Fantôme Hiver (Winter)

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

I wasn’t a big fan of this beer. Dark orange pour with a huge white head. Funky aroma mixed with a light pepperiness, and some odd wet paper notes. Flavour was sharp, and earthy. More of that odd paper note, and a touch of mint. Very odd beer.

750 ml bottle. Cloudy brownish pour with a thick white . Aroma is very complex with a big pepper nose upfront and then falling away to give hints of grapefruit and apples. Taste is smooth and malty with a bit more of the dry tangy hints of grapefruit and spicy bits of pepper. Very subtle relaxed finish of citrus . Just an overall wonderful beer to enjoy with friends.

Bottle. Pours with a huge, rocky, white head. Murky yellow body. Small yeast particles floating around. Aroma of funk, grass, barnyard, citrus, spices, honey, and herbal. Taste is very odd, citrus followed by marjoram, followed bit bitterness with a bit of basil too. VERY herbal. Slightly sour in the finish. On the dry side with lively bubbles. This is up there in oddity as Strange Ghost.

Pours with a golden orange hue under a large white head that has pretty good longevity. The aroma is of yeast particles, citrus, barnyard funk, and bread. The most distinctive scent is the herbal quality that lingers even in the taste. The flavor starts with a lot of citrus, with a spicy/herby ending. Tastes a little like camomile tea and marjoram spice. Medium body with light carbonation. A weird brew, but not bad!

Strangest Fantome I’ve had yet, and unfortunately I don’t know which year this was. This was a funky one, though, with definite mushroom vibes and weird spices. Very earthy and spicy. I don’t have much of a vocabulary to describe this beer, but I’ll readily say that I enjoyed the challenge it presented to me.

Bottle. Orange reddish color, pours a huge head. Coreander, anis, cardemom and red berries in the spicy aroma and flavor. Malty, slightly tart and alcoholic. Why oh why so many spices in this beer? It could habe been so nice.

pours the color of ruby red grapefruit juice. aroma is also slightly citric; floral yet savory. some kind of fruit juice additive? this is strange even for fantome. an almost soapy flavor washes over the tounge with a very wet (but not thin) mouthfeel then ends with a mostly dry bitterness. slightly metallic, a bit peppery. i am confounded by the flavor, but becoming obsessed with the truly unique color. perhaps the flavor echoes the color and the spiciness i detect is grapefruit juice, or maybe some variation of the traditional belgian spice. this is truly odd.

750 mL bottle brought to my by my friend Alraomon from Sam’s Quik Shop in Durham. Winter 07-08 version. Hazy peach colored pour shows a medium head that fades to an omnipresent white layer on the beer’s surface. Small floaties. Aroma is yeast, lime, some funkiness and a peppery spiciness. The spice is more pronounced in the taste, with notes of white pepper, dill, cardamon and ginger. Also very noticeable is the yeast along with some subtler citrus, cheesy and caramel notes. Very dry.