Fantôme Brise-BonBons!

750 mL bottle. Poured a beautiful translucent medium orange with a short cap of white head. Nose was of funky barnyard yeast and old blankets, sour lemon, and odd assorted spices. Flavor department didn’t work as well for me... had overriding stale funkiness, some cardboard, and lesser notes of the dusty lemon funkiness that graces the nose... bitterness was moderate to high, but the execution seemed off. Enjoyed the dry finish. This was solid.. but I wanted to like it more...

Dull and foggy dark hay. Solid and creamy, dull white, medium sized crown that stays put for a timely fashion. Big patchy sheets of lace lock into position as it begins to fade and be consumed. Not to mention one of the funniest labels yet to come out of Belgium. I know I could be a Brise-bonbons any given day of the week. Aroma is of dry stale breads, farm yard wind, brisk, crisp, dry, leafy hops, and a big squeezed in sourness underneath of lime and tangerine skins. Taste is bold and grabbing. Soft in the front, lightly sweet, kinda toasty, mostly paled in malt and senses a more radiant middle, and then the all or nothing crazy dry and bittered spicy finish sets in. Wowzaa, this has quite a turn into the finish. The dryness is weirdly unique with a dry, white peppery spice and leafy hoppyness. Notes of alkaline, rubber, dirt, lime, burnt pie crust, and chicken wire all make for some funky bite and bittering dryness. Never overpowering, but pushing the envelope plenty with its complexity and strength. Your buds will pucker with effects you may not be ready for. Feel is delightfully smooth and soft before its drying canter sets in. Just over a medium body with a simple texture of lightly pricking carbonation. Remarkably easy to take in, that is until the spices and dryness take their place on the palate making you wait a bit more for each next sip. Tart and sour envelope glue notes also tend to grab some of the finish now that I have gotton through most of it. One complexing and distastfully chalk-like finish for sure. A tad extra bitter and dry for my tastes, I tend to favor the darker versions, and with a sweeter balance of malts, but this a fun brew none the less if your palate can take the dryness. I wanted to like it more but just couldn’t bring myself to get past the parching, chalky, dry spicy finish. Not a Fantome favorite in my book.

Bottle shared with HogTownHarry & mds -- courtesy of HogTownHarry. Pours a murky orange with a friggin’ massive lasting white head. Aroma of sour fruit, funky hops, yeast, spices and sweet malt. Flavour is funky and bitter with some sourness and spices -- it’s a bit of an odd one, not sure how much I like it. Medium bodied. Not as good as the other Fantome beers I’ve had.

Bottle (750ml). Shared with blankboy and mds, my bottle. Cloudy orange with a huge off-white fluffy/creamy lasting head. Funky/sour herbal aroma, some candy malt, waves of hops and peppery. Taste - thick, peppery and herbal-hop bitter, lemon juice, very spicy and yeasty - loveryly! Average body, incredibly astringent and bitter, very long spicy finish - takes some getting used to, but very nice.

Opened with a terrifying big bang! Right away, I am overwhelmed by the farm aroma! (cowshed, horseblanket and green apples!?) Rocky HUGE head, lots of laces, oxidized-honey-colored (hazy). Aroma of citrus, cabbage, horseblanket, hay, and lots more. Very bitter and a little acidic. Bitterness reminiscent of, earth, herbs, grapefruit and endives (someome mentionned unripe plums). A litlle fruity lemon, cantaloup. Finishes very dry. Body is crisp. Overall, and atypical beer, nothing comes close. I found the aroma incredibly complex but I was a bit disconcerted with its extreme bitterness. I have never had so much fun to try and analyze a beer.

At bistro l’autre oeil. Hazy amber with a medium white head. Strange aroma, horse blanket, currants, very bitter, tart I don’t even know how to describe it. Taste is Horseblanket, almost lambic, dust, very dry aftertaste, almost as if you swallowed dust, pinneaple, very bitter finish but not usual hops bitterness. Strange brew!

Bottle. Pours a medium amber color and is fully opaque. Gigantic white head fades slowly, but never fully dissipates, chunky lacing. Aroma is dry, funky and full of barnyard. Medium bodied, lifting and drying carbonation. Tasty beer. Blending aspects of funky Fantome and APA/IPA. Drying and astringent. Well done!

cloudy gold with a small creamy head. marshmallow, yeast, vanilla, candy aroma. some grains, lemon, marshmallow, pepper, other spices, and hops in flavor. dry, grainy aftertaste. not as sour as the la gourmande i just tasted before this. light bodied.