Now that the initial craze of the recent Shelton Brothers shipment has worn off (all the Cantillon is sold) there are a number of amazing beers that are sitting on shelves that everyone should be trying. I actually struggled internally about posting this beer because it’s really amazing and there’s a fair amount of it out there. I’ve long been a huge fan of Brasserie Fantôme and it’s been incredibly hard to find their beers in Hawaii over the past few years. They basically only make saison’s, which happens to be my favorite beer style.
La Dalmatienne has all the quirkiness and spunk that I’ve come to love from Fantôme’s saisons. This beer has character and will challenge your palate to pick out individual flavors (at least it did for me.) There’s a pronounced malt character that runs through this beer. It’s dry, as a saison should be, but there’s a wonderful hint of graham cracker sweetness that plays along side the more dank, musty and herbal notes in this beer. There isn’t much funk (Brett character), but there is a complexness that rivals funky wood aged beers.
Somehow this beer works. Dominate notes of fresh cut grass (and not necessarily the type in your yard), citrus and bubblegum play out with touches of sweetness and a dab of sour. If I sound scattered it’s because I am. It’s a fun beer to drink and hopefully will get your mind racing. I’ll pray we get more Fantôme in soon so I won’t regret posting this ;).
