Fantôme de Noël

Brewed By: Brasserie Fantôme in Soy-Erezée, Belgium   

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at Binny's in Naperville, IL; 201??? (pre-2013)

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale, 10.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

The best part about Fantôme is definitely the part where they don't date their beer bottles, so you have no idea what vintage you are drinking. I'm not even being sarcastic, it's all part of the mystery and intrigue. 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. 

The Fantôme de Noël is Dany's Christmas Ale, brewed with all sorts of weird spices and who knows what. This one has been sitting in my cellar for a few years now, so it has some age. This was also a beer that I picked up circa 2012, I think. The beer was on clearance at Binny's for a discount price, so this may be a 2011 Vintage or older.

Fantôme de Noël (after cleaning up the spilled beer on the counter)

At any rate, opening this bottle resulted in a gushing explosion that continued for quite some time. Nothing to see here, as the beer settles into a dark red body. There are a few fingers of dense, web-like head, and the head soaks up some of the reddish and amber tones. This beer is unfiltered with obvious yeast sediment floating around. The rising carbonation from the gushing bottle is impressive, as I had to pour quite a bit off to get it to stay in the bottle.

The aroma on this beer is magical barnyard and farmland like nothing I have smelled. This reminds me of some of Jolly Pumpkin's stuff, only much better. There is hay, grass, horse blanket, complex caramel notes, pineapple, sweet lemon, tropical fruit, light tartness, and tons of funk. Honestly, the aroma is divine.

This is impressively light, especially for 10%. It doesn't really conjure up images of Christmas, but it does taste like the Belgian countryside. Actually, this is pretty nuanced, with Orval-like Brett funk, pineapple, lemon funk, and notes of raisins and deeply melded caramel. As this warms up a bit, the funk gets all lemony, with wheat notes, intense Brett funk ala Orval, and some notes that suggest dry hops but at this age and time are probably Brett. The Brett notes in here are surprisingly friendly, with nice tropical-fruit and wheat and dry hop-like funk. This never goes full band-aids or butcher shop or leather. 

At 10.0%, this is dangerous stuff since it drinks like a 4.0% Farmhouse Ale. This is legit stuff...what all Saisons should strive to be. People give Jolly Pumpkin a lot of hate and shit, but their beers really do remind me of Fantôme at times, which is my shout out to the Midwest. At any rate, this is a medium-bodied, highly carbonated, refreshing beer. Palate depth is fantastic, with tons of body from what I assume are wheat malts, and tons of interesting funk from the dry hops and Brett. I can't confirm the dry hopping, but it tastes like a dry hopped Brett beer. Complexity might be the only knock against this beer....it's definitely simple in some respects. But isn't simple good? Sometimes, you just want a really well done Saison, and there is nothing quite like Fantôme on a good day.  

Rating: Above-Average (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

This is a Strong Above-Average. The complexity holds it back from busting out into that true divine beer status, but otherwise I have no complaints with this beer or this vintage at this time. This is one of the best Saisons I have had in a while, and I have to tip my fedora to Fantôme for being relatively available and awesome....even if their bottles gush and they are hit or miss. You could definitely pair this beer with your typical Saison pairings....chicken, squab, turkey, peppered potatoes, and rustic dishes...if you go more modern think of a leafy burger with cheese, or maybe some pickled things. Honestly though, if you are cracking a vintage 'tome, you should probably just kick back and enjoy the ride.

Random Thought: I think I paid like...10 bucks for this beer?

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Brewed By: Pipeworks Brewing in Chicago, IL  

Purchased: 22oz bottle (Batch #108) bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013  (bottled 8/14/2013)

Style/ABV: Milk Stout/Sweet Stout, 10.0% 
Reported IBUs: ?

