Red Spiritus Autumn’ Project
Brasserie Fantôme

750 ml corked bottle, Lot 03 b 21, best before end 2025 printed on the label. Served in a Teku, the beer pours a slightly hazy dark orange/amber color with about an inch and a half off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both pretty good. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like cloves, funk, apple, bready/grainy malt, banana and some earthiness. I think the taste is similar to the aroma for the most part, but there's also some peppery spice and pear flavors noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is medium, it's a bit slick and has a good amount of soft carbonation. Easy enough to drink. I thought this was a good overall brew, definitely worth picking up if you like saisons or if you like Fantôme brews in general.

Bottled 2021, best before 2025 - enjoyed on 10/1/2022. Poured from a capped-and-corked 750mL bottle into my Troubadour tulip.

Auburn body, dark, with a massive and fairly active bone/beige cap. Fast running lacing; good retention.

Spicy, fruity, lightly funky nose - huckleberry, red grapes, apple/pear skins, loam, peppercorn, cloves, difficult to parse and more than the sum of its parts. Plenty of yeast character for even more balance and complexity.

Prickly acidity on the palate, mineral laden, peppery, with sorrel and wild tea like bitterness. Hints of citrus pith, rocks, leaves, and bones in the lengthy dry finish. Very fruit forward, spicy, and complex. "Wild" notes are present but restrained and complimentary. Excellent balance.

Medium-light bodied, a touch "fizzy" and slick. Warming but not hot.

No idea what's going on in this recipe but it is a wonderful way to evoke the season - expertly crafted yet experimental.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a medium to dark reddish orange with a healthy two finger white head with great retention and solid lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, saison yeast, Fantome earthy and summer spices and a little funk. Flavor is grainy malt, saison yeast, brett-like funk, hay, summer spices leaning to sage. Dry, funky rustic finish with a little astringency. Medium bodied with light to medium creaminess and sharp carbonation. A lovely color depth and nice looking in the glass, this is closer to a traditional funky saison than most from this brewery. The balance has less malt support and more wild yeast presence, making the finish a bit astringent. The spicing and dry grass character is reminiscent of late summer and early fall, so befitting the name. A solid, if somewhat simple saison.