Fantôme Black Ghost

750 ml bottle 2003 poured a clear dark garnet with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of berries, some roasty notes and and a hint of oak. Palate was light bodied and crisp. Flavors of leather, barnyard, fruitiness and hints of roastiness and wood with a crisp lightly tart finish. Ages very nicely!

Courtesy boboski. Nasty, murky, multi brown with a modest, spongey, light brown cap. Fully funkdafied. Musty, sour, earthy, vegetal, herbal nose with some apple or pear juice in there, also. Same flavors, complex. Dry, yeasty finish and aftertaste. Flavor starts out rather muddled, but clears up as it warms. Much better close to room temp. Medium/full body, balanced, smooth yet foamy. Confounding how many great brews the Fantome produces.

Courtesy of Boutip, thanks Phil. Dark and thick caramel colored pour, pretty cloudy. Very creamy looking one inch head with brilliant retention. I can always count on a Fantome to look tasty, and looks are usually an indicator of mouthfeel, at least, with this brewer. The head has dark patches that look like someone dusted the surface with cocoa powder. Lacing is very thick and stuck for all eternity to the sides of the glass. Aroma is sweet funk brandishing tart yeast. Typical Fantome funkiness is subdued by simple dark and roasty malts, mellow grassiness, wood, plums and spicy nutmeg. The flavor is sour for a bit up front, succeeded by light chocolate and plenty more complex barnyard taste. The finish is medium-dry with a hint of lemon oil. Palate is exceedingly creamy and complete feeling. I’m not blown away as I have been many times in the past by Fantome. Then again, Fantome always satisfies. Pretty tasty.

Purple label bottling. Opaque brownish-black with an extremely fine mocha head that stays at a persistent cap leaving good lacing. Nose is European bready black licorice over slightly sweet yeasty brown bread. Nice green leafy note, that eventually melds into something like wintergreen. Tons going on, but the overall effect is a bit muddled. Medium in the mouth with wave upon wave of brown malt, licorice and a bit of tart raspberry fruitiness. There is great acid structure which keeps the beer lively, when it easily could have tumbled over into a formless maltfest. Extremely long with intense chocolate notes echoing seemingly forever. Caressing, wonderful mouthfeel. Very drinkable for what it is, and an excellent companion at the table. Fascinating stuff. As an aside, I had to put the partially full (note the optimism) bottle in the fridge whilst I put my kiddos to bed. When I returned to it about an hour later, the contents of the bottle still held a 1/2" head from the last pour I made. Now THAT is head retention.

Opaque. Slightly darker than milk chocolate brown. The head is tan and fizzy. It’s pretty, but nothing special, right? Lemon, straw, earthy funk then a mildly obscured fruit cocktail then leather then that tart, earthy funk again, then some more leather then the fruit jumps out... what the hell is going on? There’s a definite spice... I’ll call it white pepper. This nose is incredible, and it simply won’t stand still. When is crosses your toungue, it’s thinner in body than you’d expect, but it’s not watery. It’s bubbly enough, easy to sip. So unnassuming. How do I describe the taste? Like the scent, it seems to change seamlessly from one shape to the next. At first, there’s a lemony tartness with root celler must and funk. Then there’s spicy white pepper, followed with chardonnay. It has some leather, and some strange, sundrenched flavor that I have no words to explain. Now it’s Pumpernickel. One constant is the dark, musty aspect. If I was a ghost, I’d hang out in cellars as well. When it finishes, it’s Chardonnay with lemon zest in a root cellar. Next, it pretends that it’s going back to that spicy white pepper but no, a moment later your mouth is filled with nutty cocoa powder. That taste hangs on your tounge forever.

Pours a deep brown, with tints of soft ruby when held to the light, capped by an inch of creamy tan foam. Moderate lace slides down in the glass to rejoin the beer after each sip. A tart, lambic-like aroma reached my nose as soon as the cork was popped. A bold aroma of chocolate malt, wild plum, raisin, and merlot beckons. Roasted grains, mild chocolate, subtle coffee, prominent stone fruit, walnut, and a hint of rye swirl around your mouth. These flavors blend and then melt into a spicy and ever so slightly dry finish, with notes of nutmeg, anise, leather, rum, and just a hint of white pepper. Stunning. The beer is thick enough to coat the tongue and the roof of the mouth with a slick oily floral sweetness. Full bodied and gently carbonated. Even after the very first sip, I can feel a warming sensation in my belly. It doesn’t feel like a ’normal’ alcohol warmth, instead it is more like the warmth of a hot hearty meal on a cold day. A warmth that you would be content just to carry around for a while, and then maybe snooze in front of the fire.

RIch, delicious aroma. Tropical fruits (kiwi, starfruit), roasty porter-like notes, funky yeast, strawberry, toffee, rubber bands. Outstanding. Full bodied, more rubber-bandy notes in the mouth (actually quite tasty, that), fruits, hay, burnt toast. The longer this sits, the better it gets. Huge complexity, flavor, and downright delicious.

Funky nose with brettanomyces and a light acidic quality. Wonderful earthy flavour of cherries, oak, and a malty backbone.