Welcome to another Unofficial Pipeworks Thursday™. If you aren't privy to the happenings, the happenings are that on Thursdays I drink Pipeworks beers. Tonight's beer is courtesy of my lovely girlfriend who went out and snagged me a bottle of this beer. Last night I dusted off the Jones Dog, but tonight is all about the Chai, baby. About Pipeworks:

Pipeworks has humble roots. The brewery was founded in Chicago in 2011 by Beejay Oslon and Gerrit Lewis. The duo were both homebrewers that met while while working at West Lakeview Liquors. In 2011, they began to raise money for their brewery using the online Internet site, Kickstarter. Olson and Lewis were both educated at De Struise Brewery in Oostvleteren, Belgium. With that knowledge, and the money from their kickstarter, Olson and Lewis created a unique brewery that is smaller in size, and intended to brew smaller batches of beer. The company's motto is "small batches, big beers." And indeed, since the brewery has been around, they've been releasing a lot of one-offs and small batch releases. The goal is to release a new beer every week. You can read more about the brewery at their website HERE.

The back of the Chai Dog bottle reads (this is verbatim/copypasta):

"Chai Dog is our Eastern answer to the coffee-centric caffeine concoctions popular here in the West. This silky smooth milk stout is brewed with cacao nibs, green cardamon, vanilla bean, star anise, black peppercorn and cinnamon. This delicious blend of spices creates a balance and complexity will transport you from your local watering hole to an authentic, old tea house in the heart of Mumbai."

Of course, we all know what vanilla, cacao, anise, peppercorns, and cinnamon taste like. Cardamon is an aromatic spice used in Indian cooking, and Chai is a blend of tea and spices. I actually enjoy chai tea quite a bit, so hopefully this beer will kick ass and take names.

Pipeworks Chai Dog

Like the Jones Dog, this beer pours into a black, dark body. I kicked up a finger of bready, dense, brown head...but the head was reluctant to form, and it faded quickly. You can thank all the spices for that, but as far as I can tell this beer doesn't have any carbonation issues. In bright light, you can not only see how dark and Imperial Stout-like this beer looks, but you can see streams of tiny bubbles rising upwards. There's a brown ring of carbonation around the edges, and swirling the beer kicks up some head, leaves some sticky lacing, and reveals some glossy alcohol legs.

The aroma on this beer is powerfully spicy, like a rapey-spicy pumpkin beer. I'm getting massive cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and allspice. This beer smells like two or three other beers I've had: the Sam Adams Merry Mischief Gingerbread Stout, the Stone 12.12.12 Vertical Epic Ale, and the Southern Tier 2XMAS. This beer isn't quite the Christmas/Pumpkin beer I'm describing it to be. I'm also getting a lot of that green cardamon on the nose, which is super pungent and not-quite-curry and not-quite-ginger. If you sit there and smell the beer for a while, you also get some earthy ash/dirt/coffee. I can only guess how this will taste.

Whew...this -- thankfully -- doesn't taste like a Christmas beer. It doesn't really taste like a Milk Stout either. There's a lot going on here...but the large Stout base and the slight booze presence really helps temper the spice. Up front you get rich, dense, spicy chocolate/cacao. I'm getting a lot of cinnamon, some pepper, and a nutmeg/ginger/cardamon thing. This beer is chewy and dense, so the cacao/chocolate/vanilla thing really sludges along. The spices are earthy, and have a straight up Indian-cuisine vibe. The beer is aggressively sweet, and there's some layers of fruit/caramel/sugars in the mix. There's also some hints of earthy ash/roast/coffee, but it's very subtle.

All this beer really needs is the addition of Jalapenos, and bam! It's a fiesta. This beer is fucking weird, man. I don't mean to go all Pie Style up in this shindig, but yeah. I guess this beer does remind me of Chai Tea, so mission accomplished. This beer has a full-bodied mouthfeel, supported by good carbonation and tingly spice. At 10.0%, you do get some booze. The drinkability is probably going to be low for a lot of people courtesy of the spice, booze, and sticky sweet kisses this beer gives you. Palate depth is good, and I guess this is pretty complex...or intriguing? You get dense

You never go full Pie Style.

cacao/chocolate and spice up front; that rolls into more spice, some caramel/sugar/fruit, vanilla, flat out chai tea, and more cacao; the back end is lingering pepper and spice, some booze, earth/coffee/ash, and a sticky-sweet finish.

