Saison Summer (Part II)

This was the summer of the saison.  I was underwhelmed by two, impressed by two, and floored by one.  I've already reviewed one whiff, Prairie Artisan Ales's Prairie Ale (this was Part I).  The second saison that came up short was Fantôme's  alliterative Brise BonBons! - the most fun to say beer name ever.  Fantôme's beers, which are mostly some derivation of saison, are beers on the edge.  They challenge you, fight you, and force you to convert your initial taste shock to admiration by the end of the bottle.  I relished a battle with Brise Bon-Bons!, but peace reigned.

Sure, Brise BonBons! was yeast-forward with a sophisticated, spicy character (spices that I couldn't detect, so at least this part of Fantôme stayed true), and it had a satisfying, bitter finish; more bitter than I expected from a Belgian saison.  But ultimately it was a pleasant, borderline boring beer.  I know I would have thought more of Brise BonBons! if it was from another brewer, but Fantôme has a reputation to uphold, dang it.  From a beer named Ball Breaker, I wanted a precarious, dangerous beer, not a drinkable, approachable saison that flirts with mainstream for crying out loud.  

I'll write about the other three saisons in future posts.