Fantôme-Grimm
Brasserie Fantôme

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From:
Brasserie Fantôme
 
Belgium
Style:
Saison
ABV:
8%
Score:
88
Avg:
3.95 | pDev: 8.35%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
33
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jul 30, 2020
Added:
Mar 05, 2016
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  9
Collaboration with Grimm Artisanal Ales

Kindred spirits from afar create an ode to friendship through fermentation. In a bubbling Wallonian cauldron the known leads back to the unknown. Don't ask what makes it so tasty...the Fantôme never gives up all of his secrets.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by craftaholic:
Photo of craftaholic
Rated by craftaholic from New York

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Super zesty! Peach and melon. With a lemon finish
May 05, 2018
More User Ratings:
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

4.85/5  rDev +22.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Bottle. White head. No lace. Color is a golden orange. Depending on the pour it’ll be cloudy or clear.

Notes of tart red apple skins, orange marmalade, faint herbal notes, cereal grains, and a well rounded saison spice blend. Overall, the light tartness makes this a summer crusher out in the sun and a new favorite of mine.

As it warms up, I pick up some honey/strawberry flavors. So incredible!

Very unique and truly flavorful. This is a master-crafted saison.
Jul 30, 2020
 
Rated: 3.98 by Vivs85 from New York

Jun 16, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by vfgccp from New York

Nov 18, 2017
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

4.01/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
BOTTLE: Green glass. Unbranded pry-off crown cap covers an internally-housed cork. Appealing black & white label art depicting the iconic Fantome ghost. 1 pint 9.4 fl oz format. 2016 vintage. Imported by the Shelton Bastards. Acquired at Davidson's Liquor in Highlands Ranch, CO in December 2016.

8% ABV. "Belgian beer." (Reputable beer articles and press releases have called it a "pale beer" and an ale;" only the Shelton Bastards seem to identify it as a saison).

APPEARANCE: Body colour is pale, hitting a vibrant gold with copper and orange hues. Head is soft and frothy, sitting at ~5-6cm in my teku. Not very creamy and it could be more robust, but it's of nice retention, coming in at ~6 minutes. Leaves inconsistent lacing on the glass' sides as it recedes.

Appears filtered, lacking the haziness usually observed in Fantome's beers. Clean, lacking any visible yeast(s)/lees.

Appears well-carbonated. It's a nice looking Belgian ale, no doubt about it.

AROMA: Intricate doughy yeast, crisp red apple/apple skin, soft orchard pear, bright vivid floral/flowery notes (indicating both subtle floral hops and actual flowers), vitaminy lively yeasty earthiness, cedar, hay, Belgian pale malt, almost a milky character, clove, and a blip of barnyard-like straw.

Lively and yeast-emphatic, bending towards an almost bready yeast/cane sugar-redolent cidery vibe...but not quite crossing the line.

Attenuation seems a bit low for a Fantome beer, and this aroma doesn't suggest a dry beer.

Aromatic intensity is above average. Never betrays its high ABV or indicates any off-notes (unless you're really picky about green apple).

TASTE & TEXTURE: Rustic, with cedar flavours, red apple, and yeasty spice lending ample subtlety and nuance. Prickly bright pale malts give this its soft malt backbone, letting the yeasty intricacy shine: white pepper, clove, vitaminy earthiness, doughiness. Delicate flowery flavours harmonize neatly with fragile floral hop flavours and wisps of vivid but subtle fruit: red apple skin, orchard pear/prickly pear, maybe apricot.

Smooth, wet, delicate, and perfectly carbonated, showcasing the beauty of bottle conditioning. Light and refreshing in spite of its (undetectable) high ABV. Crisp but not overcarbonated. Soft and approachable. Overall presence on the palate is excellent, with its dialed-in crisp feel accentuating the crunchy apple skin flavour and its softness harmonizing impressively well with the delicate fruit.

