really looking forward to the bottle release at the end of the month