Special Bitter Sour
Brasserie Fantôme

Pours an amber golden color with a nice head and lacing
Aroma has lemon, grassy and yeast hints
Taste has a well balanced tart lemon, grassy and Brett flavor
A middle bodied very well carbonated crisp beer
A great Belgian Saison

Showing the continued development of truly artisan ales, Fantome teases with extra elements of sourness and bitterness upon the classic character that sets the brewery apart.

Pouring a turbulent rusty goldenrod appearance, the yeasty ale floats a billowing stubborn froth ahead of a nose of funk and fauna leading with weathered citrus, vinous fruit, cellar-like perfume and dried attic woods. With a low-lying sweetness, hints of communion wafer, hay and a sprinkle of confectioner's sugar dissolves rapidly on the palate and leaves way for the playful tartness of grapefruit, lemon, apple, pear and lime to tease the middle palate. Rising bitterness shows a grassy hop finish with yeast spices, winey undertones and dried parsley for a moderately bitter, tepidly sour finish.

Light, arid and crisp, the saison shows an equal level of rusticity and refinement and continues to be one of the best on the market. It's bone-dry finish leads to a weathered hop bitterness and a slim grassy aftertaste.

neat beer, love fantome so much, curiously but perhaps unsurprisingly, this is neither very bitter nor very sour, but its another wonderful beer from these guys, who continue to bring the mystery and intrigue after all these years. this might be loosely based on an english bitter from a grain standpoint, more golden to bronze colored and less outright wheaty than a lot of their stuff, bread and honey and a lightly toasted complexion, could easily be some maris otter or something in here, but beyond that, its thoroughly saison, and a rustic one at that. hearty from the grain but incredibly interesting beyond it, like i swear there is grapefruit in this, pith and zest and juice, almost fresca soda-like to me, more robust in flavor than aroma but its there in both for sure, adding some acidity, seemingly more than the ferment does, but i guess it could be a combination of the yeasts and the hops in here, although it sure does seem fruited. notes of white wine and lychee fruit too, white florals, juicy newer school hops than i am used to from fantome i think, herbal tea, some back end bitterness but mild really, off dry, seltzer-like even with the malt, the grapefruit thing is crazy, citrus candy without being sweet overall, and im still sort of confused by it when its gone, i taste a little more and a little something different each sip, copper at one point, husky hully grain, earthy minerals, juicy hops, less green glass oxidation than in a lot of fantome stuff, indeed this one hits as pretty fresh, some late tartness, their familiar funky yeast, a little brett character to me starting in, warms up well, refreshing for being kind of sturdy, white pepper as it warms, delicious and weird at the same time. effervescent mouthfeel, really good bottle conditioning here, excellent overall!

Murky golden copper appearance, fluffy khaki white head, decent retention and lacing. Malty doughy notes, spice, hay, sweet/sour mix. Medium to thick body, crisp carbonation.