Rating: Above-Average (3.5/5.0 Untappd)

I like this beer and I like what is going on here, so I'm going to toss this a Light Above-Average. This beer has a strange appeal...I'd almost throw it into the "foodie" category. This is definitely a beer to pair with foods, and those foods are Mexican cuisine (a mole sauce? mmm) or Indian food. As a standalone beer, this is interesting to try and would be worth splitting with a friend or two. I might even seek something like this out in the late Fall or early Winter months. It kind of feels like a Christmas beer, but it really isn't. Having said all that, this is another excellent Stout from Pipeworks. Their Stout program continues to impress...can't wait to see how their barrel-aged stuff tastes. 

Random Thought: A final, final note about this beer...I know earlier in the review I stated that the huge Stout base and big ABV helps temper the spice. Well, the huge spice in this beer helps temper the sweetness. It all kind of gels in harmony. 

Fantôme Dark White

Brewed By: Brasserie Fantôme in Soy-Erezée, Belgium   

Purchased: 750ml bottle bought at West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, IL; 2013

Style/ABV: Saison/Farmhouse Ale, 4.0%

Reported IBUs: ?

So I've got some Fantôme in my fridge/cellar. Ergo, tonight's review. I wish I had more inspiration for a fancy introduction, but isn't rare Belgian beer enough? 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. 

Tonight's beer, the "Dark White," is a mystery like everything Fantôme. Missing from my bottle is the distinct "BBB" marking from other bottles. This low-ABV beer is apparently brewed with black pepper, and the bottle states: "Belgian Ale brewed with spices." I kind of like the ambiguity, plus it means less work for me. Who cares what makes this dingle tingle? If it tastes good...

Fantôme Dark White

After removing the cap and freeing the cork, I quickly ushered this beer to a glass as the carbonation started creeping up the green ol' chimney. This one pours a hazy (gasp!), brown/caramel/cardboard color, and kicks up two fingers of tan head. The head is holding up nicely. In bright light, the beer is a swampy orange/brown color, and the head is soaking up those orange tones. Carbonation is active and evident in this. About a finger of head is sustaining...and there is lacing...it looks like a Belgian Ale. 

In a lot of ways, it's just not fair. Fantôme/Dany Prignon is raising the bar for these funky, rustic, wild farmhouse ales. The nose on this pops with peat, smoke, and black pepper. There's also underlying apple slaw/salad, lemon, and some grass. The whole thing is tied together with earthy funk, leather, must, and cigarette smoke that has soaked into the interior of a house/car. 

The taste follows through elegantly...this is legit. You get a splash of tart and cigarette smoke up front and lots of leather, which transitions into huge lemon/tart, hay, must. Then the black pepper pops up, and you get peaty smoke, and more cigarette smoke/bowling alley. Light apples/lemon pop up, along with some peach and tropical fruit, but the big thing here is the black pepper/leater which is layered and incredibly complex. Especially so for a 4.0% beer.

This is complex...especially at 4.0%. This is light-bodied, and oh so drinkable. And yet the mouthfeel is expansive and the complexity is incredibly high. The carbonation is nicely done as well, and the whole thing pops. If I had to pin down what makes this beer tick...I think it's the leather from the Brett combined with the black pepper...plus all the apple/peach/tropical fruits from Belgian yeast and hops. You get a blast of tart fruit up front, followed immediately by big leather/cigarette smoke; that rolls into more tropical fruits/peach/grass/hay, some funk, and big smoke and black pepper; that fades into more leather/bowling alley/cigarette smoke/hint of meat, and the finish is dry leather. FUNKY.

Rating: Divine Brew (4.5/5.0 Untappd)

I'm surprised at how much I'm enjoying this! So a Light Divine Brew it is. I really wasn't expecting to like this beer as much as I do...but I love the smokey/cigarette thing, and the complex black pepper, and the leather...it layers this beer and plays off of the big lemon/apple/tropical fruits. It's a weird fucking beer, but it's complex and bold...and the 4.0% is impressive. I mean, I could session this. Look...this beer isn't going to be for everyone, but I have to commend it for pushing the envelope and embracing these huge, bold flavors. This would pair great with a cigar, smokey meats, barbecued food, a burger with smoked bacon, or just as a standalone beer. Full disclaimer: I'm a weirdo and I like smoked beers. 

Random Thought: In my opinion, this is considerably more bold/adventurous than the Fantôme Chocolat. I have a bottle of the Fantôme Hiver that I need to bust out...soon...we'll see how a proper smoked beer from Dany stacks up.