Fantôme Strange Ghost

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

Very rich deep brown in color, small off white almost a light brown head, aroma a very tea like smell, with some spices like a lemon grassy, pepper and some yeast mixed in to it. Taste has some mint that you would find out in a field with a hint of clove taste in it. Very funky on the palate small after taste of the alcoholic content in it.

Bottle courtesy of Dewbrewer. Thank you!
Pours a rich brownish color. Smell is mint, rosemary, sage perhaps, and very herbacious and floral in general. Taste is perhaps lighter than the nose, but still minty, slightly sweet and full of unique herb flavor. Towards the end turns almost lemony in flavor and reminds me of sweet tea with lemon. A bit thin bodied. Very interesting, worth a try.

first off, this is definately a strange beer, as the name implies, and probably not for everyone. I however found this to be one of the most interesting beers I’ve had in a loing while. Pours a sort of muddy amber brown with thinnish head, patchy lacing. The aroma takes you by storm. Herbaceous as allo hell, grass, pepper, minty, savory herbs, slight sour funk. The flavor is much the same focusing on mint, thyme and rosemarry I think. There is a definite sour character as well as some fruity esters. The flavor is complex to say the least. Nice tingly body ends on a dryer pleasantly bitter note. I paired this beer with a rabbit dish my friend cooked and I think that no other beer could have done such a perfect job with the dish. I have note tried this beer without food and I suspect that it serves better as an accompanyment rather than just a session beer. Still this is a wonderful beer that everyone should try once.

Bottle pours garnet with an off white head that fades pretty quickly to a surface haze island. The aroma is of malt, fruit, and spice. The flavor is... different. Its like a mint infused Saison! Yes, there are some sour notes, malt backbone, spice, yeast, but also mint; fresh mint from the hillside in the yard of the house I grew up in. I guess I should have known from the green highlights on the label. The palate is lively and crisp. Overall, I guess it is refreshing. I sort of like it.

750 ml bottle shared by theisti at csbosox’s tasting, on 3/7/08. Pours a cloudy, muddy brown with a thin, wispy head and patchy lace. The aroma is minty, wheaty and lightly funky. In other words, it’s fairly interesting, but not particularly enticing, not unlike other saisons that I’ve sampled from Fantôme. Light to medium bodied and soft with a tart yet mildly spicy finish. Lightly sour wheat, mild mint and tart funky yeast conclude with a nice, dry finish. This is a fairly solid beer. Thanks for sharing it with us, Tim. :)

750ml bottle. Thanks Tim! Mystifying aroma, spicy and fruity, leafy, herbal and dusty, with some mild black pepper and a host of other spices, also has a very lightly vinous touch. Cloudy, rusty amber color, head is uneven and lasting. Flavor is similarly inscrutable, with what seems like touches of allspice, nutmeg, clove, faint beryish tartness, some very gentle bitterness throughout, along with some wood, earth and a tangy finish that leaves hints of tea leaves behind. Very thin and smooth on the palate, body is surprisingly light as well. Alcohol is nigh undetectable. This is simply undefinable, even compared to the other Fantomes I’ve had. I did wish it had a bit more substance, though, as it was quite watery, again unlike the rest of this brewey’s lineup thus far.

750 ml bottle shared by Tim. Pours a buddy brown with some reddish hues. Smell like Wintergreen LifeSavors. Nice. Spruce flavors. Peppery with the typical Fantome yeast character. Light body. Spritzy. Dry. One of the better Fantome beers I’ve had.

750 ml bottle, mail ordered from Liquor Max in Loveland, Colorado, shared at the csbosox tasting on 3/7/08. Pour is cloudy brown-orange with a nice off white head. Aroma of spruce, all spice, mild black pepper, and almost a medicinal quality. Tons going on in this nose, though not sure it all works together. Taste is pretty medicinal, sharp contrast between the sweetness and spiciness. Cloves are in there as well. The spruce gives this a very piney finish. Interesting, but not sure what to make of it. Thanks for starting mail ordering Nick!