Bottle at tasting. Copper color, white to off-white head. Smell and taste are lightly malts, oddly plant-like, weirdly sweetish and grassy. Very odd as Fantome almost always is. And I don't like it.

Bottle. Color: Clear reddish brown (or brownish red so you want), yellowish mocha head. Damn, I'm starting to miss those loud bangs and gushers when opening a Fantôme... ;) Aroma: Caramel, malty, red and dark fruit, lightly tart. Taste: Caramel, burnt sugar hints, fruity (orange, some orange zest, forest fruit, hints of cherries and red grape), some dark fruit too (dates, hints of raisin), spicy hints (coriander). Malty. Moderate sweet, light tart, very light bitterness. Medium body, average carbonation. A Saison with a Flemish Red twist... Well balanced and nice complexity. Well done, Dany!

24/VII/21 - 75cl bottle from De Hopduvel (Gent), shared @ Gentse Feesten BBQ (home), BB: n/a (2021-669)

Clear bright red to deep orange beer, small creamy beige irregular head, little stable, bit adhesive. Aroma: very oxidized, fruity, some dried fruits, sourish impression, spicy notes. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: nice acidity, fruity, green apples, acidic burn, citrus, lemony, very refreshing. Aftertaste: nice sweet and sour balance, some orange peel, bit oxidized, fruity, a little bitter touch, very nice stuff, really love it! Sort of a mix between a Flemish Red and a Dubbel.

75cl bottle from Etre Gourmet web shop. F: medium, tan, quick gone. C: red coppery, light hazy. A: light sour fruity, bit red berries, sour apples, caramel touch, rhubarb, raspberries touch. T: medium malty base, light sour fruity, sour red apples, bit red berries, rhubarb, yogurt touch, tomato touch, soft carbonation, nice red fruity sour taste quite refreshing and unusual, enjoyable for sure.

The twenty-third edition already in this ongoing Santé series by Fantôme, the profits of which are spent on charity. From a 75 cl bottle with cork and crown cap, bought at De Hopduvel. Large- yet even-bubbled, mousy, off-white, membrane-lacing head gradually dissolving in the middle and thinning around the edge, misty rust-brown-hued 'dirty' amber robe with slowly but steadily uprising bubbles throughout - slowly probably because of the presence of some or other slimey or resinous substance within the beer, a bizarre aspect that becomes apparent especially when pouring in the sediment at the end, because not only yeast sediment went into the glass, but a translucent 'string' of slime as well, leaving behind a white 'trail' that was still very visible on the glass the day after. I have never seen anything like that in beer, so Fantôme is apparently still as bizarre as it ever was - were slugs used in this beer or something? Anyway, as for the nose: sour apples, stale orange juice, unsugared yoghurt, maracuja hint, sour blueberries, soggy rusk, dry white wine, persimmon, cloves, tomato peel, dry sherry, bread crust, raw rhubarb, iced tea, volatile and quickly fading background whiff of burnt rubber. Crisp, estery, tart onset, sour apples, rhubarb and redcurrant with a dash of green pear thrown in (acetaldehyde), medium carbonated with a soft 'bed' of old cake crumble- and soggy rusk-like, lightly caramelly maltiness gently dried by this superimposed, fruity sourness, which lends the whole beer something vividly fruity c.q. grape- or even a bit wine-like. This bright, crisp, tart, grapey fruitiness remains lingering in the finish, adorned with orange peel- and tea-like aspects; hop bitterness is a bit herbal but remains altogether relatively mild. A sour ale of sorts, with the sourness likely coming mostly from fruit; the 'slime' component (literally) was very bizarre - and quite off-putting to my girlfriend - but this beer as a whole had all the idiosyncrasy, individuality and 'raw' creativity one traditionally tends to expect from Fantôme. Unusual beer for sure, but enjoyable and fascinating, Fantôme does not disappoint here. Now let's hope a lot of profit can be made out of it - I for one have made my contribution.