The 750 Saison

Fantome Hiver
&
Fantome DMD

I had the beers in that last group pic out of my normal environment, so I had to drop the consistent glass and background for all pics. I didn't even get a pic of DMD.

DMD is one of the very few Fantome beers that isn't classified as a saison on this site. It is classified as an American Black Ale. The bottle states that it is a "Cascadian Dark Ale." This beer managed to be exactly what one would expect. It was essentially a "black IPA" from Fantome, with their house signature in it. By signature, I do not mean brewing inconsistencies, but rather, their yeast profile. Was it more of a hoppy black saison or more of a Belgian-yeast black IPA? I didn't ponder this as I drank it. A nice hybrid beer but not one I'd crave.

Hiver is Fantome's winter season beer. This one had very subtle hints of those old Fantome red flags... smoke and band aids. The beer was oxidized and probably quite old. It was dry in a way that reminded me of the standard Fantome Saison. This beer was very bitter... unpleasantly so. Put all of that together and the results weren't terrible but they weren't exactly pleasing either.

 

I know now. Thanks for the heads up.

 

Fantome Dark Forest Ghost

I was so happy with the "Light" Forest Ghost that I had to try on the "Dark." Oh boy, look at that pic. If anyone recalls, I crossed my usual money threshold to try the Light and the Dark was priced the same. The results and my feelings afterwards were night and day (pun intended).

This beer didn't just gush, it violently erupted everywhere. What you see in the pic is all that I could salvage... bottle dregs mixed in and all. The greatest beer wouldn't have tasted like it to me under the circumstances, and sure enough, I wasn't happy with this one. I took it like a punishment.

Going all out for Jester King and Fantome at the end of this thread didn't leave things unscarred.

 

Fantome Chocolat

With my recent experiences, I opened up this Fantome with lots of caution. This time, the cork came out very calmly... which is better than exploding, but it also makes one think that this beer will have the opposite problem. Carbonation did turn out to be very low with this one. The beer was an orangish color.

This beer was brewed with cocoa and chili pepper, but it's spiced in a Belgian rather than American way. An American beer with those additions would typically feature them in such a way that they are loud and clear, it seems like a Belgian brewer is more likely to add such things in such a way that you can't tell they're in there. True or not, this beer definitely falls into the latter category.

You immediately get a strong chocolate aroma when the cork comes out. It sounds like this is a case of the power of suggestion, but I really think I got that aroma heavily. If that aroma was there, it quickly went away never to return. You get no recognizable chocolate or chili when drinking the beer. Instead, the beer conjures up citrus and apple juice. There's an unpleasant bitterness.

While it was a relief to not experience anything terrible with the beer, it just doesn't inspire either. It's slightly weird and not a joy to drink.

 

Fantome Artist 2

Wow, I'm pleased that the Fantome situation has swung in the opposite direction. The bottle should win an award for presentation... swing top, dark glass. I was worried about the combination of Fantome and a swing top. Luckily, no problems, but the carbonation of this beer was definitely too much. This beer is just delicious. It's dark in color, bright in flavor. It's acidic and vinous. The alcohol is 10% and it doesn't feel like it in the slightest. That signature Fantome dark berry quality is here. A really wonderful beer.

 

Fantome & Arizona Wilderness - Desert Ghost

I heard that they put a coolship in a truck and drove it around the desert. I have no idea if that's true. The label calls this a "Sonoran Saison." The Sonoran Desert covers much of Arizona.

This beer eshews the dark fruit notes that tend to pop up in Fantome beers. Instead, we have lemon and green apple. It's opaque and orange, There's some mustiness to add interest. It's very nice. It's bright and spicy (via the yeast or additions). It's actually a little disappointing. Fantome beers tend to hit extreme highs or extreme lows. This one is neither. It's apparent that something is off when a consumer is disappointed in "nice" even though "terrible" was a possibility.

 

Thanks for the post. I had that beer once and didn't like it as much as their standard saison but I don't recall why. It also could have been due to bottle age or external forces. I recently opened a two year old bottle of their standard saison and that particular beer was not in good shape.

Duvel's yeast was actually derived from Scotland's McEwan's yeast.

Dupont's house yeast is famous for it's results and it's weird behavior. I haven't seen anything concrete about it - with some saying it's a multi-strain with a wild component (some disagreeing) and some thinking it descended from a red wine yeast.

I don't know anything about the use of wheat in Dupont. Their regular saison is fully pilsner malt.

 

When I had the Biologique, I might have been in Belgium. I don't recall if I've ever seen it in the US. Would love to try some more for sure.

I recently drunk my last Saison Dupont bottle... wish I still had it so I could check to see what it lists as the ingredients on the US label... but the US label might not have the ingredients listed at all. Thanks for the info.

I also recently drank another Fantome Saison and I enjoyed it much less than the bottle I opened up for the thread. Considering that the bottles were probably from the same case, it's safe to say that my impressions of the beer swung wildly due to my frame of mind, things I ate that day, etc. This isn't totally unusual for me, but the severity in this case was mind-boggling. Hope you enjoy your beers!

 

Jester King Simple Means

Switching back to Jester King - this is my last bottle from them. With this post and the next (mainly the next), I plan on providing some half-baked armchair commentary on the relationship between saisons and farmhouse ales. This beer is labeled a “farmhouse altbier with smoked malts.” Perhaps some would feel fine calling this beer a farmhouse ale given its source. I don’t think many would call it a saison. I wouldn’t call it a saison. It drinks like a sour alt… or a very roasty saison to be honest. It puts much more emphasis on sour than smoke. It’s aiming for “simple.” but it really feels like a boutique beer instead. I’d buy more if it wasn’t so expensive and hard to find. Some would have issue with a sour beer in the Altbier category, but those that deduct points because they are rating to style should know that a Munster style Alt is actually supposed to be sour. This is a nice, unique beer.

 

Thank you. Then you'll probably and especially enjoy my next beer post here.

Don't think I didn't notice!