Fantôme Strange Ghost

Brewed by Brasserie Fantôme
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable
Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Shared with the gang at Cellars Wine & Spirits in St Paul, MN. Pours a hazy golden orange with a thick white head. Fast dissolving to a fine coating. Nice lacing. Aroma of barn yeard hay, medium roasted malt, cloves, a touch of black pepper, and sage? Okay, that may be where the "Strange" comes from. Taste is medium body, gritty acidic, and mineral character. Finish is light acidic and bitter.

Pours deep amber with a tall white head. Very herbal aroma of pepper, thyme, and basil. Fruity esters shine in the high carbonation bringing all the spices to life. Dry herbal feel in the finish pairs off against the citrus fruity and floral malt flavors. Really nice saison.

Pours deep amber into a tulip. Tan micro head leaves sheet lacing. Carmex (menthol), Gammel Dansk, jagermeister and angostura bitters aromas. Tastes like the aroma -- quick review of the above products show rowanberry, angelica, star aniseed, nutmeg, anise, ginger, laurel, gentian, Seville orange and cinnamon among possible ingredients. Slightly flat. Lasting bitter medicinal finish -- like a powder room soap. Can’t finish the 750 in one sitting - may work in limited quantities as an apertif.

Cloudy golden copper body topped by a medium beige head. Certainly one of the most herbal beer I’ve ever had. Herbal spices avalanche, thyme, cumin, basil, other fine herbs and plain grass. Those herbal spices are backed-up by some some mineral spices such as white pepper. That’s one heavily aromatic beer. Amazing in a tasting session (like I had it) but I’d be curious to see if that over-the-top taste would get tiresome after a full bottle. Replace the malt with tomatoes puree and you’ve got a mean spaghetti sauce.

Courtesy of Styles

Bottle: The aroma is musty and yeasty with some fruit and a touch of wood. It pours a cloudy reddish-orange with a moderate off-white head. The flavor is very flowery and perfumey with lots of spice and herbs that I can’t pinpoint. The has sme soapiness with a hint of sourness. The flower/perfume/herbal combination doesn’t really work for me.

Bottle, Pours a murky tan/orange color with a medium dense head. Plenty of lacing. Aroma of wood, cola, herbs. Flavor is cola, sorta medicinal in a good way, yeast. Palate is light bodied with a clean refreshing finish. VERY different, I love it!

Pours with a golden-orange body topped by a medium thick head with lots of lacing. It’s spicy (basil, mint) and rminiscent of herbal tea. Very strange indeed. Not really to my liking. Light bodied and smooth.

750ml bottle. Pours a nice light copper, kinda bronze color with a fluffy white white. Head leaves nice lacing and is present throughout the glass. Nose is herbs, like a fresh garden. Lots of yeast and leaf like qualities. Palate is clean and crisp, probably one of the most drinkable beers ive ever encountered. Flavor is kinda pinet with lots of leaf and herbs to be found. More of the yeast is also found here. Finishes clean like you never even tasted it.