Fantôme in Flowers
Brasserie Fantôme

Pours a clear, deep amber coloration with a medium, frothy head and slightly visible carbonation. Smells of doughy, slightly caramelly malt, but absolutely dominated by the botanicals added here, with some quite vibrant herbal/flowery aromas of juniper, lavender and perhaps elderberry, coriander and thyme. Taste follows the nose, with some doughy, slighty caramelly malts and quite a strong botanical presence of herbal/flowery and less pronounced spicy accents, with notes that are difficult to pinpoint, but reminiscent of juniper, lavender, clove, coriander, fennel and perhaps elderberry, jasmine, thyme, ginger or cinnamon, with the lavender standing out particularly, and just a hint of fruity esters with notes of tart green apple, apricot and gooseberry as well. Finishes with a light bitterness, not much tartness and some botanicals lingering in the aftertaste. Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and carbonation.

I'm having a hard time with this one. On the one hand, it's quite an intriguing example of the style, with a somewhat fascinating array of botanicals woven into it, but on the other hand it's just not quite for me and completely lacks that expressive yeast character and light tartness and funk that I'm used to from Fantôme. The botanicals are the clear stars of the show here and while I quite like a bit of herbal, spicy character in my beer, they kinda overshadow everything else and also have a certain flowery element to them, with the lavender/juniper really standing out here, which I'm not a huge fan of.

L: Murky amber color, three finger slightly off white head, nice lacing, no visible carbonation.

S: Flowers, herbs.

T: Carnation flower with beer. Weird all the way but my friends next to me loved it. To each his own.

F: Super smooth and silky.

O: Nothing I will ever drink again and let my happy friends finish the bottle.

 

man, nothing better than new beer from fantome, i love what they do, and it seems all to rare to have new ones come around. this is a treat, a collaboration with some gypsy operation i have never heard of before if i understand it right, and another curious and unspecified saison right at 8% abv, which seems to be the standard for fantome beers. this is done with a bunch of botanicals and spices apparently, although they never tell you which ones. i could almost guarantee there is chamomile in this, it has that herbal bitterness and almost medicinal tea element in the nose and in the center of the flavor, other things like jasmine, lemongrass, white pepper, and even sage or something come out, really clever, springy, and delicious. i didnt expect the beer to be as dark as it is, more brassy than pale, clear for the first half of the bottle, and incredibly lively on the head, and the cork pops loudly when we open the bottle. minerals, familiar fantome green bottle funky oxidation, the classic and vibrant saison yeast they use, and these herbs that tend toward bitterness at the end. peppery, herbal, fresh but mature, this is another beautiful and intriguing saison from fantome thats worth every penny! carbonation is amazing, the recipe is clever, and i like everything about it!

Poured from an undated 750 ml bottle into the test glass.
A - Clear copper backdrop, marauding carbonation piles skyward in a 3" froth.
S - White pepper, Hibiscus, Rose pedal, honey comb, as with other Fantome offerings there is a bit of astringent in the nose.
T - Complex in the spice category, cinnamon, rose, again the white pepper, malts are full and short at the same time. A bit yeasty, but quickly wiped out by the spices.
M - Medium in texture, absolutely pops on the palate, semi sweet start leads immediately to a garden of texture, end is complete and a bit abrupt. Linger is herbal and refreshing.
O - What a delight, Fantome, hit this one straight down the middle, then the spice and herbals added quite a complexity.
Worth every effort to seek out.

Bottle into matching Fantome glass appears a hazy copper with white head.

Aroma is crazy like flowers, cedar, cinnamon and all sorts of mystery.

Taste has a chai tea or sahti sorta influence with the previously mentioned cedar/cinnamon. Its also herbal.

Medium to light in body, this is just so different its hard to figure out if i even enjoy it. As I work my way through the bottle, I start to get weird feeling. Not in a sense of wow im getting drunk but more like im high or having an allergic reaction to this....proceed with caution lol