Fantôme Saison D'Erezée - Hiver
Brasserie Fantôme

Bottle from Tasty Beverage in Asheville a few months back. Best by 2020.

Duvel tulip. Needed to make room in the fridge. First world problems.

Copper, opaque brew. Long lingering head.

Smells hoppy, cereal malt, herbs, black pepper.

Taste is bitter & quite dry from the start. Big pepper presence. Lingering mellow aged hops from start to finish. Cereal malt. Herb-iness. Very easy. Not estery, spiced or yeasty in my opinion. Drank it too early?

Tasty.

 

750ml bottle - $15.99 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours an orange-tinged-brown body with a minor murkiness and a high, airy, yellow-khaki head that's rather lasting.

Smell: Caramel, bready-toasty malts coated in crushed peppercorns and tossed with chopped dried dark fruits and licorice snippets. A minute nuttiness, even a far-off hint of milk chocolate on the deeper inhalations along with a jumble woodsy, musky, herbal tones.

Taste: It's a sweet opening, an almost oozing caramel taste that welcomes in a vinous red wine quality and dried cherries, bitter orange, berries and plums. Hiver has a striking pepper note, like nibbling on a handful of peppercorn medley. Incoming toasted breadcrusts. Then, it's anyone's guess, particularly as the varies notes shuffle around like a deck of cards. A moment it's like biting in a fennel frisée apple salad, the next it's burley tobacco sprizted with gentian liqueur.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Endlessly spirited carbonation.

Overall: Hiver is an alluringly complex and engaging amber saison.

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Orange to brown colour, no head. Slightly sourish and oaky aroma. Moderately sour and distinctly oaky flavour, also distinct bittering hops in the finish and aftertaste.

Look: It pours brown with a large tan head. Head retention is excellent.

Smell: It has aromas of dark caramel and dark cherries. There is some light biscuit in the background with medium spice. There are also hints of plum.

Taste: The flavors pop with spices that include coriander. There are malty flavors of caramel, biscuit, and roast. There are some dark cherries and plums in support.

Feel: It has a medium full body with plenty of lively carbonation.

Overall, the spice is a bit stronger in the flavor for my tastes. With that said there are plenty of complex elements create many distinct flavors.

750 ml bottle into a tulip glass. I think this is from 2017 (Lot 3N 2 17 BB end 2020).

Pours a cloudy medium amber, with a huge head of spongy foam and a good amount of foamy lacing. Aromas of spices, caramel, malt, black pepper, coriander, some Belgian yeast and funk, some wheat, some apples. Similar flavors- spices, caramel, malt, wheat, coriander, cloves, apples, light Belgian yeast and black pepper. Has an herbal and grassy flavor, especially on the finish. Smooth, a very good light to medium body, well carbonated on the high side, a little fizzy.

Very enjoyable overall, although it probably was a little better when fresher. Solid base saison, good spice mix, the light fizziness was a minor distraction. My first from Fantome, hope to try others.

 

Now my 9th from Fantome, their issue is value. Every Fantome saison I've had has been worth having once. But not all are worth having twice. For Hiver, I'm sitting on the fence about twice... primarily because I had Hiver past its prime. Lot 18 is on the cork and I take that to be 2018. Saisons are better fresh and I'm guessing this was bottled over 18 months ago. But then, the recipe changes every year... so get it fresh.

That said, Hiver is definitely worth once. It's a good-Looker; big generous head with active protein from Fantome's famous yeast. Smells are more holiday spicy than fruity, which is understandable given the season. Tastes are balanced, but lack the richness I thought I was going to get from the yeast. In the mouth, Feel has sufficient bubbles but I'd like more rich. Finishes nicely dry.

I am a fan of Fantome. I have put them on my BBBL (Belgian Brewer Bucket List) and I'd like to check-off a visit sooner than later.

