Fantôme dÉté
Another seasonal, tart, rich, amber brew.
3.6
325 reviews
Soy-Erezée, Belgium
Community reviews
On bottle from Vinmonopolet Sandefjord. Amber color, hazy- just some foam quickly dissipating. Medium aroma intensity; autumn leaves, some light stable and fruitiness- nice yeast influence. Medium body & complexity. Good sourness- some bitterness. Very enjoyable
P: A murky burgundy brown color with a thin tan head. S: A bit like a Flanders, with some cherries, oak, yeast, malt. Not a strong smell bu interesting. T: A bit of tang, some apricot juice, cherries, light oak and a bit of tomato. M: Thin with a touch of carbonation, almost flat. O: Almost flat but tasty either way.
Poured a murky poppy light brown with a minimal white head. Atoms was of lemon and tea. Flavor the same. Tasted like an Arnold Palmer. Is this beer? Fantome is crazy.
Bottle. Pours a murky amber-red body with a tiny bubbly off-white head. Nose is strawberries, figs, dates, raisins, apricot, caramel, cinnamon, Belgian ale yeast and hints of banana, candi sugar and mild peppery notes. Taste is caramel, cinnamon, red berries, prunes, elderberries, candi sugar and hints of wet grass, raisins and herbs. Medium body, virtually no carbonation. The dense, complex layers of taste is nice enough, but a bit weirdly combined at the same time. I can’t make out if I think this is a saison, a spice ale, a BSA or some kind of imperial amber ale. And the virtually missing carbonation adds a soupy feel to it. All in all: interesting, but not quite my thing.
750 ml. bottle @ home. Purchased @ Belgiuminabox. GUSHER – lost prob. close to half a bottle. Thanks Obama! Pours a murky / opaque dark red fruit brown, light prune hued liquid with zero head. Other reviews describe this beer as being orange / amber ….. This is Fantôme all right. A handful of reviews do seem closer to what I got. Smells of sweet spices, candy sugar, prunes, cooked apple,…. Taste is lightly tart prune juice, light rotting berries, tart leaves, touch vinegar, sweet dark fruits, rotting fruit juice, fermenting / rotting red grape juice, red berries, lots & lots of lemon, flat as a pancake (first gushing & now this…), touch watery, mandarin, faintly boozy, touch biscuit, faint cookie spices, cinnamon,…. This tastes like fermented fruit juice as opposed to anything resembling beer,… This is how I imagine “high-grade” pruno tastes like,…. There isn’t even a detectable malt or hop character to be found here,…. I sort of kind of liked this but this really feels like half intentionally ghetto-style fermented fruit juice more than anything else,…. Deserves its own rating scale. I am seriously questioning whether this is even beer.
The beer is a deep amber and clouded through. It has a small, reluctant head, beige and creamy. The beer looks thick, viscous. This heft is felt in the body, though it gives the beer a pleasant depth and goes down easily, avoiding any accusations of syrupy messiness. The beer smells of toasted malt fruit. Heavy plums, sherry, fresh tart cherries, wood. Vinous spice. It’s uniquely Fantome and wonderful. Light acidity. Fruit sweetness without any cloy in the finish. Apples, grapes, spice. Wood and tart stone fruit lingers on. Magical.
Bottle thanks to Ben. Pours a cloudy orange with no head. The aroma is funk, rubber, spices. Thin mouth, a bit flat, tart fruit, funky, leather, wood, spice, very good.
Aroma of light red berries, rosehips and some slight estery weizenbock quality. Light tartness with a strong vanilla almost barrel age component to it, mouthfeel wasn’t that great, as the beer was quite softly carbonated, but flavours were very interesting and different.
Bottle. Pours hazy orange, with almost no head. Aroma is lightly tart, fruity yeast, with berries, grapes and oak barrels, as well as malts with bread, honey and caramel. Light to medium body, with very soft carbonation. Flavour is tart fruity yeast, with redcurrants, plums, cherries, as well as tannins and oak. Tart wooden finish.
