Fantôme Black Ghost

Once described as a Belgian Irish-style stout, Black Ghost has undergone lots of changes over the years. It now bears no resemblance whatsoever to a stout, and brewer Dany Prignon has begun adding spices to the beer. What they are is anybody’s guess...the Fantôme confounds once again.

3.5

453 reviews

Soy-Erezée, Belgium

Community reviews

3.6 Bottle@home. Mahogany haze. Two finger foam. Served in "la corne". Great spicy aromas. Muscat rosmarin. Intens complex aroma and flavour. Sweet dry. Fine intense brew. Great mysticisme.

1.9 Muddy brown of color with a small beige head. An aroma of wet horse, sour, spice, leather and earthy. A flavor of leather, wet horse and dog, spice, earthy and sour.

2.9 Bottle from Dram Shop, Sheffield. Took the cap off and the cork started to work itself loose! Very lively, yeasty bits and bobs all over the place. Murky brown with a thick, lasting beige head. Not a lot of aroma other than a saisson sourness. Tastes of sour apple, a hint of dark fruit. Very faint spicy, possibly cinnamon aftertaste. Quite a bonkers beer, really. No less than you’d expect?

2.5 Bouteille 750 ml. Mélange opaque couleur tarte aux pommes - caramel. Arôme: fumé, malt, levures sauvages, épices. Goût acide (pomme verte), fumée, épices, caramel. Désagréable arrière-goût de vidanges. Le tout est mal équilibér et donne mal au coeur. Texture aqueuse. Finale sèche. Décevante, à éviter.

3.5 Bottle, split by myself at no small expense at the Cask, Pimlico - 10/05/13. Obscured dark amber/brown akin to the shades of Kidsgrove canal with a thin beige head. Nose carries sour fruits, light smoke, toffee, tangy orange, tarte apricot, bitter fruit notes, light spice. Taste comprises much the same as the nose, lots of sour/tarte fruit, orange pith, herb, spice, bitter grapefruit backnote, toffee, apricot. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, dry in the finish. A decent enough drop but overpriced for the end product when compared to other beers.

3.4 Bouteille 750ml, courtoisie de Alexandre. De couleur brune et opaque. Nez épicé (poivre doux), de levures terreuses et aux notes fruitées (pommes vertes), d’herbes fraîches, léger de pain avec des notes de céréales sucrées et de houblon floral. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-doux ainsi qu’une texture aux notes aux notes crémeuses et huileuses. Goût de levures terreuses aux petites notes acides et fruitées (pelures de pommes vertes) avec un moyen goût épicé (poivre doux) ainsi que des traces boisées (bois humide) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute des traces de pain et de céréales aux notes sucrées puis en finale l’on retrouve un goût assez herbeux (herbes fraîches) et asséchant (incluant une légère amertume de houblon herbeux aux notes florales) avec des petites traces d’alcool. Post-goût moyen et moyennement sec, composé d’un goût de levures terreuses avec un goût herbeux ainsi qu’avec des notes épicées et de houblon herbeux.

2.9 0.75 l bottle, kindly shared by larsga. Cloudy orange colored body. Low ash-blond head. Sharp floral and herbal aroma. Light sour grassy notes. Taste is bone dry and bitter. Herbal and kind of zesty, with astringent mouthfeel. Soapy and bitter ending. Challenging, not easy to like. [09.02.13]

2.3 Bottle (750 ml). Shared by czar, thanks! Hazy/dirty amber-brown with a small tan head, some lacing. Aroma is of blue cheese, mineral and ashes. Taste is mineral with blue cheese, mushroom and ashes. Body is thin. Weird and quite unpleasant.

2.7 Bottle at Deanso’s Den Haag April RB tasting. Poured a cloudy brown colour with a thin off white head. The aroma is weak and a little sour. The flavour is sour, dry. It has the consistency of treacle. Not for me.

3.0 Bottle shared from Deanso. Pours cloudy thick gloopy amber brown with a small tan head, very strange. Aroma is herbal, citrus, malt, floral, yeast. Flavour is moderate sweet and light heavy bitter. The thick gloppy texture is extremely weird. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.

