Is Fantome "back"?
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Dunt1
Well-Known Member
So this particular tome tasting was about 5 years in the making. The intent was to crush the full Sante lineup and then have some fun with other rare bottles.
The graveyard pics (photo credit goes to someone else since I didnt take many pics)
Tome lineup consisted of the Santes and the left to right in bottom pic:
Extra Sour b1
Unlabeled Loch Ness '95
La Destinee '98
Croise de mondes
Blanche de hotton
Flop '00
Grimm
Circus
Fleur de bomal
Babillard Dark
Special Noel '93
Strange Ghost
Cisse Leuze
Babillard
I truely believe we could have done a lot more damage than this if we would have brought more to the table but I honestly didnt think we were gonna finish all of these. The whole sante series can pretty much be summed up in the words of our host for the weekend. "That was ******* unique and awesome."
Nothing was a drainpour despite some crumbly 23 year old corks. The oldest Santes held up pretty well, in my opinion they were not showcasing as much oxidation as many expected. I think everyone participating was expecting to be drinking liquified cardboard with the first 5 but instead we were greeted with wildly different beers with exceptional carbonation and unique character. Sante 3 remained the most bright and lively of the oldest ones. Bottles 5-9 were quite similar but the bitterness was amped up in them. Things got interesting around Sante X as it seemed varying amounts of coriander and oregano were introduced into the flavor profile. 11 and 11 rose lived up and maybe even exceeded expectations. I might go out on a limb and say plain Sante 11 was my favorite of the entire Sante lineup with rose being slightly behind it. Rose was easily the most fruited smelling Fantome ive encountered.
In my opinion, the best Fantome we drank this weekend was the "special noel 93." The flavor had seemingly no indication of its age. It was the equivalent of a barleywine or old ale. Ive said that before about Loch Ness being the tome barleywine but this special noel was twice as rich and boozy as the Nessy. The alcohol warmth integrated perfectly with layers of malty sweetness.
Im glad I got to share this experience with a great group of people. It was amazing to catch up with some folks I havent seen in a number of years and make some new friends. danyP your creations continue to be my favorite experiences in the beer world.
Sorry, that was a lot of words. As I find time ill post some more detailed thoughts on some of the more interesting bottles.
Spot on, especially concerning the Special Noel. Definitely had an old ale feel to it. It showed some sherry-like oxidation that played off the maltiness of the beer well. No cardboard to it at all, really pleasant surprise on that one. Some other thoughts from the tasting:
-Cisse Leuze and Blanche de Hotton ended up probably being two of the best Fantomes I've had to date. Cisse Leuze was almost cider-like IMO while the Blanche had this crazy yuzu lemon nose and herbal, tea-like flavor profile.
-Actually noticed quite a few of the Tomes tasted much different than they smelled which I think really lends to the uniqueness/complexity of danyP's beers. You can think you know what to expect with a Fantome, but there will always be another, unexpected layer to it.
-Having had another big Fantome tasting in recent memory, I was really pleased on the "hit rate" we had on the old bottles. I'd say 70-80% of the bottles we opened were at the very least good. The only bottles I wasn't really a fan of Santes 6-9. Actually quite enjoyed two of the oldest Santes in Sante! and Sante-3!.
-It could be just be that my palate was completely shot by the time we opened it, but the Extra Sour we opened seemed to be in middle of a transition period. Previous bottles I've opened have been bright and acidic, but this bottle was really bretty and dry to me.
danyP
Well-Known Member
Noël is from this year ? less dark ?...well !! Cisse leuze was mad 10 years minimum old !
danyP
Well-Known Member
oh! Loch Ness!!! a lot of years past !!
![Craft A Brew - Safale S-04 Dry Yeast - Fermentis - English Ale Dry Yeast - For English and American Ales and Hard Apple Ciders - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [1 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41fVGNh6JfL._SL500_.jpg)
Hopping Tiger
Well-Known Member
How does Pissenlit age? I know, I know...it's Fantome, no two bottles are the same. I'm specifically wondering how the spices go with Pissenlit. Do they fade? Get more forward? Evolve some other magic way? And what about the funk? Love me old funk.
you only answered 3 of the 5 questions!
#gobshite
yes
he answered all the questions actually
An 03(?) was opened at Dunt's awhile back and it was the best Fantome experience I have ever had.
ssssssssshhhhhh!
