Fantôme Chocolat

Brewed by Brasserie Fantôme
Style: Saison
Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Hazy amber ale with a white head. Light corainder and orange peels. Good sweet malt, lactic notes, pepper, coriander and curacao in mouth. Good funkey hops in finale. Now, where is the chocolate??? Mondial 2005.

This pours out a light, cloudy amber color with a nice white head. Aroma is roasty, sweet and grassy, and has faint notes of chili pepper and chocolate. The flavor is very different and interesting. It has an overall sweet flavor, though not overpoweringly, while hop bitterness is also quite apparent. Both the chocolate and the chili flavors are subtle, being most noticable in the finish. To be honest, the finish has kind of an unpleasant feel on my tongue. While this is an interesting experiment, and not really a bad beer, I probably won’t buy it again. If chocolate and chili pepper make an interesting flavor mixture, it doesn’s show through in this beer, and I imagine wouldn’t do well in any other Saison.

Quite an interesting concoction, bottle says it was brewed with chocolate and chile peppers. The nose is complex, belgian, with solid roasty notes with a bit of citrus. The mouth is full and also roasty, though not particularly chocolatey. The chile comes through as just a hint on the early finish. Quite interesting.

Rusty amber color, with a huge off-white head that never dies. Lemon-pepper aroma, with apple pie and gingerbread. Not nearly as sour as other Fantome brews. The chocolate only becomes noticeable in the finish, and then again moreso as the beer warms. Has a more refined, malty body than other saisons, perhaps best summed up as a dubbel in the saison spectrum. Finishes dry, slightly sweet, again with powdered cocoa. More Fantome greatness here.

Thin off-white sloppy head. Reduces quickly. Typical saison aroma with yeast, straw, ginger and a very faint hint of milk chocolate. Light and refreshing aroma though. Color is a slightly hazy rusty brown. Dry, slick mouthfeel. Very slight bitterness and sourness along with a bit if citrus and spices. More ginger and a bit of iron (rust). Light flavor with only a faint hint of chocolate again. Little alcohol warming. Some hints of vegetables in there also. Finish is a little dry and tart. Not one of the better Fantomes in my opinion.

Opened the bottle with high hopes. But had to dump this one down the drain. Easily the worst bottled beer I have ever opened. Enough said.

I gotta say, that this is underrated. Without meaning to overdo the style, this is my fourth in a row, and by far the best. The peppery bite is evident from the start. It is easily the lightest chocolat beer in color, but the flavor still comes through, just not as heavy and at the end. Very unique and quite tasty.

Very strange concept. That being said the beer was interesting with a somewhat orange body and a very strange aroma. Very strange taste of chocolate, hops and some spicy pepper notes. DOn’t know what to think of this one, I give it the rating for the uniquness of the brew