Fantôme de Sergio
Brasserie Fantôme

Bottle pour into a tulip glass.
Copper semi-clear color with light amber sticky head with good retention and some modest lacing. Nose and palate is fruity and bready. Moderate body and smooth.

Bottle. Lot 15 s 18. Bb 2022z

Khaki tan head. Some lace. Clear caramel color.

Supposedly this one is made with some sort of spice that tastes similar to vanilla. I can see that. Very unique. Caramel, dark dried fruits, figs, tobacco. Definitely a darker saison and almost a Belgian strong dark. Lots of spices all around. Black licorice/anise.

Although it is unique, I won’t be finishing this one. Definitely one of my lesser favorite fantomes.

I had the good fortune to enjoy this last night on draft. The spices in this farmhouse ale are nothing if not unique. I spoke with the collaborator involved with Fantöme in the ale’s creation. I learned that one of the spices was sourced from Amazonia. This ale is funky, fruity, and fantastic. I’m not sure how much longer it will be available anywhere as it was intended to be a one off run.

Draft poured into a special clay mug
L: golden color with a gorgeous billowing head
S: fruity, vanilla, spices, funky, earthy
T: just like the smell
F: medium bodied
O: a real experience to drink and really quite unique. If you ever have the chance it’s one for the bucket list.

 

 

its crazy to me that basically every fantome beer is some obscure weird thing with no more information given than saison brewed with spices and 8% abv, which seems to be what darn near everything they make is. i had to do some research to learn this one is made with cumaru powder, and then some more research to find out that is a vanilla like substance that comes from a tree in the amazon, what the heck?! how do they even come up with this stuff. having no familiarity with this ingredient, and not knowing thats what was in this while i was drinking it, its almost impossible to comment on its role in the beer, except to say this one is real distinct. i wonder if they all use the same base saison, that would explain the consistent abvs across most of these, but this one pours much darker than most, a deep amber color with a very tall and lasting off white head, which is firm enough to hold its shape above the rim of our glasses. there is a little sediment on the bottom, and the classic spicy fantome yeast and green bottle stink in the nose, i have been here before. where i havent been though, is through this spice complex, at first for me it was white pepper and maybe a little cinnamon, earthy for sure, and with some sweetness trying to push through from the malt but not getting too far, as the yeast seems to have chewed through just about all of it, what a strain these guys have here! the cumaru is certainly unique, id love to try it in another context, especially after reading it has some cool medicinal properties like helping with depression and immunity. its flavor that excites me here though, a bark or root earthiness to it, more white pepper, allspice and clove esters, faint anise too, red apple cider in with the malt, and perhaps a trace of vanilla late, but it also has some lingering bitterness, as a lot of these fantome beers do. very lively feel, dry for the color, and an effervescent brightness about it, green bottle funk aside. its such cool beer, nobody does stuff like this, and even if you get burned occasionally, fantome oddities remain a good use of my beer dollars. i was engaged with this from start to finish and appreciate it in a number of ways. very cool beer!

 

Bottle into Fantom tulip appears a dark copper color with khaki head that fades leaving stringy lace.

Aroma is fruity and toasty with bready malt. Some citrus and herbs across the back.

Taste is fruity but I cant quite put my finger on what it is. Its also a little green and yeasty/bitter around the edges.

Medium in body with modest carbonation. Pretty decent and unique. I think time will make this shine as the house character will hopefully emerge making this more complex and the bitterness hopefully will fade making this easier drinking.