Fantôme de Noël

Quite a bit drier than most of the belgian x-mas beers, but would be expected for a Saison. Aroma is vaguely belgiany-some phenolics, but not distinctive. Doesn’t seem as strong as 10%, and is deceptively drinkable. Nice stuff.

Hazy reddish brown with champagne fizz head. Nose had hints of cherries, alcohol, spices. Complex. Lively carbonation, very lively. Spumante feel. Flavor was tart and somewhat astringent. Didn’t much care for it but it wasn’t bad.

Even long before the bottom of the bottle, the body is a dark, murky brown with a sizeable head that soon fades to a ring of foam and a weather pattern. The aroma suggests tartness that never arrives along with a spicy yeastiness and suggestions of the coming malt flavor. The flavor is like breakfast. Apples, melon and mandarin oranges arrive first, sailing on the plentiful carbonation, as the fruit begins to fade, dark toast and a touch of coffee rise up. A very tasty ale and another success from Fantome.

(750ml bottle) Pours a cloudy dark brown body with a moderate beige head. Aroma of bread, roasted malts, leather, and black licorice. Flavor of potent black pepper, flat cola, raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oregano. Interesting concoction.

Soury and flowery w/ fruit and sweet notes, slightly vinious. Dark reddish brown and poured w/ awesome head and lacing. This was a big beer! Caramel and soury fermented fruit, vinious and sweet, it was all over the place. Really good effervescence and body.

Dark red color with a medium head. Very nice aroma of malts and bananas. The taste is like a thick and heavy wheat bread. The banana backs off but is still present. Alcohol is slightly hidden, but definitely shows up. Damn fine.

Dark Red Coloring With Tan Head. Cherry, Yeast Aroma. Good Warming..From Middle On...Cherry..Hops, Dry and Bitter. Quite Good.

750 ml bottle, bought at Blue Max on 9-15-04 for $10.49. Nice dry, musty, woody Belgian-like aroma. Not overtly spicy, but some spice notes are there. Color is a nice deep ruby-brownish with good carbonation and a thick long lasting collar of tan foam. Taste is rich, fruity, slightly spicy, definitely malty. Description claims honey, caramel, coriander, black pepper. Can detect the honey and caramel easily. Takes some searching to find the coriander and black pepper, but that’s ok. A little goes a long way with those ingredients. Deep fruity notes of raisins, figs, plums. I would say slightly spicy, not very spicy. An exceptional winter beer that strikes the perfect balance between spicy and malty. One of my new winter faves!