Fantôme BBB Babillard

Formerly brewed at Brasserie Fantôme
Style: Saison
Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Serve in Tulip

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Lustrous hazy tangerine. Thick, creamy, and pasty, dusty-white head. Alluring soft aroma of musty cellar and herbs. There’s plenty of peachy esters to go along with the soil, rose petals, lemon and that addictive chalky Fantôme yeast backbone. Very faint wood and sweet malt wafts. Tight, yet explosive carbonation sharpens the soft body. Opens with a tart and chalky attack, which gains support from an airy underlay and gives way to dried apricot and a glimpse of cookieish malt sweetness. Grassy, herbal bitterness commences at mid-stage, while subtle phenols arise to complement the dryness, tangerine notes, and flowery hops. Peach-tart and musty yeast return to balance the mustiness and tartness long after the swallow. Yeast poor adds more mustiness and amplifies the herbal tones and peachy esters. Just another Fantôme beauty.

2006 tasted in October 2008 thanks to Greg at Birreria Paradiso. Cloudy amber, thin pale head. Aroma of clove and orange. Smooth and mellow, like orange candy. Find this one and lay it down for a few years.

Richmond Gathering. Corked and capped 750, another gem The_Beer_God busted out. Hazy golden brown with a thin, yellowy head. Funky cheese and nuts, woody and a bit yeasty. Dry finish. Nice stuff!

Courtesy of The_Beer_God at RB Richmond Gathering. Golden hazy with rocky moderatly persistent head. Carmel, honey and some cheese notes or top of some sour aromas. Sweet grainey malt with some alchohol warming then a peach/pear fruityness with a bit of carbonic bite from high carbonation. Very dry finish that ends with some alchohol warmth and peppery spiciness.

Bottle - corked and capped. Amber pour. Small white head. Nose is funky, slightly sour with leather, bits of cheese, wood and sweat. Taste is more funky yeast notes, wood, overripe fruit, sweet malts, herbs and faint spice. Bubbly body with some dryness. Finish is more funky, yeast, light spice, mellow maltiness, wood and herbs. Again, afterwards, the sediment is shaken and poured into my glass. I get a hot chocolate looking appearance with green apples in the nose and a caramel covered green apple with the taste. Like before, this seems like a new beer once the sediment has been added.

Courtesy of The_Beer_God at the 6th Richmond Gathering. Appearance is lighter amber than the previously sampled BBB dark. Aroma and flavors are also quite similar, but this lacks the roasty notes. Drier, with a considerable amount of pepper. Dandelion notes as well. Didn’t like this version nearly as well, which surprised me.

UPDATED: APR 26, 2008 Sweet aroma, cherry with some grass. Light golden brown body. Very dry taste, apple accent with some fruit rind ending. A light pepper spice along with some sweet orange citrus in the ending.

UPDATED: JUN 7, 2008 Bottle courtesy of The_Beer_God. Thanks Mike! Pours pumpkin colored with a medium sized fast disappearing head. Sour aroma with notes of caramel and spice (thyme). Taste is a little underwhelming compared to the aroma, but still a very nice light funk and dark fruits. Very complex beer and very nice.

Courtesy of The_Beer_God. Cloudy orange body with a small white head. Sweet fruity aroma, light caramel, and lots of spice. Fruity, peppery flavor, caramel, and light apple. Medium light body with moderately high carbonation.

Bottle from Bier circus, Brussels. Vintage 2001 (20 Euro bottle): Pours dark muddy brown with a creamy off white head. Earthy, spicy, peppery aroma. Both sweet & sour Roasted malts - caramel & chocolate. Smooth & soft with a sour freshness. Giant sediments in the bottom of bottle. Another exciting fantome experience!

Clear light tea colored, with about 1/2 an inch of nearly white frothy foam. Good but not great lacing. Sharp fruity and cidery aroma. Very dry beer, with a mild grainy flavor and some bitter tannin like a too-strong tea. There is a brief hint of caramel in the aftertaste that supplies the only sweetness. The finish is a little musty and relatively sharp, almost cheese-like. Light body is full of extremely soft carbonation, which is quite pleasant. This one has all of the funk of Fantome beers, without a whole lot more of the more ’traditional’ beer flavor to balance it. It took me well into my second glass to start to enjoy it. By the end of the bottle, however, I wanted more.