3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
The beer pours a mystical purplish red color, the head gigantic, frothy to the max; the left over lace sticky thick sheets to conceal the glass. The aroma of ripe plums, malt, light hints of fusel alcohol, sweet and quite appealing. Ambrosial at the start, the top middling in mouth feel, the finish bitingly acidic, the hops poke through as the beer warms a bit, the aftertaste dry and lingering. The 10% ABV makes itself felt as it is quite a “Winter Warmer”, and also quite a quaffable brew. Ranks #533 on my current 1000 beer master list.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: JUN 12, 2007 Bottle
Appearance :Fine haze, brown with ruby touch , fine coffee creamy top.
Aroma:Clean, quiet roasty ale ,plenty of coffee with creamy accents.
Flavour/Palate: Neat ,quiet subtle strong brown ale . Full flavored palate with potent supporting alcohol. Excellent roast , cocoa with spices. Subtle potency.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 2/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 16/20
Very murky reddish brown, sour, fruity and plenty of holiday spice - nutmeg and clove. Very strong but no alcohol in the flavor profile. Delicious with cornbread stuffing.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Dutch Ratebeer meeting. Best before 2001. Brown colored, cloudy. Chocolate aroma with cinnamon, cranberry. Malty flavor with cherry, chocolate and cinnamon. Some fruity sourness. Well hidden alcohol. Complex and herbal.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 14/20
Hazy brown body with a sudsy, beige head. Substantial phenolics with an interesting blend of spices and caramel maltiness. Light solvents are also detectable in the aroma. Medium sweet with lots of dark sugar and malt and a note of cocoa. Decent holiday beer.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Amber so dark it almost brown. Thin head. Gingerbread, sour dark malt, hops, and thick spices make up the aroma. Dark malt gingerbread and hop flavour with a lot of spices singing in the finish and aftertaste choruses. spice notes include ginger and pepper. Alcohol takes its time come up.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 15/20
Bottle shared with blankboy, HogTownHarry & tupalev - courtesy of HogTownHarry. Hazy ruby colour with a small beige head. Aroma is quite herbal, almost floral, with a yeasty backing and something that reminded me of an orange flavoured candy I used to like as a kid. Flavour is quite complex - my palate was starting to suffer by this point in the tasting, but got some spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, and a hint of candied orange rind (my wife makes some every Xmas, it’s awesome!). Warm, peppery finish. Another unique & enjoyable beer from Fantôme.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
Dark brown color. Small white foamy head. Aroma is fruit, tart, sour, barnyard funk, must, raisins, plums etc. A medium bodied Belgian Strong Ale. Malts are fruity, plums, cherries, and raisins. Nice bright yeasts. Nice fruity sour tartness and barnyardness. Touches of chocolate and coffee. The flavors balance out and smoothes out somewhat as it warms. A funky weird beer, but what else would you expect from Fantome! Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and dry. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.
3.7 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 4/5 TASTE 6/10 PALATE 4/5 OVERALL 16/20
Aroma is a bit sour, somewhat lambic-like, but with a creamy sweetness, with cherry and vanilla notes. Flavor is slightly sour, malty, with a bit of vinegar.
3.7 AROMA 8/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 8/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20
UPDATED: APR 3, 2005 OK. I finally had a chance to try another one of these. Much better this time. Thin foam head with decent carbonation that keeps a wisp of bubbles on the surface. Alcohol, raisins and prunes in the aroma. Color is a dark mahagony red with pretty good clarity. Rich fruity flavor dominated by raisins, brown sugar and prunes. Nice alcohol warming as it goes down. Finish is a little dry and slightly sour. Little tart. My dad did not like this one so I am forced to drink the whole 750. Gee what a shame. Much better than the first attempt. Rating adjusted.
Unlike MJR (and a couple of other ratings), a very subdued opening. No pop, no carbonation, expected more. Poured into my Orval trappist glass very unimpressive. Thin, almost no head with no carbonation. Aroma is kind of transparent. Very week with little to note. Some malts and a bit of caramel. Color is a muddy reddish/brown. Flavor is sour with some fruit. Not very good. Same with the finish. I am really starting to think that this bottle is contaminated/bad after reading the other reviews. Very dissapointing after spending 10 bucks on the bottle and waiting patiently for the right night to try it. Score reflects my dissapointment. If I ever try again, I will revise my rating.
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