January 24, 2015. Bottle, best before 2017. Shared by tderoeck, thanks Tim!
Hazy red/amber with a small off-white head. Aroma is pear skins, grain, caramel, green apple notes, red berries and earthy. Taste is light sweet malty/caramel, with light tart apple notes. A bit dry tart finish with apples and earthy notes.
24/I/15 - 75cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker) @ home - BBE: 2017 (2015-102)
Clear amber beer, small white head, unstable, non adhesive, dissipates immediately. Aroma: very sugary, sweet, caramel, some overripe banana, cloves, spicy. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: pretty sourish, lemony, apple skin, spicy. Aftertaste: sourish, apple skin, bit fruity, more spices, cloves, some tannins.
Kristiansand Øl Festival 2014. Amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is yeast, spices. Flavour is yeast, spices, sourness, farmhouse, berries, dried fruits. Another nice beer from Fantome.
Capped 750 from Bine & Vine. Pours hazy amber with a slight beige head. Aroma is tart, possibly red berry. Nearly full bodied. Flavor is tart, somewhat malty, and fruit which might be red berry. Finishes nicely tart and fruity. Malt isn’t intrusive, tho the whole is less than dry. Very nice.
Bottle at Backyard Bottle Shop. Pours lightly hazy brown with a small, very tight off-white head, short retention with no lacing. Aroma is biscuit and cracker malt, light tart peach, pear and apple esters with light earthy hops. Flavor is tart fruits, light pale malt, faint cellar notes and a dry finish. Medium body and light carbonation.
Sample @ Kristiansand ølfestival. Unclear orange/amber body with a small tan head. A bit weak in aroma, mild malt, dry fruit and light spicy. Flavor is sweet malt, caramel, spicy yeast, hint of wood and slightly farmhouse. Some kind of light, slightly harsh bitterness. Medium body and moderate aftertaste. Not the most interesting beer from Fantome, still totally drinkable.
Bottle from Vika enjoyed at home
Red, very hazy, almost no head. Smell of fruity yeast esters, spices, cherries, cardemomme, red wine and funk, light malts and hints of caramel. Moderate sweet, fruity acids and spicy flavors, quite elegant, berries an yeast influence, some funk. Moderate bitter finish, some cherry stones. An excellent Saison
Flaske fra vinmonopolet. Rødbrun uklar farge, tynn skumtopp med lav karbonering. Smaker røde bær, druestein, sitrus . Svært fornøyelig
Pour chestnut brown, is very murky and has a small off-white head. The aroma has lots of very ripe fruits, peach, horehound candy and some aspects I can’t pin down. It has a medium / full smooth body with very light carbonation. The flavor starts with a richness that seems a bit like prunes. There is also passion fruit, lush stone fruits and some tartness. The finish has more tartness, fruit juice and a fullness to all of the flavors. Really interesting and nice.
[ Bottle ][ 750ml ][ La Bodega ][ $17 ][ Tired Hands Stemware ][ 12.13.14 ]
>> Pours totally flat clear dark amber. Nose is oxidized red apple, apple skins. Taste is almost pure lemon water, thin and one note, no carbonation. It is tart and it is amber, but it isn’t anything I could consider good and not even close to being a saison. I mean, I know Dany doesn’t like beer and doesn’t even taste his own beer, but this is getting out of control. I’m not buying Fantome anymore.
Hazy amber with little to no head. Aroma is red berries, yeasty, citrus, earth, spice and some pepper. Fruity palate with almost no carbonation. Aftertaste is fruity, yeast, some earth, metal and some funk. Overall: What a shame. Very yeasty, almost like a bad homebrew with too little carbonation.
