Light Spiritus Spring Project
Brasserie Fantôme

Poured into a Gulden Draak tulip. Pours a light to medium golden amber with a three finger white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, hay, grapefruit and lightly floral hops. Flavor with grainy malt, brett yeast, grapefruit, lemon, wild flower field hay, and light mixed fruit. Long lingering bretty finish. Medium bodied with sharp carbonation. A fairly mainstream saison from Fantôme with little or no medicinal spicing. A classic tasting saison malt body with a open field hay character and good citrus and rind. Fine carbonation that is aggressive but not overpowering. The lingering finish is a bit astringent from the brett style yeast, but appropriate for the style. Most reviews of this so far are from late summer to fall, which seems late for a Spring project, but like most saisons, this appears to have held up nicely. Not as odd and unfathomable as some of Fantôme's offerings, but a fine, flavorful saison.

750 ml bomber bottle poured into a tall tulip
(Lot 19 02 22, best before the end of 2026)

L: classic Belgian with a huge fluffy white head of foam over 2 inches tall atop a mostly clear, gold liquid; it has a slight haziness making it about 70-80% clear; the head doesn't stick, and there's virtually no lacing; in fact, there's not a ton of activity in the glass ... it keeps a loose-bubbled collar and a slight piece of skin, but after the pour, the show's mostly over

S: lemon, lemon rind and some mild funkiness dominate, the funky notes being mostly hay/sweet wet hay; grapefruit, pineapple, cantaloupe; there's definite sweetness, maybe even a generic candy sweetness from some residual brewer's sugar still in there; I could see "horse blanket" thrown in there among the funky aroma notes; maybe some hints of floral notes though hard for me to call anything specific; overall a very classic saison/wild ale nose with nothing crazy in any direction

T: much earthier and more bitter than the aroma, almost dirt bitter with lemon peel, grapefruit peel and some generic funkiness ... clove, almost but not quite aniseed, lingering rosemary in the finish; as it warms in the glass, some malt sweetness shows up, not much but enough to keep it drinkable after a very dirty bitter opening; there might be some dirty old hop flavor floating around in there, fairly funky and bitter but also tasty if you're into the wild ale thing

F: surprisingly thin and flat compared to what I was expecting after the very active pour; I probably poured this one a bit too hard to start off with (I like to let the Belgians show off), but I've got another 2 glasses worth still in the bomber, and I'll pour the rest of it a bit more softly to see if a bit more carbonation in the glass can help out the mouthfeel ... not terrible but I had much higher expectations

O: very solid saison all around but nothing spectacular; I was expecting a belter from Fantome, but it's possible this is one of their weaker offerings; bottom line — it's enjoyable and adheres to the style nicely, and while I won't buy this particular beer again, I will seek out more from Fantome based on how solidly this beer has been put together

Lot 19 02 22 bottle. Even with a settled bottle got somewhat of a cloudy pour. Golden orange color.

Floral and bitter. Orange bitters. Citrus. Hay and barnyard. Pretty typical tome/saison notes. Decent, but a bit too medicinal/bitter in the finish. Otherwise, pretty drinkable.

 

Pours a clear golden color stay stream of bubbles escaping to a big fluffy white head that leaves beautiful leave down my glass. Beautiful damn porch beer on this fine spring day.

Aroma is light floral sweetness, smell of wild flowers in a field. Grainy with hay hints, light spice hints. Doesn't have the usual funk or wet horse blanket, more light crisp loaded with flowers. Wonderful spring brew.

Taste is grainy malts, hints of lemon grass and hay. Loads of floral notes, good spice notes all over with a little herbal hop bite in the finish. Crisp clean easy drinking brew going down easy.

Mouthfeel is light crisp way drinking perfect for the style.

Overall very nice brew or I am just in the mood for it today. Will be picking up more of I see it again.

Elderflower saison, tastes like. Mild floral sweetness, lingering hop bitterness, with a bready malt middle. Straightforward, yet complex and rustic. Guess this doesn’t count as a review yet, how about now? Succinct will always be more useful than the verbose.

On draft at ChurchKey in DC. Pours a bright orange with a full finger of head and good retained lacing. Ruby grapefruit and tangelo dominate some straw and floral undertones. Very light chalkiness on the mouthfeel.

 

 

Purchased a bottle of this beer at my favorite beer shop in Dallas.

Poured into a tulip glass. Beautiful hazy honey yellow color with fluffy white head and excellent curtain lacing. Really a beautiful beer. The floral, spicy smell is intense and hits your nose as soon as the cork is popped. The taste is floral, herbal, and spicy with peppercorns, sage and honey. There is a nice hoppy bitterness as well. The beer is crisp and refreshing. Excellent beer for grilling!

Saying good by to the ghost of winter's past and hello to the warmer days to come, Fantome brewery has the welcoming committee in ale form.

Pale straw and held in a foggy yeast haze, Light Spiritus billows to the brim with a soapy eggshell cap. With a highly floral and fresh scent rolling from the glass, the nose quickly fills with dried fruit, bold spice, vinous notes and an aura of weathered, musty woods. Gentle sweetness meets the palate with dry wafer, honeysuckle and fresh bread dough maltiness in a crisp yet rustic taste.

Ample carbonation bounces the malts from the middle palate and illuminates the taste of yeast spices that play out with peppercorn, oak, vinous spices, white pepper and coriander with a quick follow up of pear, lemon, apple, grape and orange- all seemingly in their dehydrated form. Trending sharply bitter, the late palate shows a firm hop bite with grapefruit peel, grasses and hay with a return burlap musk in retro-olfactory action.

Light, crisp and refreshing overall, the beer shows a masterful blend of rustic ale making and refinement in balance and technique. Finishing bubbly, dry and nearly champagne-like, a medium long aftertaste shows an extension of yeast spice and bitterness that play on long after the fruit and sweetness have subsided.