Fantôme Hiver (Winter)

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

Cloudy golden body. Short-lived initially large white head leaving good lacings. Excessive lavender on the nose and in the taste followed by mint, vanilla, peppery spices and quite of bit of spicy hard candies. There are plenty more spices in there but I can’t tell them apart. The mix of spices is complex for sure but also weird and unfortunately not very enjoyable. Surprising medium-high tartness level. The body is pleasantly soft, filled with plenty of chewy cereals and with an appropriate smooth carbonation. Lots of aromatic floral hops. Alcohol feels like 5%. I’ve had that beer many times before in various tasting sessions but I wanted to go through a full bottle by myself before rating it. The first glass was ok but a full bottle was sickening. I don’t think the previous bottles I sampled had that excessive lavender flavour. Didn’t seem like an infection to me. Don’t know what to say. Winter has never been my favorite Season.

Aroma: Relatively clean except for a very interesting curry/spicy thing going on, can’t pick out the spice, maybe cumin? It’s very light, but there. Interesting, I like it. Appearance: A little cloudy, decent white head. Orange colored, attractive. Flavor: Same spiciness as in the aroma, except a little caramel, sweet malt flavor and an almost burnt (but not unpleasant) character in the finish. Slight sourness. Slight fruit flavor, can’t pick out what it is. Palate: Medium bodied, with adequate carbonation. Very easy to drink. Overall: Very different, but very good, rendition of style. A really unique beer, I definitely recommend!

Bottle sampled. Pours orange/rbown with a small khaki colored head. Aroma of spices, yeast, fruit, sugar, and wood. The flavor is sweet, fruit, spices, wood, and a floral hoppy finish.

Bottle at bier circus 2002-vintage. Hazy orange brown coloured with a beige head. Aroma of dried fruits, port wine and chocolate with notes of wood. Flavour of dried fruits, sherry and wood. Nice.

Bottle (750ml) shared at ’Biegaman’s Summer Gathering’ -- courtesy of viggo. Pours a cloudy orange-amber with a small diminishing fluffy white head. Aroma’s sweet and slightly sour with some fruit, faint spices, hops and what smells like rust or wet copper. Flavour of slightly sour fruit, spices, yeast, some hops and a surprisingly bitter finish -- a touch watery maybe? Alcohol’s pretty well hidden. Medium bodied. Unique, even for Fantome, and quite enjoyable.

Apricot orange pour, hissing and exhibiting a foggy glass transparency. Sour green apples and goat cheese on the nose. Wet and animalistic. Tastes quite bright in comparison. Spritzes of lemon juice souring everything between small nips of wheat spice and sweeter citrus. Mint and a touch of coriander. Palate is just a mite too watered down. Tangy. Interesting but not quite all there.

A dark and dry bitter beer with some herbal touches. Drunk it in 2002 at OBER Chrismas beer festiva from bottle. A smell of roasted malts

Many flavors of sharp fruit and high malts. Slightly spicy with a stead stream of carbonation. A Belgian extreme of a witbeer