Bottle. Belgiuminabox. Murky, dark orange. Barely a film of white head. Rotten apple. Light balsamic vinegar. Fruity toffee underlying. Taste is tart. Quite dry. More of the apple thing. Palate isn’t as lively as other Fantomes, although this does match the beer. A bit of spicy warmth. Finish is tart, dry, with a sticky lip close. Fantome, with a bit more bonkers.
Bottle. Golden and Amber colors. Funky fruit, spice and herbal aromas. Spices, herbal funky tart flavors.
Bottle @ Pat’s. Amber pour with a white head. Smells like caramel, cardboard, and candy sugar. A lot of citrus, but very, very sweet. Flavor is almost like cotton candy and caramel apple. Hint of lemon peel and some slight acidity. Yeasty, slight plastic, and orange marmalade. Definitely somewhat papery. No thanks.
Thnx to belgiuminabox
Pours dark yet clear amber , no real head .
Smell is sweet , ambermalts .
Taste is sweet , thick ambermalts , bit bitter . Fruity . Slightly metal ( as is natural with amberbeers )
By far one of the best fantome ive had .
Bottle: Believed 2008 vintage, no notching on the bottle, though. Turbid orange color, opaque, muddy, swampy, albeit radiant & glowing. Lightly eggshell tinted foam on top. Aroma explodes like an Orange Creamsicle inside of a cork factory. Tons of musty cork, lots of sopping wet horsey funk & a huge, juicy, creamy orange upbringing. Tangerine, grapefruit, melon, peach, with underscores of Belgian yeast spices, mild clove & a touch of white pepper. The flavor is like French kissing a piece of moldy driftwood with a Sunny D in one hand & a vanilla cone in the other. Seriously. Tons of creamy orange, mild vanilla, little hints of clove & coriander, faint tropical fruit, & a strong, VERY strong mid-palate to finish loaded with notes of dusty cellar doors, moldy corks, & funky ass barnyard stalls. Huge body for a saison, very creamy & surprisingly viscous. Not in line for the style, but it fits with the flavor profile so whatever. This is a great beer.
Bottle (750 ml). Vintage 2014. Shared by JulienHuxley, thanks! Muddy amber/brown with a small quickly vanishing white head and no lacing. Quite ugly! Aroma is very similar to the Dalmatienne we had an hour ago… floral, lemon/lime notes, light spiciness, caramel notes and yeast. Taste is quite floral too, lime/lemon notes, yeast, light spiciness, vanilla and light caramel. Medium body. Very soft carbonation. Mild lemony/herbal finish. It’s easier to drink than it looks like. Far from fantastic, but a decent offering that is quite refreshing and decently tasty.
Bottle shared with Tom at hotel tasting. Murky copper pour with disappearing white head. Aroma is herbal, rosemary, some citrus, a bit of lime. Taste is grainy, citrusy, lemon, some vanilla, herbal notes. Palate is not very carbonated, light-med bodied. Not bad.
Small to medium yellowish-cream head, fast disappearing over well-carbonated amber beer, hazy. Caramel, spruce, gingerbread, spices. Sourish, an acidity not unlike that of very young, light-green pine- or spruceneedles (again). Faint lactic acid. Hints at caramel, but no sweetness. Looks flat, but the MF belies this. Light to maybe medium bodied ("rich" as on the blurb is definitely exaggerated.) Pleasing, refreshing acidic beer - as it is intended. Can quite live with this one.
Bottle, at Kristiansand Ølfestival. It pours a flat, unclear, dark amber color, just a thin rim of beige bubbles. The aroma has some farmhouse notes, with berries and caramel. It’s slightly sour in the flavor with caramel malts in the back, and some berries, cellar, hay and citrus hints. Medium body, dry, with a nice carbonation level. A bit boring this one, but sure drinkable and interesting. 140823
Bottle 750ml @ Kristiansand Ølfestival 2014
Pours hazy brown with a off-white head. Aroma has notes of malt, dried fruits and a hint of sourness. Taste is medium sweet, light bitter and light sour with a sweet dried fruity finish. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft.