Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

750ml corked bottle served in a tulip. Lightly hazed golden orange pour with a two-finger thick head of fizzy beige foam that settled into a lasting cap. Decent lacing. The aroma was musty and funky. Bretty pineapple and lemon lingered over a pale malt backbone and some faint caramel. The flavor had tart caramel apples, lemon, pineapple, and some herbal hops. Tart and fruity with a crisp bitterness. Medium-bodied with a light to moderate amount of crisp, aggressive carbonation. Another unique beer from Fantôme. Pretty nice.

I’m always excited for any beer that the local beer matron recommends. The way he pulls out a bottle from underneath the counter, holds it up proudly like a prized piglet at the county fair and flashes a sparkling smile with an almost audible “bing” sound is a stronger recommendation than any blob of text, no offense to the internet’s legion of faceless connoisseurs and dilettantes. This time the coveted store owner’s pose was reserved for the Brise Bon’s Bon’s, a beer he described as “hefty”, reinforced by the cartoon sumo wrestler on the label. I put on my mental bicycle helmet for this one, as I do with beers reported to be “aggressive” and proceeded to pour - a honey gold beer, a pleasantly light shade of grain with a thin white head. I used to regret thin caps like this, in the way that I regret thin heads of hair - either have a lot of hair, or have none of it and be done with mesmerizing comb-overs. But a thin head acts as a nice volume filter for the aroma. Too much foam and it’s like catching the delicate bouquet from a corked bottle of wine. The Brise Bons Bons gives off scent of sweet white grapes and their juice, but mixed with a cloying density of white raisins. Accented with banana, a generous cut of alcohol and clove, the Brise Bons Bons makes for an assertive, creamy and sweet smell. Not overpowering in the least. If I had to compare the Brise Bons Bons’ flavor to the sensation of one kind of sumo attack or another, I’d say I was expecting the full-on, brutal, palm thrust. A massive, fleshy force colliding with my face, straight on, sending my jaw flying. But the taste is really more like the underwear wrangling. You know what I mean - when sumo wrestlers grapple each other, and the only thing to really grab onto are the sumo wrestler’s last bits of humility, the colored strands keeping the sumo fight a family friendly outing. I personally cannot imagine the sensation of being shifted around by this most minimal ribbon of clothing, but it’d be a more piercing, high-strung, drawn out experience than a good old fashioned palm thrust. And that sumo grappling, the most noble and socially accepted wedgie in the world, is a bit like the Brise Bons Bons flavor. It’s thin, slightly sour, and frustratingly difficult to pin. I’m grasping for something, anything, but I keep missing. The white grape sweetness features here as in the nose, but teams up with a Brett-type sourness and funkiness, which may overlap with a commanding citrus astringency. That, too, blends with some lemon, mandarin oranges, and the bitter bits of citrus pith, culminating in a short shriek of bitterness followed by a relaxing, easing grainy aftertaste. I’m sort of uncomfortable with these kinds of flavor profiles, but really had no trouble drinking this one at all. Not a powerhouse, by any means, but strong, almost writhing, but ultimately a kind brew. I’d be down for another bout any day.

750 ml, cap and cork. Hazy orange pour with a loose, soapy white head. Tropical fruit aroma (pineapple), sourdough, orange zest, cut grass, bubblegum. All over the place, but it works. Musty and lemony flavor. Pear nectar, slightly hoppy, minty greenness. Oily palate with hardly any carbonation. Drinkable and enjoyable, and a nice summer beer.

Bottled (from belgianshop a long long time ago). Hazy orange golden colour with mediumsized slightly off-white head. Lacing. Aroma is quite much spices, earth, wood and some slight cardboardy dryness as wel. Flavour is quite grassy, earthy along with some spices, fruits and mild notes of bread and quite big yeastyness. True to the Fantome style, you never know exactly what you will get, but it sure as hell is drinkable.

Bottle: Why do brewers that know what they’re doing use green bottles? Damn that humulone... Pours an orange golden color with a dense off white head. Old smelling (bottle was past it’s prime) Lightly papery, soft honey notes, some herbal/vegetal character, odd phenols-corky, a bit dusty. Unique aroma. The body is nice and creamy with fluffy carbonation. Flavor is both sweet and chalky. The bottle is evidently old, as the flavor stages didn’t mesh well. In it’s lack of cohesiveness thee were early notes of honey which led to a bitter herbal character and some chalky notes. Like most Fantome it’s unique- but this bottle was past it’s prime. (Note to brewer: Don’t use green bottles!)

Thanks to Solan for this! NP10. Hazy orange pour, frothy white head that slowly settles to a fine film, and drippy lace. Barnyard aroma. Citric tartness combined with a dry horse blanket finish

750m bottle for $12. This is a murky dull orange. The aroma is really strange and reminds me of FFF Rabid Rabbit. The more I sniff at the glass, the more I think of grassy hops. The aroma on this is truly odd and very interesting. The flavor is also very odd. Immediate juicy citrus and some pucker at the end. The mouthfeel really reminds me of drinking a nice juice. There is a very off heavy spice that I cannot identify but it seems to permeate. I really didn’t think this was sour our tart but more funky and spicy. This is a complex beer that requires some attention, and its strong! Serving type: bottle Reviewed on: 05-16-2008 02:03:31

A dark orange hazed ale with a thick lacing off white head. A rather funky and bizarre aroma of epsom salts, sweet malt, coconut and barnyard. In mouth, just plain bad, coconut meets burned rubber, some coriander. Drainpour! Bieropholie import. Tasted with Probstk, May 26 2007.