Fantôme Strange Ghost

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

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.

Been wanting to try this one, finally took it out of the cellar. Pours a nice ruby color with a medium sized thin white head. Aroma is of spice and some fresh herbs, mint and some damp earthy aromas. The taste is a full on assualt on your palate, totally not what you would be expecting. Minty notes mixed with some rosemary, oragano and some funky earthy flavors. Maybe a touch of black pepper here and there. Very interesting creatice beer, I like it !!

Hazy amber colour. Minty aroma with dusty yeast, camphor or menthol-like phenols...strange indeed. The flavour is hugely spicy, evocative of things like mint, anise, cinnamon and oregano, with a little bit of malt background. There is also some unpleasant ashy astringency (to recreate, try eating a spoonful of dried thyme). Quite sweet as well, in a manner reminiscent of candyish, herbal sodas like Vimto (Saudi version) or Antarctica Guarana. Certainly this beer provides very eclectic references. And as is true with all Fantomes it grows on you over the course of a 750 (drinking a Fantome in any serving size less than 750 should be criminalized) but it still pales in comparison with most of Dany’s other efforts. It is whacked out, but the elements don’t come together in any compelling way the way that they do in most of his brews. You aren’t left breathless and begging for more at the end of this, which for a Fantome beer may as well be a damning indictment.

Orange-amber body with a slow-fading frothy cream-colored head. Aroma of yogurt, overripe pineapples, coriander, black pepper, and mulling spice. Features some funky undertones. Herbal, somewhat tart lemon and cream flavor. Has a chlorophenolic pool toy character with mostly dry, aspartame bitterness. Reminds me of Fantôme de Noël with less vanilla cream yogurt and more citrus. The whole is better than the sum of the parts here and the appeal builds through a solo flight with a 750. Imagine that.

Darkish rufous. Fine layer of thin, but rocky and creamy, white foam. Vibrantly herbaceous nose with a medley of juniper, white pepper, and candied ginger. Softly carbonated. Intensely herbal bitterness immediately holds the palate hostage while overstated juniper follows suit and produces little more than an unpleasant medicinal pungency. All this brashness is compounded by aspirin, fresh lemongrass, and a hard tonic-like accent. Mustiness is unfortunately imperceptible. Weightless honey-drizzled biscuity malt sweetness briefly disperses the oppressive sharpness, only to take backseat to the reemergence of more harsh grassiness and peach fuzz. At times this is uncannily similar to biting into a lime peel or juniper berry. Quite invigorating, however, as a result of the tight and gritty candied ginger flavors which, in turn, complement the understated alcohol. Body packs enough moist density to keep the brashness from becoming too punishing in the latter half. Finishes less intense than with it started, though tongue numbing notes of juniper and candied ginger linger for what seems like an eternity. Aromatically speaking, this is somewhat pleasant, but it’s far too one-dimensional as I’m picking up very little mustiness or hop character. And while the malt is cleanly extracted, it’s far too subtle to handle the unruly brashness. You’ve gotta adore Dany’s risk-taking attitude even if, from time to time, near-disasters are the end result.

Amber body with creamy, beige head. The aroma is Bretty- hay, barnyard, cobwebs, Spice- mint, lavender, with some green grapes and piney hops. The flavor is mint, lavender, lots of bretty funk, apricots and golden raisins, very piney, resinous, slightly sour especially at the end. The mouthfeel is very light with a dry, bitter finish. Very nice.

Whoa. It’s been a while since I’ve had palate shock but Strange Ghost delivered. Initially a slightly hazy amber body, after the sediment poured it was very cloudy. Aroma is EXTREMELY herbal, almost like cough syrup. Extrmely doesn’t do it justice. It’s as ridiculous as Aecht’s Urbock with the smoke quality. Very spicy nose with mints, cough syrup, spices, fruits, and caramel. The first few sips were just shocking... was this beer or medicine? After about 150cl my palate adjusted and it was a very drinkable beer. Certainly much more interesting than tasty, but still pretty tasty. If you are bored with your drinking experience, try this one!

Cellared ~6 months-Tremendous herbal aroma-the most unusual ive ever smelled coming from a beer. I cant pinpoint everything but overall it is very medicinal like menthol or eucalyptus with mint and basil and a background of woody, malty saison. Everything about this is herbal-i feel like it is familiar like ive smelled this aroma coming from a skin cream or muscle rub or something. Flavor is the same-dominated by various herbs. Unlike other spiced beers, you wont need to strain to detect the flavors, youll have to strain to detect the beer. Palate is musty and earthy with other herbs coming up. Overall, I’d say this is a unique and interesting beer worth trying-you really have to try it yourself to understand it. I wouldnt say id buy this regularly but its worth the experience. (20/20 for strangeness)