Fantôme Blanche De Hotton
Brasserie Fantôme

Thank you Dunt for sourcing this gem to share at our tasting. Fantastic cartoon illustration on the label with the comic book character Poje featured chasing after the fantome who is holding a full tulip of beer. The brew appears a hazy yellow color with a white cap.

Nose opens up with a cross between coriander and lemony lactic greek yogurt. Resting beneath the lemony brightness is a sweet fresh grain essence and something reminescent of tea.

This is a spritzy brew, it tastes sweet with cereal grains yet lemony lactic and yogurt-like with layers of lemony notes mingled somewhere between coriander and lemon grass.

This is a light bodied brew with modest carbonation. A very clean and crushable offering that is similar to my other experiences of Blanche bottlings but this one does not display as bright of an adjunct addition to it. The way each and every Fantome Blanche offering displays slight residual sweetness of fresh grain contrasted by a bright lemony/grapefruit addition is brilliant and unsurpassed by any take on the witbier style (regardless of whether you want to classify this as a witbier or not.)

Bottle shared by Dunt. Thanks man!

Hazy dark yellow body with a small white cap. Lemon, funk, light spice. Lemon forward. Light in body and easy drinking. A hint of acetic character. Crushable. Santé!

Blanch de Hotton is different from other Witbieren – some might call it a little odd but not in a bad way. Blanche de Hotton pours a pale yellow and is less cloudy than other wits with a fluffy white foam cap. It surprises with an intense flowery, citrus aroma with hints of lemon and orange. The citrus is more pronounced on the palate with slightly more orange up front and lemon on the finish with a touch of light grain seasoned with herbs and spices. It finishes bone dry. This bottle is young, without a lot of carbonation but it is medium light bodied and very refreshing.

Poured into a Hill Farmstead tasting glass. Blanche De Hotton pours a pale, clear, yellow with just a thin ring of white foam. Almost no lacing.

For such a bland looking beer the nose is actually quite intense. Lots of floral herbs, lemon zest, ginger and a touch of wheat. Very floral, almost perfume like. I don't think I've ever smelled a witbier quite like this. Lots of fresh flower.

A touch of honey with flower petals and a pinch of ginger on the tongue. White grape and hard to describe herbs. Quite juicy and with a hint of citrus.

Lack of carbonation hurts the mouthfeel. Otherwise this is quite smooth. The body is good for a 4% beer and still manages to feel light.

Drinkability is good. Like many of the Fantome brews, this one is a bit odd. Lack of carbonation hurt the overall feel of the beer, but the aroma and flavor were quite good. I really enjoyed the floral/herbal qualities of the beer and would like to try it again. Worth checking out if you're a Fantome fan.

Poured into a tasting glass, revealing basically clear body with champagne color under a thin layer of foam. Smells ridiculously fruity like fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice with cider and pear nectar and maybe a hint of sweet ginger and coriander. Totally unlike every witbier I've had so far... but really promising.

Tastes light, fresh and extremely fruity. Hints of ripe fresh grapefruit, white grape, bits of pear and peach. Mostly the citrus comes through, but without much of the citrus tang. Not much in the way of malts or wheat in the background, but then again it is very clear so far and maybe they will come forward more with successive pours. Mouthfeel is smooth, crisp and light-bodied with a very slight tingling carbonation (more flat than carbonated). Not too dry, extremely refreshing. Very quaff-able.

Overall I was very surprised with this one. Definitely not what I was expecting, more borderline wine or cider, but for sure worth a try and a shame it's not more easy to get. I would love me some of this in the summer.

Different beer than the normal Fantome Blanche, I will take a picture and add it soon. Image is a big-nosed fella chasing a ghost with a goblet (I'll note the beer in the goblet has a nice, white frothy head)

Appearance: Gorgeous golden-honey-straw-orange, but completely flat (beautiful otherwise, and no typical fantome floaties)

Smell: Lemon, coriander, ginger and light turkish spices. Very refreshing.

Taste: Very spring/summer appropriate, lots of fresh lemon juice, sweetgrass, and wheat with some ginger and other spices. Very dry but slightly sweet.

Mouthfeel: Completely flat, only bad thing about this beer.

Drinkability: at 4% it disappears, nice to have a fantome with such a low ABV (although it feels much higher now that I finished the bottle). Despite being flat it is gone quickly. I could drink this all summer long.