Fantôme Ghost in the Kettle
Brasserie Fantôme

 

Lot 9c18. Bb 2022.

Large white head. Dark yellow gold color.

This is a delightful saison. Very soft. Lots of spice, earthy hops, wheat, yeast, and zest. Well balanced. Classic saison all around. Nothing fancy which is like. Red apples, light citrus, farmhousey.

Fantome gold.

Good but not great Belgian Saison. Served from a 750 ml bottle both corked and capped. Pours a slightly hazy orange/copper color with a big, delicate, bubbly white head. First pour yielded a head about 20% of the glass. Second pour was a hard one and resulted in 80% foam. I kept this beer too long and chose to serve it to accompany spicy nachos but it still was a very good beer. Aroma and taste were representative of good Saisons. It featured moderately funkly yeast and light fruit (apples) and citrus (lemon). I like even stronger barnyard/horseblanket "funk", but this beer measured up fairly well. Very tasty and goes down easy. Mouthfeel was nicely carbonated with a decent amount of funk. I would gladly drink this beer again.

Thanks to JLindros for sharing this bottle.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice crystal clear honey hue with a two finger white head that fades to leave rocky lacing and a large, dense blanket.

S - Aromas of pleasant barnyard funk, flashes of apples and citrus zest, light lemon. As it warms it becoems almost astringent as well.

T - Taste is decent enough, nice funk with a little bit of lemons. Unpleasant esters and oxidation. Throughout the beer there was a pleasant funk but the finish really gets in the way of the rest of the beer.

M - Mouthfeel is overly carbonated, aggressive, gets in the way of the beer. Plus there is a bit of alocohol as well.

O - Overall this was a rather underwhelming Fantome beer. There were pelasant saison notes, however, the oxidation and astringency really got in the way of the positive notes. Very unfortunate.

Serving Type: Bottle

Shared with rudzud
Pours a huge foamy fluffy pillowy head with great retention, sticks for ever, light foamy lacing, mostly clear honey orange color

NOse brings nice fruits, white raisin and candied apricot like, fair acidity and bacteria funk, light vinous wine and oak, a bit of stone fruit as well

Taste brings some oxidation papery cardboard like, more aged dried fruits like apricot, grape, raisin, pear even, some alcohol heat somehow, mixed with bright acidity, tingle, little bitterness, some white wine, earthy fig and holiday spices in the background, stick y sweet and acidic finish, a bit more alcohol

Mouth is med bod but tons of way too much carbonation that disctracts, a little astringency as well

Overall this wasn't terrible but not a great Fantome, some definite issues with this one, although it has some potential enjoyable qualities, but they def don't outweigh the bad parts

L: Poured from a bottle to a snifter glass. Had an amber / brown color and a cloudy consistency. There was a massive, fluffy / creamy extremely long-lasting head. Excellent lacing.

S: A very good aroma of funky Belgian yeast, spices, malt, light fruits, and some citrus.

T: Tasted of a bit of malt (mostly in the finish), a good amount of light fruit (apples, in particular), a lot of the funky Belgian yeast (a prominent ingredient), a little citrus (orange, specifically), and some spice (pepper). This is a lively and easy to like flavor. Not groundbreaking as saison flavors go, but still likable.

F: A well-carbonated beer with a sharp finish. Medium-bodied.

O: A well made, vibrant saison. Worth a try.

such an awesome beer, stoked to have found this in idaho, where i am like a kid on christmas every time i see a heady bottle, they just dont exist around all that much, so this was a treat! fantome has long been one of my favorites, and this is another example of why, their saisons are just so special. this is a collaborative effort with a couple of others. they never tell us whats in their beer, which makes it kind of tricky to pin down, this one is real unique, a little darker than some others, clearish amber in color until the sediment comes up at the bottom of the bottle. huge head, almost nitro looking its so frothy, and the retention is amazing, never settles even a little bit. i smells an intense herbal rush right from the start, almost a wintergreen thing, with a sort of tree bark earthiness, a toasted element to the malt, and the familiar fantome funky saison yeast, with just a little bit of tang to it this time. hints of red apple and white grape too, a light peppery vibe, very complex, but its the herbal thing right up front that intrigues me most. its there in the flavor too, right at first and then again on the swallow, almost a wormwood absinthe kind of vibe to it, peppermint, fallen leaves, and even sage, really interesting and different, but subtle enough to still be drinkable and even refreshing, quite autumnal to me, i wish i knew what the extra ingredients were in here, never had anything quite like this. the fantome yeast still defines this, as it does all of their beers, and there is a little green glass oxidation to it as well, but like it often does, it works here. fantastic carbonation, dry in the finish for how malty it is, and really a wonderful drink. i love fantome so much, this was special.

 

 

Poured in a pint glass, I initially had 1/5 liquid and 4/5s of head...5 minutes later when it was getting closer to 50/50, there was a rich honey colored brew with a white head with a tinge of that same honey color....lots of lacing.

Aroma was light and slightly yeasty with a touch of hoppiness. Not very revealing.

Taste was not as good as I was hoping for. It was malty and had a hint of spice though I couldn't put a name to it. A hint of bitterness was there as well but malt dominated the pallet. I had expected something more bold.

Feel was light but not what I would call crisp. It didn't linger.

Overall I would not seek this one out. Again. I know the brewery is highly regarded, but perhaps a four way collaboration was too much.

On draft at Doc Ponds.
3/4 inch white head over a deep amber/copper body with some sticky lacing. Nose of slight citrus (grapefruit, orange), subtle funk, and a bit of spice (pepper.) Taste mirrors nose with a real flavorful spice. Nice feel and overall, I'll be stopping by for another pour tomorrow. Cheers!

Bottle into Fantome glass appears light orange copper in color with big meringue of white head that holds well fading slowly leaving suds of lace all over the glass.

Aroma is malty with floral appeal and clean classic saison phenolics of clove and pepper with some herbs and grass.

Taste is peculiar in that it seems familiar but I cant put my finger on it. Its kinda like over-steeped tea yet not malty at all like the nose lead on. Somewhat bitter but not excessively so. Alcohol creeps in across the back with more of an herbal feel.

This is medium to light in body with perfect lively carbonation. Will revisit this in a few years.

This hazy orange beer smells citrusy, almost like spicy oranges. The citrus taste is prominent and backed by a mellow Brett; this is certainly one of my favorite Brett beers (typically not my favorite). There is also a strange spiciness to it that the beer store employee put best: it has spices that can't be placed exactly but provide a pleasant peppery taste. The mouthfeel has a good amount of dryness, leaving little on the tongue.