 

2019 batch Cloudy sepia body with a foamy white head and lacing. Phenols, caramel, biscuit, fruit cake, dried apple, and slight must. Taste has traditional saison spices, fruit cake, smoked malt almost like a rauchbier, apple, pear, lemon rind, and wet earth. Feel is bread yet not very thick, has booze leakage but stays dry. Not my favorite fantome, but not bad

Poured beautifully from a bomber into a tulip glass. Hazy reddish brown color with a fluffy, foamy head and excellent lacing. Warm spicy smell and taste. Fruit flavors, orange, lemon with cinnamon. Had it with Thanksgiving dinner.

(750 ml bottle; purchased at State Line... split between two fat tulip glasses... review transcribed from notes)

Tall head, dark copper liquid... malty, subtle raisin, cherry notes, soft lingering fruity spice... berry muffin... dry-ish, mildly peppery aftertaste, cherry gummy note... way more dry than sweet... Affligem Noel, mixed with spicy, earthy saison... one of the better Fantome I've had; intend to grab another (1609)

 

How have I not reviewed this?
Foamy creamy dense head, decent retention and lacing, semi hazy blond color

Nose super fruity with mild funk, grainy doughy wheat and sweet malt, little citrus and fruit cake

Taste more fruit cake, big fruit, little sweetness, candy with light alcohol, saison spices and funk, little bitterness, drier semi stick sweet finish

Mouth is med bod little sticky sweet, lighter carb

Overall not bad but doesn't get to the great fantome beers of the past

It's definitely a foamy boi, pouring a massive light brown-colored head that's very long-lasting (sadly...) and textured almost like cream. The body has a dark chestnut hue to it, unlike a traditional saison. Of course, the head also leaves behind large splotches of lacing on the glass.

The aroma invokes one part winter warmer, one part saison. It's very heavily spiced with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and clove running rampant. Beneath that lies notes of black pepper, grass, and cedar. I don't pick up much of the malt backbone, with the saison yeast likely eating up most of the sugar. That sugar (both candied and malt-derived) presence is missed here, and would have done a good job ballasting the hefty spice characteristics. Still, points for a creative beer that has an element of cohesion to it.

It takes a few sips to really know what's going on with the flavor profile. The very first sip reveals winter spice, winter spice, and more winter spice. There are touches of caramel and gingerbread to round out the back end, but the main event is a bombardment of cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper, star anise, and allspice. Caramel malt isn't particularly evident at any stage, and fruity esters seem to come and go intermittently. It also seems to finish slightly hoppy (actually appropriate for a winter warmer). While I personally find it overspiced, I also really enjoy how rustic and...ahem...festive it tastes.

Dry, dry, dry. Not even off-dry like Dupont, but properly dry and almost parching. This is superbly attenuated, and goes down far too easily for an 8% beast. Carbonation starts off high, but calms down greatly after a while - the natural dryness of the beer keeps it easygoing.

Too spicy? Perhaps. Lacking supreme balance? Yep. An interesting and unique drink? Double yep. Ask me to describe it, and I'd either call it an incredibly rustic winter warmer or a slightly overspiced dark saison, depending on my mood (and my level of inebriation that evening...) I wouldn't exactly recommend this to neophytes, as it's an expensive bottle of beer that - while well crafted - may not be to everyone's tastes. Rather, this is something for the beer nerd who's sick of all the samey IPAs and pastry stouts all over the shelves and wants something truly out there.

3.69/5: Fantôme does what Fantôme does best - push the envelope

Bought from Belgian Beer and Food. Pours a dark orange-brown colour, huge head with long retention,good lace.
Aroma is spices and herbs.Not sure, but I'd say, among them, cardamom, pepper, fennel, cloves, coriander, anis. Caramel too and. of course the Bretts.
Medium body, creamy texture, good carbonation.Sweet and dry finish.
Sharp taste that matches the aroma.
Complex, rich. Another great one from Fantome.

 

 

 

Very tasty and easy to drink. Very different than typical saison