A hazy red beer with a beige head. The aroma is spicy with notes of grass, thyme, and sage. The flavor is malty with loads of spices.

My second Fantome was as interesting as the first. This one has a very cloudy, milky yellow-orange body with a medium off-white head. Some pineapple and tangy citrus (lemon) as well as apple peel in the aroma. Flavor starts out with the same pinappley flavor (well, it’s not quite pineapple...but close) with a rich backdrop of floral, perfumey flavors followed by sour, woody notes and an earthy finish. Nicely "herbal" with perhaps a hint of medicine. The sour/spice/herbal components are nicely balanced. Good yeast character rounds the beer out. Creamy and smooth.

AOBF 04. Bottle. Pours a lovely, reserved, dark, orangish-brown with some ruddy hues and a nice mahogany tinge to it. Small, light-beige head, bottle conditioned. Aroma has lots of dry earthy tones, plenty of yeast and is quite misleading, being more dry, fruity and yeasty than I would expect a flanders red to be. Some spicy notes in there as well. Flavor is quite subtle at first, dry yeast and light green and yellow fruits slowly develop in to a darker cherry and light orange fruit estery taste. Mix in some light woodiness and you’ve got a very pleasant, sour, but not overly so, body. Medium to medium full bodied, low carbonation and just a perfect kick of sour cherries/prunes and yeast in the middle. It dries and mellows out again towards the finish, with more earthy tones and less funk than I was hoping for. True to Fantome, it was very unique. Plenty of aggressive spicing in this one too. I bet this beer grows on you and I really want to find another bottle.

AOBF 04. Bottle. Wow what a truly unique beer. I would have to say this one beats 04.04.04 for strangest beer at the fest. Pours a glassy yellow, pale gold mixed with amber/rusty orange. Very cloudy, obviously bottle conditioned. Mountains of dusty-white head and of course mounds of lacing. I like Harlequinns estimation of "dead flowers" on the nose. It seemed like a mix of that and a ton of spices which are mentioned in many of the other reviews. Heavily dry. Not cheesy, but more grassy, wet hay, coriander, some spoiled green apples, dry, tart unripened peaches. Flavor is more of the same, very dry, spicy and hugely yeasty. Apples come to mind again. The peppery texture, and dry mouthfeel do abate some as it finishes, providing for a better, and ever so sweeter flavor of light malt, moderately acidic fruit and more yeast. Call me an idiot, but I wasnt sold on this one at all. Maybe I have too much of a sweet-tooth, but this was way too dry for my liking. Maybe they should dissolve some cheese in it. . .(just kidding).

Slightly hazy red-amber; lightly amber coloured mixed head. Heavy, spiced and leafy nose. Coffee and mocca-cookies. Very bitter taste with again, coffe-like character. The first bitterness comes as a shock, because of its intensity (not hoppy!), but it eases off then. There's quite some sweet malt underneath, rekindling the "café-clair" cookies idea. There remains a herbal flavour somewhere, but very faint. Full bodied, some alcoholburn. This is a flavour profile D. Prignon often seeks. I can even call it balanced, but never my favourite.

Bottled (Helsinki Beer Festival 2004)
Orange, extreme hazy. Steady orange head. Aroma is fruits, malt, apples, citron, orange and chocolate box. Very dry and sour and unique taste. Mold and wood flavor. Peppery aftertaste. Certainly unique brew and one third of bottle was enough for me (cost only 5 euros!):)

My first Fantome was an interesting experience. After pulling the cork on this green bottle, the air was immediately filled with a strange aroma of cotton candy, hard cherry lozenges, and perfume. This is perhaps the most fragrant beer I’ve ever smelled. The body was more standard fare, pouring cloudy orange with plenty of dark sediment and a big, puffy off-white head. I was expecting the flavor would be quite sweet based on the aroma but instead it was surprisingly dry and estery, with spices, apple peel and dry crackery malt finishing with alcohol warmth. The cotton candy/cherry lozenge flavor was still evident but very light. Certainly innovative. When I woke up the next day, I could still taste this beer. And smell it.

Wow...marinaro500 opened a vintage winter 1998 bottle of this at his post-Thanksgiving gathering; what a change over the years! Sour, woody, and fruity, with much of the herbal character diminished. Had an unusual aroma that reminded me of those pens with the "liquid metal" ink. Very medicinal and tart. It’s amazing how different the 1998 was from the fresh bottle I sampled. Vintage 8-4-8-4-17 (4.1)

Dirty brown snow. Very spiced aroma. Sour apples contribute to a tart acidic beer, in a geuze style, and somewhat pleasant result. 3/14/2004 8-3-8-3-15 for 3.7

Red burgundy brown with extra thick moka head. In aroma, buttery and peppery concoction. In mouth, a sweet buttery malt with loads of black pepper, treacle, rather strange and not as good as the one rated in 2004. Bottle from Bieropholie, via Ian G. 6-3-6-3-12 for 3.0

(This 1999 vintage is now for sale. It is significantly different from both F. Saison and F.de Printemps)Red-chestnut, slightly hazy; yellowish head. Spicey (nutmeg, coriander, ...) and sweet (honey!) at the same time in the nose. A number of organic acids, playing havoc with dark roaste malts and herb spices. It is not balanced, but interesting things are going on. Quite impressive. Somehow no light texture, but the acidity keeps it light in the apparent density. Aftertaste gives definitely black pepper. Another great try from Dany, and one that has stood the test of time. Some might call this Flemish sour, but no old brown has ever had this Wallon spicey thumbprint.