Fantôme de Noël

From bottle at Kerstbierfestival in Essen. I heard there were four kinds of peppers, and I expected spicy ones. Instead, we’re talking vegetable -- not a bad thing either. Deep amber color. Not spicy, but there is a sweet-pepper flavor here, maybe even a tomatoey acidity. Someone order me a pizza. Strange and interesting.

2006 bottle consumed on 10/28/06
Dark, murky, chestnut brown with definite auburn, maroon and strawberry highlights. Head is large, frothy and off-white/beige, receding, a little prematurely to cover, and showing quite a large amount of lacing.
Very fruity nose shows plentiful esters of apple, cherry, strawberry and cherry. Sweet at first but with a tartness on the end contributed by some wild yeasts, no doubt. Medium malts are lightly toasted, toffeeish and some light candi sugar notes are present. Heavy white or black pepper and some acetic notes, it seems. Warming allows the nose to smooth out a touch, giving it a little vanilla and sweet graham cracker maltiness and producing more of a raisin-like flavor as the esters, bacterial influences and malts meld (somewhat). Still, I found the raisiny-toffee sweetness, vinegar-like acid and spicy notes to just come across as muddled. Don’t find any particular note well suited to the others. Kind of sloppy, though there’s no alcohol and the strength (of aroma) is pretty good.
A little bit more pleasing in the mouth, I found, thanks mostly to the gentle, yet tight carbonation, as is the norm for Fantome. Creamy vanilla and caramel wrapped about tart red fruitiness growing acidic on the end in concert with acidity from the roasty malt flavor. The usual funky/musty/cellar-like yeast qualities are present. Not overly sweet, especially as the acidity builds up, and there are certainly a lot of things rolled in to one here. But you really have to be a huge Fantome fan to get in to this. Couldnt finish the bottle. I like Dany’s more focused efforts. I’ve got a 2000 bottle of this still, interested to see how that is at some point.

Bottle: Poured a hazy darek brown almost coffee looking with a white head. Spicy aroma and earth tones. Followed the aroma right into the flavor was spicy and somewhat peppery.

Cloudy dark brown body with a medium tan head. Yet another wild Fantôme. Anise and a bunch of other herbs. Toasted bready malts, tree roots and other earthy and woody stuff. Earthy cherries and red grapes in maple syrup. Notes of chocolate without the sweetness. Light acidity and a quick sourness that come and go. Alcohol extremely very well hidden. Mouth drying dusty finish. The beer is tasty, complex and different. For the lovers of herbs and wild “think outside the box”. Drinking a To me drinking a Fantome Noel is now a christmas tradition along with the gift exchange, decorating the tree, and drunk uncle Raymond falling down the stairs.

Pours dark brown into a tulip. Mocha colored micro head leaves lacing as it recedes. Chocolate covered cherry aromas. Dry with upfront chocolate malts and sour cherry with lasting bitter/sweet chocolate finish. Like a chocolate cake with a tart cherry layer.

Typically great fantome pour, with a ton of yeast and a bulky head. Dark brown, and obviously completely cloudy. Aroma is rich and strong, with spruce, oak, butter, cocoa beans, cinnamon, licorice, raisins, cheese, vanilla... fabulous! I could list subtelties in the aroma for days. Taste is very interesting, with dry milk chocolate, mocha latte, brown sugar, though still very dry, easy drinking. A touch of sourness perhaps, not too much saison character?, a bit thin, but very enjoyable none-the-less. Just drinking this beer without studying it makes it seem a bit boring, but as I look for details, this beer really excels. There is a lot going on here, as in most fantome brews. This is an intruiging, complex brew, that would favor perfectly for conneseiurs and random guests alike.

Bouteille verte de 750 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de caramel, de cannelle et de pin. Apparence: La couleur est brune. Présence d’un énorme col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’épices, d’agrumes et de fleurs. Longue durée de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps ets moyen. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Légère présence de fumée (?) en arrière goût. (Rating #717)

Bottle. Hazy dark brownish colour with a huge light brownish head. aroma and taste of malts, fruits and spices. Very good beer and cheap too.