Fantôme de Noël

750 ml corked and caged. Light brown beer with orange amber highlights. The aroma is pure Fantome. Herbal/spicy yeast, oaky vanilla-ish aroma with nutmeg and cinnamon mixed in. A bit of brown sugar and molasses over baked apple warmth and fresh green apple acidity. Warming greatly improves the integration of of brown and dark malts with all of the warm baking spices. Also a leathery sourness that really starts to pick up as the beer comes up in temperature. Damp leaves and light toastiness. Herbal with notes of dill, orange peel, mint and more vanilla. Everything is very well-integrated. Bready and toasty with caramel and peppery alcohol. Further warming produces a beer with similarities to a Flemish Red, albeit one with more alcohol and less acid. Sweet/sour cherry, soft acidic notes behind a raisiny sweetness and a minty finish.. Loads of complexity. The warming feeling in my belly, just makes be appreciate it even more. Drink it around 10C for full effect. Awesome.

750 ml bottle is at least a year old: color is a rich warm garnet/mahogany color with a light tan quickly fading head. aroma is sour, spicy and earthy. lemon and lime. black peper and balsamic vinegar. a fair amount of sourness and acicity in this x-mas beer. lemon and lime tartness. dry cocoa and rosemary. sours grapes and caramel. maybe a hint of cedar. dry finish silky smooth.

At first I was put off by the black pepper flavor of this Belgian but by the time I finished my half bottle, I’d say I grew to enjoy it. The head was dark brown and a tan head.

from a year old 750. dark brown nice tan head great lacing. aroma mineral roasted sour honey. very light pine. almost smells briny like the sea. sweet sour mineral like saltwater flavor with light roasted notes. soft spicy dry finish. very nice. complex.

Pours a nice chocolate-brown color, with a tinge of ruby red at the bottom of the glass. A thin layer of tan foam leaves behind some nice soft lacing. Later in the pour, after stirring up the yeast, the head is a bit darker, more than an inch thick, and the lacing is phenominal. The aroma is mild, but I can discern a variety of scents - a generic ’winter warmer’ spice blend, some faint molasses, and a hint of cedar. The flavor is dry (make that extremely dry), and full of dusty spice, some roasted grain, leather, and dry black tea leaves. Unusually dry for sure, but very full and tasty. Oddly, while I don’t taste any alcohol, a warming glow is noticeable from the very first sip. Although I haven’t finished the first glass, I already feel a bit of a nice buzz coming on. And this buzz is a weed buzz (without the munchies)... Further into the bottle, I stir up the yeast and dump it in. That familiar Fantome tanginess is now welcomed, embraced, and very prominet in the aftertaste. The yeast adds this cedar-tobacco flavor, reminding me somewhat of my humidor. Great soft carbonation and medium body round out the mouthfeel.

Pours deep ruby-hued murky brown with a small dark tan head. Lightly sour fruity aroma with a hint of spiced honey, and red wine vinegar. Flavor is mainly sour and malty and not nearly as comlex as I expect from fantome. The palate is where this beer shines through. Spices finally make their appearance here, as well as some caramel, and nice warming alcohol in the back of the throat at the end of this long finish. Pepper becomes evident after the finish as the alcohol warms. Have to try another bottle just to make sure mine was okay. Even though it was a pretty decent brew, mine felt very flat and didn’t pop at all when uncorked.

2005 Vintage. 750 ml bottle into a Tulip glass, thanks to T-Bot!!This beauty pours a deep ruby red brownish tone with a lightly retentive tanned head. The aroma on this Ghost is much more malty than other Fantome’s I’ve encountered in the past. Hints of a Belgian sour red, tartyness, vinegar mixed with a sweet spice come into the nose. The flavor begins sweet with the malt from the nose and swiftly moves into a very recognizable Fantome spice kick with bits of black peppers and cinnamon. A very Earthy tone rings through the whole body with tiny bits of old grass tossed in between the flavors. Sweet caramel comes out from time to time, but once the pepper hits it stays on this note through the finish and lingers on the palate for a good amount of time after each sip. A much sweeter Fantome than I’m used to. Highly wine-like, highly enjoyable, like every Fantome really. More and more these guys become one of my top brewries.

Pours a nick dark brownish-black, with a nice tan head. Nice malty sweet nose with hints of a sour oakyness and caramel. The flavor is definately a belgian with the earthy mustiness, but is complemented by a nice spiciness that must be the black pepper as it is not your normal hoppy spice. The alcohol is very subtle and plays nicely with teh coffee-like earthiness. This is a great beer from this crazy belgian brewery.