Fantome Extra Sour Collection - Extra Cherry
Brasserie Fantôme

never really had a sour beer from these guys, and even after this one still kind of havent despite the name. maybe they had some beer go a little bacterial and just leaned into it, but i didnt find this acidic at all, hardly even tart, i dont mind that, but that element is definitely oversold on the label. pinkish hued brew, brassy and clear through most of the bottle before i rouse the sediment, fizzy and rising white head, nice bottle conditioning, less color from cherry than expected but it takes a little color from the fruit. the nose is strikingly green glassed out, i mean pure skunk, light struck, oxidation, sulfur, unappealing even though i often like it in the beer in lesser quantity, here it dominates and this smells super stale. fortunately it seems to dissipate pretty fast, and then some lightly tangy red fruit, nutty perhaps longer boiled malt character, and some more familiar fantome saison yeast come out, not acidic to me, not even that funky, and pretty mellow on the cherry. the yeast is first in the taste, light lime and grass to it this time, vinous with the cherry right there behind it but this is not heavily fruited at all. just a little tangy prickle helps dry the back end after this running kind of pale malty most of the way, faint metallic minerality, more sulfur and green glass degradation, old cork, wet paper, and to me peppercorn on the swallow. cool beer because its fantome, it might not be around forever, and we have to take each one of their beers that still exist as a rare treat, but this is leagues away from their best work, and even if it was fresher, im not sure id be in love with it. a novelty to me in a way, did not quite live up to my extremely high expectations, even though i didnt mind it not being sour at all. a weird one from one of the weirdest...

On tap from The Beer Temple (who seems to be a preferred outlet for this obscure, spirited micro.)
Belgians beget cherries. The talent seems to be bred, part of this tradition's DNA.
And when cherries get mushed into a Belgian brew, they seem to have an innate advantage over, say, American crafters.

While Fantome's Cherry starts with modest Looks, the menagerie of fruity notes emerge immediately. I find it nicely tart in the Taste, the finish is a salivating semi-dry. (I detect no Sour as advertised.) Extra Cherry has an active foam from a master saison maker, known for imparting funk in unusual, if not weird, ways.

For almost 35 years, Fantome has remained a mystery crafter with a cult following. (I am not among them, despite this being my 12th brew and considering myself a Euro-Saison Head.) I often don't know what to make of Fantome. Part of this is because their website is way too weird and basic and I can't find an English button and because I've got lazy French. Master reviewers have reviewed Fantome, particularly Michael Jackson's "Great Beers of Belgium" (page 223-225.) So read the Grand Master's review because Fantome eludes me.

Add it all up and I cautiously give them Very Good Overall Hugs... but they may deserve more.

Poured from 750mL corked & capped green bottle into my BeerAdvocate teku. Best before end of 2025.

Appearance: medium golden-amber hue with a moderate haze and a thick finger of frothy ivory foam atop. Quite nice.

Smell: quite malty with a funk which is rich in character but light in intensity. Mixed with that is an earthy fruity aroma that I might not immediately identify as cherry. I like it, though.

Taste: nice and lightly funky with a dose of sweetness that plays well with the earthy funk. It's definitely not "extra sour" as the label says, however. The cherry is light in character but, again, complements the earthy funk. I think as a cherry saison, it is funky and understated -- but it's absolutely not "extra sour".

Mouthfeel: medium body with a moderate carbonation and a decent creaminess.

Overall: I like this beer well enough. It's misleadingly marketed -- I'm not sure how to capture that in a rating. But it is definitely and interestingly funky quaff that I am enjoying despite its weirdness.

The love affair that Belgian brewers and the cherry fruit now extends into the sour ale collection of Fantome. Generous amounts of cherries nudge the beer into the direction of lambic ale, but not too far.

Rusty mauve and slightly burnish in its hazy sheen, Extra Cherry delivers a strong cherry presence across the nose with the intensity of candy with pepper, light must and a hint of vinous wines. Sweeter though as the flavors get started, the beer kicks off with a hard candy, taffy and sourdough sweetness.

The radiance of fruit blends with the sweetness of grain for a malt and candy influence that extends much longer on the middle palate than what's expected from most of the Fantome portfolio. Nearly soda-sweet, the beer's vinous alcohols allow for slight dryness that also highlights the beer's yeast spices, peppery funk and oaken flavors for a late palate that's somewhat like throat lozenges and hay.

Medium bodied and trending malty-dry, Extra Cherry certainly celebrates the best of cherry flavor but the beer isn't sour enough to appease sour ale lovers, nor does it dry in the way that classic saisons do. As a fruit beer, the earthen must and peppery yeast bite are somewhat of a distraction as the finish of chloraseptic and vinyl.

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a hazy reddish orange with a fine, two finger white head with great retention and thick lacing; looks much like I'd expect unfiltered cherry juice and a saison mixed together would look. Aroma of grainy malt, cherry juice and light summer and medicinal herbs. Flavor is grainy malt, saison yeast, cherry juice, sage, obscure earthy herbs and light grassy hops; light, quinine-like astringency in the finish that lingers for quite a while. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and sharp carbonation. I passed up this one from the latest drop of Fantome in my area because I'm not a fan of tart beers and this is literally labelled as from an Extra Sour Series. However as I browsed reviews, the sour beer drinkers seemed to be very dissapointed in it as not all that sour, so I pulled the trigger. Glad I did. There was a faint tartness in the aroma, but the flavor is no more sour than most of the grainy saisons I favor. There is a slight sourness to the cherry, but that is expected. Although cherry forward, the main flavors here are the typical, hard-to-parse medicinal and summer herbs Fantome likes to use. The finish has a more robust quinine bitterness than most, but quite in line with this brewery's style. The mouth feal was creamier than I'd expect from a saison, which are usually more sharply carbonated with less malt body to the taste. The cherry is very authentic and forward in the aroma, but more subdued in the flavor; much less intense than most cherry fruit beers. I ended up really liking this one, the cherry character is unique among saisons I've had and definitely pleasant and interesting. I'd get this again. Not for the extra sour fans out there, though.

Lot 2 N 21. Bb end 2025. Bottle.

White head with some lace. Dark peach golden color.

There are hardly any cherries present. It is rather medicinal. Bitter. Earthy, grassy, herbal. Some orange peel.

Very tough to drink. I was excited for this one, but it was a big miss. So much bitterness. A waste of $17. Hard to get through a single glass of this. My journey on the tome train is coming to an end I think.

Edit: the cherries show as it warms, but it taste like cough syrup