Fantôme de Noël

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

Serve in Tulip

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UPDATED: APR 1, 2004 Slightly cloudy dark amber beer. Sour, slightly rotten aroma. Sweet, odd spicy taste. Sweet-bitter finish. Re-rated at the Kerstbierfestival 2003. Aroma much better now. I wonder if I got a perfecr bottle last time. The taste was rather spicy and a bit sweet. Light bitter finsih.

UPDATED: JAN 13, 2006 This beer poured a hazy dark amber brown with a small, off-white, quickly diminishing head. The aroma was full of citrus, holiday spices and coriander with a big helping of hops, horseblanket and cellar with neat band-aid-like retros. The body was light-to-medium with a light texture and lively carbonation. The flavor was lightly bitter in the front and intensified into a long-lasting moderately bitter finish.

Draft at Redlight Redlight. Thanks to Brent for getting this on draft for us! Aroma is sweet and funky, with cherries, nuts, dust and the signature Fantome funk. Cherries rule the flavor, with a good sourness and corriander. Overall, a great beer that I’m happy to have had on draft.

Dark hazy brown color with a small head. My first impression upon sipping this is what a thin body it has for a 10% beer. Decent lacing. Saison like aroma with a clove like taste and mouthfeel. Different but not something I will go back to.

Hazy caramel-amber with big, flotsam, beige head / Delicate nose of orchard fruit, oak, caramel, and brett / Light to medium body, lively, mildly tart and acidic, alcohol not apparent, with excellent balance and dry, ever so lightly bitter, finish / Earthy, delicate flavors of green apple, rotten apple, cherry, chrysanthemum, buttered caramel, chocolate, oak, hay, and wet fur / Great stuff, as usual for Fantome.

Aroma of pepper, funk, sourness, and a very light chocolate. Black body with a thin head. Medium palate. The flavor is sour up front with chocolate and black malts coming through. A hint of pepper in the aftertaste. Very complex.

Light to frothy head that has nice staying power (ugly hazy brown color). Sweet Belgian candied fruit and citrus aromas. Alcohol, coco, and hints of a light medicinal property. All and all, good. Gets a bit funky as it warms (barnyard). As for the taste…well it went great with the lobster bisque and Ruben sandwiches! Definitely coco in there. This is like a light dessert brew. Some kind of heavy dessert fruit flavors with spices (allspice?) and some Belgian yeast hints lying deep down. Full and delicious flavor. Medium creamy body. Very easy to drink with a nicely balanced carbonation. My favorite Fantome so far!

UPDATED: DEC 29, 2007 750ml bottle. Thanks Tim! Roasty, rummy, nutty, with some nice herbal notes. Taste is roasty with black pepper, musty, woodsy, and spicy.

Bottle to snifter. Pours hazy dark amber mahogany with a quick off white soapy head that dissipate to a thin tiny collar. Aroma is fruity and has some faint tartness and clove. Taste has spice like clove and Christmas cheer along with bubblegum yeast and and funk with some tartness in the finish. Palate is slick coating and dry with a warming finish. Very solid brew!

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.