Fantôme Chocolat

This saison pours a light orange brown color from a corked and capped 750ml bottle. Large sized fluffy white foamy head. Aroma is malty, yeasty and estery, Some chili and chocolate, with some barnyard and horse blanket. A medium bodied saison. Malts are bready and chocolaty. Touch herbal. Nice balance of chocolate and chili is reminiscent of a mole sauce. It’s a touch spicy and not that sweet. Nice lively carbonation. Crisp and light. There is some sweetness at the finish, but for the most part it finishes fairly dry. Hides the alcohol well. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is crisp and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.

Fresh scent with mild pine,apricot, chili, and maybe I’m deluding myself by thinking there’s some cocoa as well. Medium and round on the palate with the perfect amount of carbonation to give it a crisp mouthfeel. Flavor is apricot and orange mash that gives way to a slight sourness, thrown in there is also some herbal/grassy barnyardy notes (typical of Fantome) before leading into the cocoa, chili, hop finish. All the flavors are subtle, but prominent enough to be thoroughly enjoyed. I think the cocoa and chili were masterfully added here. Also, it seems from what many people have written, that this Saison is being drank too cold. i.e. they aren’t tasting the cocoa/chili until they’re almost done with the bottle. I waited til the temperature was about 55+ before drinking and all the flavors were apparent. Beautiful offering from Fantome.

75 cL bottle (2005ish), Bordeaux glass. Deep, hazy and brassy-orange body is covered by a thick and creamy off-white head. The aroma is redolent of spicy and yeasty esters common to my experience with Fantôme...dough and cilantro harmonize along with a light note of horse blanket, all carried on a crisp pils malt base. A cloud of grassy, floral hops extend over everything. And of the two special ingredients? Wonderfully integrated...a pure ’red’ chili hotness, slightly nose-tingling in its pungency accents the darkness of soft cocoa powder in a manner reminiscent of a smoky Mexican molé sauce. Forward in the flavor are sweet pils malt along with a gentle chili burn and a light acidity. Mid-palate releases a gentle funk and tame sourness, quickly displaced by the long finish in which a soft grassy bitterness defers to a drying cocoa aftertaste with a warming chili sensation. The chili and cocoa really work well together in this beer (though perhaps more cocoa, less chili would have been okay) but the front-end is really lacking. Everything interesting seems to happen mid-palate or later (especially the aftertaste). The texture is silky smooth and the next sip always seems to relieve the chili burn from the last one. Carbonation is, as expected, vigorous and the significantly chewy for a saison, though not a detriment in this case. Seriously, this would be diabolical with real, earthy Mexican dishes.

Suprising brew from an unusual company. Very light in color considering they used chocolate. Yeasty. No hint of cocoa or chili in the aroma, just malt and yeast. The finish is dry, but nice. By the end of the bottle the chili and chocolate became apparent.

This beer is much paler than I expected and the chocolate is much less of a factor in the aroma or flavor than I expected. The aroma has that funky yeast character common in most of the Fantome beers (brett perhaps given that I get a similar aroma from other brett beers). As the beer warms I start to pick up a hint of the chile used. Only later towards the end of my glass do I start to pick up the cocoa in the finish. An amazing piece of subtlety in spicing.

Aroma: hay, grass, some chocolate, flowers, sourness, mustiness
Appearance: hazy golden color, small white head, lacing
Flavor: hay, grass, farm yard, and stale leaves
Palate: sourness, medium-bodied, stale musty aftertaste
Overall: weird

Poured a strange color.It was like a watery brown color.Hints of chocolate but the pepper was more dominant, but not overpowering.quite an interesting barrage of flavors.Has some spice and some hay to with it with a slight citrus tone.Stange stuff but decent.

The idea of this ale, a Saison brewed with cocoa and chili pepper, sounds odd (but not completely unexpected from Fantome) yet comes across as an enjoyable beer. Slightly hazy amber with a short-lived head, it’s got a spicy, malty nose complemented by a light floral bouquet and the slightest hint of chocolate. The mouthfeel is light, warm, and peppery - quite literally. The flavor has a sharp malt as its base upon which is stacked tastes of dried flowers, green tea, a touch of chocolate, habanero peppers, green olives, herbs, and Eris knows what else. All superbly blended. Nice dry, bitter finish. I love this brewery. Good choice (by me) for rating #2400.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp?PlaceID=4366>Binny’s Beverage Depot, Naperville, IL<font size=-1>