Der Fuchs
Well-Known Member
nother local bought saison pouring tonight. Smell is a bit spicy. Taste is spot on with the best. Pure guava. Let the rabbits wear glasses.
beeraroundtown1
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Nice, going to open one this weekend.
trxxpaxxs
Well-Known Member
All hail the king of Tomes!
While its still kinda fresh on my mind... I opened a sur lie label last night from a semi-recent etre order and it was nothing short of glorious. It was my intent to see how similar these 2 were since I thought they were batches brewed in close proximity. What a world of difference there was.
These both are fantastic beers but the differences between them flavor wise are as obvious as the visual clues.
Both bottles sat in my fridge for a week prior to opening. The stateside bottling was perfectly clear from the moment I bought it. The sur lie one I thought was just shook up from its recent adventure across the ocean but a week later, it still had the permahaze.
The sur lie is much fruitier like mango/orange/pineapple puree was added directly to the bottle whereas the stateside bottling is void of that fruit and instead has strawberry and definitive yeastiness. I love both beers but think I need more of this batch sur lie labels so I can continue to do side by side tastings and see how each develop in their own unique way.
These both are fantastic beers but the differences between them flavor wise are as obvious as the visual clues.
Both bottles sat in my fridge for a week prior to opening. The stateside bottling was perfectly clear from the moment I bought it. The sur lie one I thought was just shook up from its recent adventure across the ocean but a week later, it still had the permahaze.
The sur lie is much fruitier like mango/orange/pineapple puree was added directly to the bottle whereas the stateside bottling is void of that fruit and instead has strawberry and definitive yeastiness. I love both beers but think I need more of this batch sur lie labels so I can continue to do side by side tastings and see how each develop in their own unique way.
Snarf1
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Ha! Last few US bottles I've had have either been tropical or strawberry. The one I had in Belgium last year was bitter, almost as bitter as the herbaceous Printemps are herbaceous.While its still kinda fresh on my mind... I opened a sur lie label last night from a semi-recent etre order and it was nothing short of glorious. It was my intent to see how similar these 2 were since I thought they were batches brewed in close proximity. What a world of difference there was.
These both are fantastic beers but the differences between them flavor wise are as obvious as the visual clues.
Both bottles sat in my fridge for a week prior to opening. The stateside bottling was perfectly clear from the moment I bought it. The sur lie one I thought was just shook up from its recent adventure across the ocean but a week later, it still had the permahaze.
The sur lie is much fruitier like mango/orange/pineapple puree was added directly to the bottle whereas the stateside bottling is void of that fruit and instead has strawberry and definitive yeastiness. I love both beers but think I need more of this batch sur lie labels so I can continue to do side by side tastings and see how each develop in their own unique way.
Woulda tomedomed for your bday yesterday, but wanted to save it until I have some wort to throw the dregs in if it's a good bottle.
So, a couple of you bastards talked me into giving this another try. I wasnt a big fan of it before because it had like a strange menthol thing going on in it that I just didnt dig. This time around, it certainly has some herbaceous stuff aboot it but im not getting that menthol thing I thought I tasted before. Not bad by any stretch, would bang again but I think for my money id rather roll the dice time and time again on classic saison.
I get the same thing from Printemps. Almost tastes like Dany dumped a carton of Newports in the mash.
So, a couple of you bastards talked me into giving this another try. I wasnt a big fan of it before because it had like a strange menthol thing going on in it that I just didnt dig. This time around, it certainly has some herbaceous stuff aboot it but im not getting that menthol thing I thought I tasted before. Not bad by any stretch, would bang again but I think for my money id rather roll the dice time and time again on classic saison.
regularjohn
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the last time i had printemps ( early last yearish ) it just tasted like spearmint but not in a bad way lol
LukeAleTime
Well-Known Member
The last bottles I've had via Belg were also straight mango and strawberry. Just incredible.
Spearmint and/or toothpaste is the perfect way to describe the bottle of Strange Ghost that Dunt shared with me 2 weeks ago.
And speaking of 2 weeks ago, here are some random shots of that weekend.
Rau711
Well-Known Member
That last pic looks like you have been visting DDBdeepthroatslevifunk.com to see their "secret" web shows. dontdrinkbeer levifunk Your style has spread to stakemandduntdeepthroatfantome.com
