Yeah, I’ve seen in here that he got some new guy and that he replaced the equipment, but I’ll have to go back more. I was lucky to find a place with a shitload of pre-TFE Tomes a few years ago, but I recently drank the last one and the ghost is haunting me.
Fantôme
- Thread starter Stakem
- Start date
SAISON FUCK
5000 🐟 Dirty Forest Scumbag 🐟 5000
That's your first mistake.
*When it comes to Tomes.
Stakem
Tômester
Since the topic came up….
This is a whirlwind of emotion and thoughts ill just dump here.
It pains me to admit that despite being a devoted fan of Fantome for the last ~20 years, I have completely stopped purchasing Fantome around 2, if not 3 years ago.
As more and more of new releases started coming out (at a rate I could not keep up with) I was consistently getting saddened by their excessive bitterness and yeastiness that is very atypical of what I loved about Fantome. To me, the magic of the ghost was lost with the “deep cleaning” of the brewery and new equipment replacing old…compounded with outside forces pressuring Dany to brew shit he had no interest in that defiled what Fantome was.
From time to time I glance at social media posts and see people with fresh bottles proclaiming “Fantome FUNK” and I cannot help but shake my head as these folks have no idea the magic that once existed in the house culture of mystery and brett that made the strawberry deliciousness appear after years of maturity in the bottle.
A friend of mine purchased this bottle of 16% dark mystery and shared it with me last weekend. For the life of me, never in a million years would I have guessed it to be a Fantome product. I still question as to whether or not Dany actually had anything to do with it, it is so out of place of anything he has ever done.
Is the beer good? Holy shit yes, it completely caught me off guard. It is a luscious dark chocolatey sipper of a beer with zero Fantome qualities other than the random quotes and pictures ive seen of people complaining about lack of carbonation, too much carbonation or tons of sediment….lol
This is a whirlwind of emotion and thoughts ill just dump here.
It pains me to admit that despite being a devoted fan of Fantome for the last ~20 years, I have completely stopped purchasing Fantome around 2, if not 3 years ago.
As more and more of new releases started coming out (at a rate I could not keep up with) I was consistently getting saddened by their excessive bitterness and yeastiness that is very atypical of what I loved about Fantome. To me, the magic of the ghost was lost with the “deep cleaning” of the brewery and new equipment replacing old…compounded with outside forces pressuring Dany to brew shit he had no interest in that defiled what Fantome was.
From time to time I glance at social media posts and see people with fresh bottles proclaiming “Fantome FUNK” and I cannot help but shake my head as these folks have no idea the magic that once existed in the house culture of mystery and brett that made the strawberry deliciousness appear after years of maturity in the bottle.
A friend of mine purchased this bottle of 16% dark mystery and shared it with me last weekend. For the life of me, never in a million years would I have guessed it to be a Fantome product. I still question as to whether or not Dany actually had anything to do with it, it is so out of place of anything he has ever done.
Is the beer good? Holy shit yes, it completely caught me off guard. It is a luscious dark chocolatey sipper of a beer with zero Fantome qualities other than the random quotes and pictures ive seen of people complaining about lack of carbonation, too much carbonation or tons of sediment….lol
I had the rum barrel variant this week. It was fun in the 8.4 oz format.
It was nearly still, but I actually don’t think the lack of carb hurt as much as sometimes is the case (looking at you M&C 13). It leans pretty heavy in the umami in terms of straight up aroma. Soy, but even something a little meatier like hoisin at times. Retronasal brings RIS vibes with nice cocoa char. Flavor is leathery chocolate. It’s silky and pretty thick in a good way.
Where I’ll disagree with stakem is I was maybe most surprised by how much I could discern Fantome flavor (albeit nu-Tome flavor) in a beer with the above qualities. The yeast is there in the background (wouldn’t necessarily say pleasantly or unpleasantly so), and as it got to room temp, the finish became a touch disconnected from the total experience in that I could discern some of the bitterness we’ve become all too familiar with in the recent stuff. Initially, I just associated any bitterness in the finish with the intended product, but this started to stray from that.
My wife grabbed all four variants for me from that shop in CA as a gift. I have no idea what to expect over time with these, so I’ll probably try another one soon.
It was nearly still, but I actually don’t think the lack of carb hurt as much as sometimes is the case (looking at you M&C 13). It leans pretty heavy in the umami in terms of straight up aroma. Soy, but even something a little meatier like hoisin at times. Retronasal brings RIS vibes with nice cocoa char. Flavor is leathery chocolate. It’s silky and pretty thick in a good way.
Where I’ll disagree with stakem is I was maybe most surprised by how much I could discern Fantome flavor (albeit nu-Tome flavor) in a beer with the above qualities. The yeast is there in the background (wouldn’t necessarily say pleasantly or unpleasantly so), and as it got to room temp, the finish became a touch disconnected from the total experience in that I could discern some of the bitterness we’ve become all too familiar with in the recent stuff. Initially, I just associated any bitterness in the finish with the intended product, but this started to stray from that.
My wife grabbed all four variants for me from that shop in CA as a gift. I have no idea what to expect over time with these, so I’ll probably try another one soon.
