Triple Gourmet, Nouvelle Recette
Brasserie Fantôme

Lot 15a 5 19 bb2022

Bottle pours a clear golden color.

Bubblegum as it’s cold, then turns into a Belgian tripel. Lots of spice, earthy notes, hops, Belgian spice. Very drinkable for the high abv. Solid Fantome.

2019 bottle 11.5% ABV Corked and caged brew is so much better than the swing-topped versión from before.

Bottle. BB 2022. 11.5%. Not sure if it's the same beer, but it's the same label. Golden orange hazy with lasting small head and a little lace. Spicy herbal vanilla grain and booze aroma. Honey peach vanilla sweetness with spicy bitterness and boozy finish. Medium body lively fine carbo. Big boozy triple, but not gluey or cloying. Well done.

This is a New Recipe, NOT the retired BSPA @ 8%ABV from 2013 with a flip-top and reviews complaining about smokiness.
If the Nouvelle Recette gets distribution (as it should), I'd agree to this being re-styled as a Tripel; but I found this bottle not as clean... in fact it is a bit messy like a rustic farm ... hence the BSPA style.

Murky Looks with decent protein swirls. Smells are like standing in an orchard in the Fall with some of the harvest getting too ripe on the ground... then add some yeasty funk. Tastes are full without many hops until the end. But, this ale does not get dry. The alcohol is camouflaged by the orchard distraction and the yeast and sugar doing their job. Medium to full mouth.

Now, I made the mistake of opening this without remembering what I bought or reading the ABV and just assumed this was a saison since that is most of what I've had from Fantome. The bigger mistake was it was dinner time. And Triple Gourmet is way too powerful and complex an ale to let a fine meal do its thing. Better with a medley of appetizers, if I can find it again.

OA: I like Fantome. I want to put them on my BBBL (Belgian Brewer Bucket List) for a visit. But my issue with Fantome is price. The gourmet grocery store wanted $18 for this. As a Euro Saison Head (thanks again to Stoned Tripp'n for the name), I paid it and I got some value by sharing it. But at $18, how do you recruit wine drinkers ?