Fantôme de Noël

Darker amber coloured beer with an off-white head. Fruity light sour aroma. Full palate, some fizzy mouthfeel. Finish is light sour, fruity and herby. Rather special and good.

On tap, yesterday @ Kerstbierfestival. Dark amber-brown color, with beige head. Aroma very spicey, roasted malts, yeast, some sourness. Medium body. Taste = sweet, roasted malts, very spicy, alcoholic. Bit dry and sticky.

Bottle 086/477044: Ruby in color with a slight cream head. Light caramel malt, cherry and funk aroma. Dry, cardboard sour funk. I’m realizing that I’m not that much of a fan of the farmhouse funk.

Pours a dark copper color with a big beige head. Aroma of roasted malt, fruits and spices. Flavor of sweet malt, chocolate, spice and wood. Alcohol is present. Medium to full bodied, normal carbonation for the style. Big Saison!

Dark brown with a thin layer of tan bubbles. Aroma is alcoholic with some sour fruit. Flavor is sour all the way through like granny smith apples. Some sweetness mixed in and possibly some bakers chocolate with a helping of earth at the end. I don’t care much for this.

Sample provided by jasonp. Light cola body with no head. The nose is milk chocolate, berry, green apple and raisins. The flavor is chocolate, light spice, figs, caramel and herbs. Medium body is very soft with light carbonation.

750ml bottle, vintage unknown, but most likely 2006. Brown and purple hued body, with a small film of an off-white head. Oxidized nose of cardboard, sweet plum and wood, and a flavor that it up front sweet and starchy, then turning sour and lactic when the Fantome yeast is noticed... overall it’s a bit confused and detached, feeling thin in the mouth, weak and watery on the palate, never coming togethor with that rich frothiness that you find in other Fantome. Sharp, astringent at times, and cloying, it’s too messy. The finish especially is hard to deal with - the moldy cardboard and biting yeast.

750ml capped&corked bottle. Pours a very dark and cloudy brown/black with a thick tan head that quickly fades into a thin, wispy layer of small bubbles. The aroma is alarmingly similar to Jolly Pumpkin’s Madrugada Obscura: a mix of spices, dust, chocolate, sour apple vinegar, and alcohol. The sour vinegar smell seems strangely inappropriate with the earthy musk and chocolate. The flavor starts dry and dusty with semi-sweet chocolate - balanced by hints of fruity acid. The combination seems a little more successful on the tip of the tongue than in the aroma. The middle of the tongue detects some funk - the acid builds and is paired with dry, musty notes - but is strangely lacking sourness. It is incredibly dry on the tongue at this point and leaves a strange, cloying mix of vinegar and unsweetened cocoa powder. The finish is hot with alcohol, very dry, and keeps going the odd combo of vinegar and unsweetened cocoa. The mouthfeel is pleasantly carbonated and surprisingly light for a beer of this strength - but the funk (brett, lactic bacteria, acid) gives a wicked sensation of dryness across the middle and back of the tongue. As the beer warms up (or maybe its the alcohol hitting my brain) it improves a little: the beer reveals flavors of roasted grain and prunes, mixed with the chocolate and must. Also, the dryness isn’t so distracting once the tongue gets acclimated to it. Overall, I’m a bit disappointed. I have really enjoyed a few other Fantôme beers (especially their signature Spring Saison), but this one is much weaker. I think this sort of thing - the funky, brett stout - just isn’t up my alley. I think Jolly Pumpkin’s brew was a little more successful than this one, though.