Its yeast presence keeps it feeling alive.

A gestalt harmonious whole of a beer with each constituent note feeling at home in the flavour profile. Its balance is impeccable, its build complex yet subtle. Flavour duration is above average; flavour intensity is low (emphasizing its delicate fragile flavours).

OVERALL: Another excellent beer from one of the finest Belgian breweries currently operating (and possibly the most reputed NYC-distributed brewery in existence), this nameless collaboration is a delicious must-try for the discerning drinker regardless of which style one regards it as (or, rather, imposes upon it). A farmhouse ale? A Belgian pale ale? Who cares...it's remarkable work from extremely talented brewers. I'll have no trouble polishing off the whole 750 myself, and at 8% ABV this is dangerously drinkable.

Less a terrific ale than it is a celebration of yeast, balance, and subtlety. The kind of beer that reminds you why Belgium has been and and will remain the home of the best beers on the planet. Where do I buy more?

Low A- (4.01) / EXCELLENT
Jun 07, 2017
 
Rated: 4.41 by KensWorld from Florida

Apr 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.31 by edthehead from Maryland

Mar 15, 2017
 
Rated: 3.75 by WeisGuy from New York

Dec 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Lucoli from New York

Dec 14, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by rodmanfor3 from Vermont

Oct 09, 2016
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.09/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
another crazy beer from these fantome guys, man, its all so odd and weird, this time in collaboration with grimm, but very much more a fantome offering than a grimm one, its that tangy oxidized funky yeasty strange quality so many of the fantome beers have, thats really the main flavor here. tons of cloudy viscosity to this thing and a really prominent white soapy head that looks like it could support the weight of a brick and never relaxing at all. nose is sort of cidery, lemony, apples and citrus, funky tang, green bottle skunk, something wild but not a familiar brett strain or anything, and interesting sweet fruit notes, pineapple maybe. so strange, but all of that carries over tot he flavor too, definitely a yeast driven beer, but heavy apple again, white wine tannic sort of thing, buttery chardonnay, lots of wheat and maybe even some oats or other high starch grain at the base, this is borderline gelatinous in texture, super thick and not that smooth, almost chunky even though it isnt, but also really well carbonated, frozen in time kind of deal, super weird. i never know what to expect from fantome, and maybe i expected a more refined beer here with grimm involved, but i always buy their beer to be surprised and challenged, and this certainly does that. a little sour, but so much more. not sure its worth 19 bucks a bottle, but i had fun with this one!
Oct 05, 2016
 
Rated: 4.09 by Allurex from Kansas

Sep 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.08 by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

Sep 12, 2016
 
Rated: 4.06 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Aug 27, 2016
Photo of GRG1313
Reviewed by GRG1313 from California

3.25/5  rDev -17.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
I'm a huge fan of Dany's and I usually also like most of Grimm's offerings. This cloudy stale mowed grass smelling brew was just too vegetable for me in every respect. Smelled and tasted like old rotted lawn and garden greens. First Fantome about which I was ever this critical. I love most - this is not one of them.
Aug 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.58 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

Aug 08, 2016
 
Rated: 3.63 by Jhfinn from New York

Jul 31, 2016
 
Rated: 3.69 by acurtis from New Jersey

Jul 31, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by DrinkSlurm from New York

Jul 29, 2016
Photo of ClavisAurea
Reviewed by ClavisAurea from New York

4.25/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Strong cider apple character. Good amount of Belgian funk but thats to be expected with Fantome and Grimm at the helm. It was a very good and classic Belgian Saison. I did get a little pineapple and tropical character in the nose and a bit in the taste. I don't know if thats the Grimm addition to the collaboration but it was a nice bit of added complexity. Overall it was a very nice beer however I don't think it was worth the price at about $20 a 750ml bottle.
Jul 28, 2016
Fantôme-Grimm from Brasserie Fantôme
Beer rating: 88 out of 100 with 33 ratings