Fantôme Hiver (Winter)

Brewed By: Brasserie Fantôme in Soy-Erezée, Belgium   

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013 (might be a 2012 bottle?)

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale, 8.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

Tonight is gorgeous, with temps bottoming out in the low 60s or upper 50s. I just went for a midnight jog, and I'm ready to slay some ghosts. About Fantôme: 

Fantôme is a brewery based out of Soy, Wallonia, Belgium, that was founded in 1988 by the mad man and mastermind, Dany Prignon. The brewery is located in a crumbling farmhouse in the Marche-en-Famenne district of Luxembourg province, and Fantôme's beer just might be more popular in the United States than it is in Belgium. Dany brews one type of beer: Saisons/Farmhouse Ales. Each of his Saisons have a unique twist, and he often brews his beers using herbs, spices, juices, and other off-beat ingredients. Their website is so hardcore it only comes in French, but check it out anyway. 

"Hiver" literally means "winter" in French. For some reason I thought that this beer was a smoked/rauchbier, but this is actually just Fantôme's winter seasonal (available from December through March). The recipe is variable from year to year, and there have been more than one report of some infected bottles in the 2012 crop. I'm flying blind here, but to be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way with a Fantôme beer.

Fantôme Hiver (Winter)

The cork came out of this beer with a resounding "POP!" Actually, compared to some of the other Fantôme beers I've opened, this cork was somewhat stubborn. The beer pours into a hazy orange/brown body, with 3-fingers of off-white/orange head. I'm not going to lie, this isn't the prettiest beer you will seduce. Bright light tells a similar story: you get a hazy, orange body, with some sediment floating around and gold tones on the outskirts. There are numerous streams of tiny, peppery carbonation supporting the gold/orange-tinted head. The head is sustaining nicely. Not only is there lacing, but there are some legs on this. At 8.0%, this is moving into that potent range for what is likely to be a very drinkable beer.

I'm going to rant about Fantôme in my random thought, but I feel like cries of infection could easily be a simple misunderstanding (unless you get a ropey beer, in which case, I'm so, so sorry). This beer has a lot of awesome Saison trimmings on the nose: peach, melon, strawberry, some lemon tartness. There's also a dash of tartness, maybe a little lactic kick. And there's also a ton of the house yeast, and that patent Fantôme funk. I'm getting earth, dirt, tobacco, leather jacket that has soaked up tons of cigarette smoke, bowling alley, leather shoes, and horse stable. 

Wow, this is fucking weird. I was expecting this to play the Saison straight, but this has serious density (8.0%...I guess...duh), with huge grains, orange/lemon kick, tons of leather, hints of smoke, and earthy bitterness. This almost has a cake-like density, with charred grain/malt veering towards that leather/cigarette jacket thing. There's also an amalgamate of fruits on display here. Underneath the ridiculous funk and leather/tobacco is some lactic lemon funk -- tons of earthy basement dominates -- you get old attic/garage, old tires, and some subtle peach/lemon/strawberry/apples/pears fruitiness. This definitely has some bitterness, both from the burnt grain and from what I presume are some bittering hops (and from the yeast, upon further drinking). 

This beer is a grower, not a shower. That is...it's really growing on me. This beer is incredibly complex, and it's layered. It's also not the type of thing I would hand to someone new to beer. I'd call this beer the Frank Zappa of Saisons, but music analogies are like buttholes, they're full of shit. Buttholes are also full of bacteria, so maybe 

"The Costanza Defense"

Fantôme is the true butthole. This butthole tangent was brought to you by the guy with the shitty blog. Seriously, are you reading this? Anyway, palate depth and complexity are both outstanding. At 8.0%, this is quaffable and hides the alcohol well. You get a blast of tropical fruits/Saison fruits and Belgian yeast up front; that quickly transitions into weird ass leather, cigarette smoke, earthy funk, basement/attic, and lactic lemon funk; the bank end is woody, tobacco, lingering leather, and fades to a dry, bitter finish (with bitter grain/hops). Bitter grain is evident in the brew, and dashes of floral fruit dance throughout.

Rating: Above-Average (4.0/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Light Above-Average. I would buy this again, and I want to taste this more fresh. That said, this beer is fucking weiiiiird. There's a ton of bitter grain and bittering hops, lots of house-yeast funk, and yeah. What do you even pair this with? I feel like this beer would be dynamite with grilled lamb, rustic potatoes, grilled meats, peppery chicken/turkey, duck, a leafy burger, and french fries coated with truffle oil or strong spices. You could also pair this with aggressive cheeses (blue comes to mind), but maybe not super dry cheeses since this beer itself is fairly dry. At around 15 dollars a bottle, this is a fucked up experiment for seasoned beer drinkers who are bored with the run-of-the-mill Saison. Caveat emptor. 

Random Thought: About the whole infection thing...I'm all for crying foul when a beer is, in fact, infected. I feel like with Fantôme people are quick to pull the "infected trigger" when it simply might be such that you're getting what the brewer intended, and what was intended is simply some disturbing stuff. Dany Prignon is basically brewing the /r/spacedicks of beer. Even your mom can't save you.