Stakem
Tômester
Guess I shoulda mentioned the one I had was calvados.
I will do a better job of paying attention to what im drinking and take better notes next time around. Admittedly I wrote the above off memory as I drank my 3-4oz in but a gulp or 2 sitting on the tailgate of my truck dripping wet in sweat after working outside all day.
That would be appreciated. After all, this ain’t the casual lambic thread.
Stakem
Tômester
Whelp… tonight I drank the other 3 treatments of this fantasmic darkness
If you can run the de garde version through a coffee filter or cheese cloth you might be able to enjoy 2-3 ounces. It literally tastes like it was aged on pine shavings and it is gritty and disgusting as fuck.
Vermouth and Rhum are as delicious as the calvados was.
I tried my best to find any sort of Fantome character and there was none to be found. Sorry Kraftster I tried my best…. guess its time for me to retire cuz nothing about any of these has any hints of Fantomishness.
If you can run the de garde version through a coffee filter or cheese cloth you might be able to enjoy 2-3 ounces. It literally tastes like it was aged on pine shavings and it is gritty and disgusting as fuck.
Vermouth and Rhum are as delicious as the calvados was.
I tried my best to find any sort of Fantome character and there was none to be found. Sorry Kraftster I tried my best…. guess its time for me to retire cuz nothing about any of these has any hints of Fantomishness.
Probably going to The Sovereign this week for the first time since the beginning of the Pandemic. Any guidance on the current Tome selection? I've had Pissenlit, Brise-Bonbons!, Coffee Ruby, and Hiver, and would happily get any of them (especially Pissenlit), but curious about the others.
boogercrack
🦧 Rowdy Chowder
I havent opened a vertignasse in about a year and a half but it was in a really weird spot then. All bitter and muddled. After coming out of the gate great.
I'm out of town now or I'd do some recon.
I'm out of town now or I'd do some recon.
Many thanks. There's tons of great stuff on draft, and I'm the only one there who will care (or even know) about Tomes, so I may not order a bottle, but I always check. And since Tomes are usually $20-25 in stores around here (if you can ever find them), their prices are fair.
Stakem
Tômester
im way late to the party but I likely woulda went with pissenlit just cuz the last several times ive had it “fresh” it was a gem. the others are worth a try if you never had them but none pop out on that list as standouts
Probably going to The Sovereign this week for the first time since the beginning of the Pandemic. Any guidance on the current Tome selection? I've had Pissenlit, Brise-Bonbons!, Coffee Ruby, and Hiver, and would happily get any of them (especially Pissenlit), but curious about the others.
there is something about the stuff Dany puts in his green beers that gets terrible with age. magic ghost especially but even vertignasse now is starting to circle the drain in my opinion compared to how great it was fresh-ish
I have a love/hate relationship with the Soverign. Had a couple wonderful trips there but my last 2 visits were lackluster and disappointing when they say they have multiple Fantomes on tap but when I ask for a pour they mysteriously are out of them all
That DeGarde tome was something else…
I did have the pleasure of trying this 1992 Ete a couple weeks ago. Man that was wild. Solid carbonation and an actually pleasant nose.
I did have the pleasure of trying this 1992 Ete a couple weeks ago. Man that was wild. Solid carbonation and an actually pleasant nose.
If it’s at Afterthought I will make a point to tick soon.
Mayor Unusual’s Meeow. Has anyone tried this one yet. At my checking time there was only 35 check-ins. This is both interesting and very much like almost every other Fantôme the past few years. Bitter, herbal, peppercorn dry grassy saison.
Stakem
Tômester
Brought some Tomes with me on vacation to NC and I feel like I won the lottery with how incredible both classic saison bottles were.
First up, US import label with gold cap. Circa 10 years old from a purchase where I got 2 cases since it was the first time it was available to buy in years for me in PA. It was more of a lambic than saison and absolutely incredible. Grapefruit zest and candied lemons with zero bitterness.
Second bottle Sur Lie lable, black cap, best by 2019. Very tart, lemony with unripe strawberries and cider. Fucking unreal how crushable both bottles were in this 90 degree heat.
First up, US import label with gold cap. Circa 10 years old from a purchase where I got 2 cases since it was the first time it was available to buy in years for me in PA. It was more of a lambic than saison and absolutely incredible. Grapefruit zest and candied lemons with zero bitterness.
Second bottle Sur Lie lable, black cap, best by 2019. Very tart, lemony with unripe strawberries and cider. Fucking unreal how crushable both bottles were in this 90 degree heat.
mooselang
Train enthusiast, nice guy IRL
I’ve been thinking I want to buy a bunch of Fantome before Dany is fully out, but I also can’t bring myself to. Every review I see on the Knowers group is like “Great bottle. Bitter and herbal.”
I will always have my memories.
LurchingBeast
King of Tool Development
Very much the same. I haven't loved a new/fresh Fantome bottle since those Pissenlit's from around 2020.
I have a half dozen or so on hand at home but am happy to split bottles of ghost and lambic at Afterthought anytime you want to meet for easy drinkers bb.