Fantôme Brise-BonBons
Brasserie Fantôme

 

Pours a nice mostly clear golden/orange color with thumb sized off white head that leaves some spotty lace.

Aroma is bready malts good fruity esters green apple, apricot good spice notes and aa light funk to it.

Taste is bready malts fruit notes that move towards tart as it lingers on your tongue. Oak notes with lingering tart fruits with some barn yard funk and light spice all linger in the finish. Complex and all the talk of being too bitter is weird seems fine to me.

Mouthfeel is lighter medium with lightly fizzy feel to the carbonation which suites the style well.

Overall a nice Saison what you would expect from Fantome.

Another great beer

 

Pours a very slightly cloudy golden amber coloration with a huge, fluffy head and slightly visible carbonation. Smells lovely of doughy, biscuity malt and quite vibrant, fruity yeast esters of apricot and green apple, as well as mild spice, bubble gum and some floral, herbal hops. Taste is a great balance of sweet'ish doughy, biscuity malt, quite strong fruity and spicy yeast esters of apricot, green apple, bubble gum, clove and cardamon, lighter floral, herbal hops and just a hint of funk coming through as well. Finishes with quite a dry, leathery bitterness and some fruity/spicy yeast esters lingering in the aftertaste. Effervescent mouthfeel with a rich body and strong carbonation.

While I'm not sure if this really is "too bitter for normal people to enjoy", as stated on the label, there is quite a profound, dry and leathery bitterness to this that is somewhat atypical of a Saison but does not become an end in itself, with the fruity and quite spicy yeast esters remaining in the limelight, backed up by some quite floral, herbal hops. The relatively high ABV is also evident, contributing to that certain bubble gum character. Highly carbonated, with quite an effervescent, fluffy mouthfeel. A somewhat unusual Saison that is still quite enjoyable for what it is, although I'm not a huge fan of the super-dry bitterness and high-ABV here. Maybe it is too bitter for normal people to enjoy after all.

750ml cork and capped bottle. Stemmed glass. Slightly golden yellow body, one finger white head. Big brett, leather, very dry wood. Just super dry on the palate, a bit of ester, slight wheat. Very dry on the palate, lighter bodied, bitter leather. This has way more brett than expected, very dry and leathery. Not my favorite cup of tea.

Pours a foggy copper with two fingers of white foam that sits nearly indefinitely. Aroma is really plush and grainy notes of dark fruits, stone, basement, oak, clove and heavy bread yeast. There is a twinge of green grape that adds just a touch of sourness. Flavor profile is stone, dark fruits, clove, nutmeg, white grapes, and oak with a little earthy, bready malt behind. It opens up lightly sweet, but closes out bitter. Mouth feel is medium-thick with a touch of velvety pulp at the front that smooths out on the palate. Overall, yeast is a prevalent, dominate feature with bready, earthy malts and stone to round it out.

Served in a 15.5oz Speigalau tulip from a 750mL bottle.

 

Drank with friends in my basement in the 23rd of February of 2019.

Poured into a wine glass.

A: Body is yellow and quite opaque. Head is very straightforward with a big but not with much retention white head. 5mm to a 2mm head.
S: Aroma is very herbal, floral and slightly hoppy.
T: Taste starts off with a herby and sweet tone, then moving on to a more hoppy touch that's very crisp and delicious. This beer has been aged 2 years and tastes great.
M: Body is medium. Carbonation is perfect. Alcohol is unnoticed. Bitterness is medium.
O: This is one of my favourite Fantome beers.

 

 

 

Poured from tap into pint.
L: turbid amber with a medium white foam head.
S: oversaturated flowers. Light berries.
T: unusual taste. Mead and flowers.
F: medium body and carbonation.
O: unusual taste. Worth a try.

 

 

This is my 101st saison rated on BA, but only my 3rd from this brewery that specializes in the style.
Clearly, I've been missing something. And in the case of Brise-BonsBons, I'm missing something good.

With a fluffy head on a blonde body, BonBons is hard to argue with. (Amazingly, the same was true on the second night... of this bottle.) Smells are classic saison with an accomplished yeast at work, but not much more... or less. Tastes are an adventure with a solid malt base complexed by a saison yeast that really knows what its job is. On top of that sweetness comes some indescribable spicing: interesting herbs and probably too many hops for northern European kitchens. It turns out, the herbs complement the garlicky food; and the hops clean the plate for more food... but then they stick around and act like they are the show. On the second night, I had BonBons with a spicier red pasta sauce and the hops were tamed.

I will have BonBons again, but with spicy food.

 

 

Pours a lightly hazed medium orange with billowing, dense head of white foam; settles slowly to a half-inch cap, sheeting down the glass. Smell: graham cracker, pear and a little red apple, notes of orange peel and papaya, spicy and peppery, with a whiff of oxidized caramel malt. Taste: lightly boozed apricot jam, orange marmalade pop, juicy pear, not quite ripe cantaloupe, and notes of: allspice, black pepper, aged/subdued spicy hops, some clean bittering hops (plenty, but not excessive as the label suggests), orange juice, and - of all things - in the finish, salted boiled peanuts. Medium bodied, very creamy, lowish carbonation, finishing sticky and a touch drying. This is more straightforward (think no/minimal funk... really just a little cheesy pop at the end of the sip) and yet more nuanced than many of Dany's tomes... is it a faded "Belgian IPA", a baller hoppy Biere de Garde (my vote), or just another great beer from Soy? Doesn't matter, it's a win.

First of its kind on a 'tome, this has some kind of batch labeling: "lot bj 2 14 best by end of 2018"