Can anybody with knowledge about this topic please chime in? My buddy in Santa Rosa just sent me a picture of what looked like it said Printemps, but it was different than the label I'm familiar with. He also said it was smokey... When I had Printemps, there was nothing smokey about it. Different beer or just the known Fantome bottle variation? Also, while I'm on the topic of Belgian beer labels... What's the deal with the New Cantillon labels? No more Classic Gueuze with the guy tipping over in his barstool? Any info is greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Can't comment on the labels, but Fantome saisons seem to be well-known for bottle variation. I've had Printemps twice now - one bottle was very sweet and grainy and the other was quite herbal (bordering on "smoky").
i noticed Hiver had a new label this past winter/spring,the label was more polished and slicker looking but the saison inside was as good as ever
It's Fantôme dude…"info" is hard to come by. As for Cantillon - are you referring to these… …? They're non-import labels. The beer is the same.
I noticed the Noel changed labels from 2011 to 2012 I liked the 2011 better but out of 4 bottles I had, they all struck me somewhat differently. I remember one in particular being transcendent and one just outright sucking. Still think it's a great beer though.
They definitely updated their labels on Hiver and Printemps. I haven't consumed any with the new labels but they have been around for awhile now. Hiver was the first one I saw changed.
This may give a little insight to the label variation: http://www.jacquestrifin.be/variantes2010/brasserie_fantome1-179.php The labels appear to change as often as the beer inside. I absolutely love it. On another note...I recently got a bottle of Hiver (older label) in a brown bottle.
Great link. For people that haven't seen them, the pictures are tough to tell but the new labels are less paper like and more like a vinyl sticker material.
Fantome has a lot of label and batch variation. I believe sometimes Dany brews one beer but packages it as something else either accidentally or he just doesnt give a shit.
