Hazy amber colour. Minty aroma with dusty yeast, camphor or menthol-like phenols...strange indeed. The flavour is hugely spicy, evocative of things like mint, anise, cinnamon and oregano, with a little bit of malt background. There is also some unpleasant ashy astringency (to recreate, try eating a spoonful of dried thyme). Quite sweet as well, in a manner reminiscent of candyish, herbal sodas like Vimto (Saudi version) or Antarctica Guarana. Certainly this beer provides very eclectic references. And as is true with all Fantomes it grows on you over the course of a 750 (drinking a Fantome in any serving size less than 750 should be criminalized) but it still pales in comparison with most of Dany’s other efforts. It is whacked out, but the elements don’t come together in any compelling way the way that they do in most of his brews. You aren’t left breathless and begging for more at the end of this, which for a Fantome beer may as well be a damning indictment.

Dark amber ale with a thick off-white head. Crazy looking. Rather tame thyme aroam, with good hop character and pepper notes. Herbal and malty in mouth, with italian spices and strong hops. Creamy and smooth with nice alcohol in finish. A spagetti sauce without tomatoes. Mondial 2005.

A had to travel all the way to Montreal to sample this. It is a beutiful amber beer with a nice orange head. The aroma is sweet and very spicy combined with notes of lemon and rosemary. The flavor is also sweet and very spicy - I pick up rosemary and parseley, leading to a very dry end.

(Bottle 75 cl) Beautiful orangey red with an almost warm glow. Slightly sourish with a decent hopping. But first and foremost this is spicy, spicy, spicy - and I’m talking spices you usually find in cooking: basil, thyme and sage. Weird - as expected. And a strange ghost indeed... 090601

Sample at the Mondiale 2005: Poured an extremely cloudy color ale with big thick head with good retention. Aroma of juniper and rosemary are extremely easy to detect. Taste is a mix between the rosemary and the Belgian yeast with a real farmhouse taste behind it. I really enjoyed this non-conventional beer.

2005 bottle at the Mondial. Hazy, copper-amber, muddy, brown. Lots of yeast suspended. Head provides lacing. Beige, somewhat retained, but slowly works its way to a ring. Aroma is very herbal, bitter, astringent dry, but the yeast flavor and aroma is amazing. Dry tea. Flavor is vinegar, herbs, leafy/fuzzy green hops, hemp. Quite oily on the palate, though not watery. Not much sweetness, low tingly carbonation. Very very herbally, wow. Medium body.