Fantôme de Noël

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

Serve in Tulip

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UPDATED: FEB 14, 2006 Off-white head, large bubbles. VERY well carbonated, this beer couldn’t wait to fizz out of the bottle once opened. Dark murky color, rather unappetizing. Grainy-sweet aroma with a harsh citric acid overtone. Blackberry startwith a hop-bitter middle. Alcohol pepper / bitter aftertaste. Two things irk me about this beer:<ul><li>Color doesn’t match the flavor - I expected a dark winter brew to be a lot maltier</li><li>The color doesn’t match the flavor at all</li></ul> Bottle thanks to Blake. Hazy brown body, tan head. Fruity raspberry aroma with coriander and a light caramel malt underbody. The flavor is about the same as my prior rating - grapefruit rind with a coriander bite with an unclean alcohol thing.

750 ml bottle. Dark brown and slightly hazy. Thick creamy off-white head. Rich spicy complexity. Medium-bodied. Quite dry with a prickling feeling. Light flavours. It is the spices in the aroma that is complex. The rest is rather disappointing. The alcohols are nicely hidden. Somewhat sour finish.

This one's spices were just ALL over the place. Im guessing they threw the whole spice rack into this one. The Fantome Noel was another one sampled at Obriens last night (a long list if you've noticed). This one poured a medium brown with a light tannish medium head as well. The aroma was brimming with a slew of spices including ginger and coriander, and of course wood. There were also hints of citrusy orangeness. The taste was very acidic with the spices dominating. Alcohol and coriander blending with citrusy hops to create one spicey meatball, let me tell ya!!!! The alcohol becomes really apparent as the Noel warms up. Total barnyardiness comes out as it warms...foresty, spicey, warm belly feeling. Not bad, but nothing that really caught my tongue and took it for the ride of its life. I repeat, i want to get my hands on a bottle of 2001.

750ml bottle, vintage unknown, but most likely 2006. Brown and purple hued body, with a small film of an off-white head. Oxidized nose of cardboard, sweet plum and wood, and a flavor that it up front sweet and starchy, then turning sour and lactic when the Fantome yeast is noticed... overall it’s a bit confused and detached, feeling thin in the mouth, weak and watery on the palate, never coming togethor with that rich frothiness that you find in other Fantome. Sharp, astringent at times, and cloying, it’s too messy. The finish especially is hard to deal with - the moldy cardboard and biting yeast.

Dark brown with red hues, tan colored head with very good retention and lacing. In the aroma I got old grass clippings, green beans, some slight spice, and maybe a little fruitiness as it warmed. Same characteristics in the taste, except there was none of the fruitiness. Just wasn’t good, would not seek this out.

Not really a big fan of this. Dark brown in color with a small tan head. Both aroma and flavor of dark fruits at first, but both are overwhelmed by a extreme funk and sour flavor. A few chocolatey undertones but I find the balance to be off in this one. Maybe I got an abnormal bottle... I’ll try again at some point.

UPDATED: NOV 7, 2007 750ml capped&corked bottle. Pours a very dark and cloudy brown/black with a thick tan head that quickly fades into a thin, wispy layer of small bubbles. The aroma is alarmingly similar to Jolly Pumpkin’s Madrugada Obscura: a mix of spices, dust, chocolate, sour apple vinegar, and alcohol. The sour vinegar smell seems strangely inappropriate with the earthy musk and chocolate. The flavor starts dry and dusty with semi-sweet chocolate - balanced by hints of fruity acid. The combination seems a little more successful on the tip of the tongue than in the aroma. The middle of the tongue detects some funk - the acid builds and is paired with dry, musty notes - but is strangely lacking sourness. It is incredibly dry on the tongue at this point and leaves a strange, cloying mix of vinegar and unsweetened cocoa powder. The finish is hot with alcohol, very dry, and keeps going the odd combo of vinegar and unsweetened cocoa. The mouthfeel is pleasantly carbonated and surprisingly light for a beer of this strength - but the funk (brett, lactic bacteria, acid) gives a wicked sensation of dryness across the middle and back of the tongue. As the beer warms up (or maybe its the alcohol hitting my brain) it improves a little: the beer reveals flavors of roasted grain and prunes, mixed with the chocolate and must. Also, the dryness isn’t so distracting once the tongue gets acclimated to it. Overall, I’m a bit disappointed. I have really enjoyed a few other Fantôme beers (especially their signature Spring Saison), but this one is much weaker. I think this sort of thing - the funky, brett stout - just isn’t up my alley. I think Jolly Pumpkin’s brew was a little more successful than this one, though.

Bottle 086/477044: Ruby in color with a slight cream head. Light caramel malt, cherry and funk aroma. Dry, cardboard sour funk. I’m realizing that I’m not that much of a fan of the farmhouse funk.

from Holiday. Brown with a tan fluffy head. Chocolate and Belgian yeast aroma. Rather boring taste with some unpleasant spice.

Pours a dingy orange brown. nose is heavy with holiday spice, but mostly just a heavy dirt smell. Taste is bleh. overly spicy and dirty tasting. fairly heavy on booze, no bueno.