3.2 75cl bottle via Borrestijn. Thin white head. Treacle like pour. Hazy amber pour. Some spices. Nice brew

2.3 Small tan head. Hazy amber body. Earthy spicy aroma of herbal garden. Dry-bitter soapy herbal taste. Mid-bodied. Mild mouthfeel. Dry herbal fruity acidic aftertaste. A mess of bitter spices with a touch of acid. Very difficult to drink. (0.75l bottle from Kihoskh, Copenhagen.)

4.4 5 years old from Umberto at Gonlin pub! The pour is black with no head! The nose is coffee, lemons, vinegar, sour funk business. Just amazing. The taste is incredibly tart and sweet. Well balanced. The mouthfeel is crisp and clean. The body is light and finish is long.

2.6 Bottle 750ml. Pours cloudy/dirty deep amber/brown. Aroma is of roasted malt, smoke. Taste is of blue cheese, roasted malt, smoke. Palate: medium body. Overall: This beer is not good. It’s my limit for drain pour.

2.4 pours muddy light amber with a low dirty off-white head, little retention. some lightly roasted malts, smoke, minerals, light garbagy, sulphur and soapy notes, light acidity and astringency, very yeasty - basement and some dust. bright carbonation, light body, lightly acidic and grassy finish, mouthfeel is more than decent. but the rest is clearly off-putting (aroma and taste). awkward brew!

2.2 Bouteille 750mL. Brune trouble. Nez legerement malte, un peu terreux, un peu de savon a vaisselle. Bouche de poussiere avec un peu de malt et d’epices. Finale sur l’agrume avec une pointe savonneuse.

2.5 Bottle kindly shared by LarsGa. Spicy nose - as promised. Strong spice rack flavour, harsh bitterness. Soap. Not pleasant.

3.2 Pours dirty brown with a dirty head. Not a good looking beer at all. There are even some yeast (or trub) floaters, blech! Smell is more on the classic saison side, with a nice soft sour touch and some roastiness (WTF!?). First sip is a bit unsettling with some roasted components, even some ash on a spicy and acidic background. You get used to it after a while, god bless it is on the dry side! Carbonation level is just right which might just save this brew from a drainpour. It is drinkable and all but just a bit too weird for it to be a cellar staple at my place.

2.1 geel/oranje ondoorzichtig met schuimig keki kraag aroma: metaal, gebrande mouten, caramouten, muf, zuur smaken: meloen, volmoutig, rook, zwaar zuur, micht/medium zoet, medium body, kleverig, wrang. smaken zijn niet fijn op elkaar afgestemd, mij te zurig, niet mijn ding !

3.4 RBBWG 12 pours dark amber, fuzzy, no real foam. smells heavy on the saison side . tastes very intense, even get some pumknin tastes...

3.4 Slight hazy dark amber colour, white head. Light smoky aroma, light dust, malts, yeast and light spices. Quite sweet flavour, mineral, light sour touch. Malty finish, yeast and spices. The 2nd beer in the Fantôme tasting spree. (From 75cL bottle @ RBBWG II, Wilrijk 2013. Courtesy of kraddel. Thanks Dylan!)

2.5 Sampled from bottle @ RBBWG 2013. Hazy murky dark orange color, small off-white head. Smell and taste sourish, yeast, wheat and slightly plastic. Not really my thing.

3.0 Bottle. Murky copper pour, thick beautiful off white head. Aroma is very earthy, pu’erh tea, funky yeast, beans some nice notes, others a bit more uninviting. Taste is dusty, really earthy, mushrooms, tea leaves, unpleasant. Palate is actually earthy, Dany must have actually put a handful of dirt in this batch. Weird to rate.

3.7 Bottle. Pale amber colour with a beige head. Aroma is dust, spices, yeast, chocolate. Flavour is dust, chocolate, spices, yeast, hop, roasted malt. Nice beer.

2.5 Bottle 750ml. Unclear - hazy medium orange colour with a average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, rubber, sweet fruit, smoke. Flavour is moderate sweet with a average duration, grainy, smoked - rubber. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft to flat. [20121109]

3.4 Bottle from Beautiful Beers Beer Store, Bury St Edmunds.Murky brown pour with a beige head. Raisin, toffee, honey and caramel aroma. Caramel and sweet spice flavours. Very dusty, earthy taste. Bitter mouthfeel. Bitter-sweet finish. Odd but interesting.

3.7 Bottle from Etre Gourmet. Pours cloudy dark brown with lots of floaties, big creamy light tanned head. Aroma of herbs and spices, pepper and dust...Taste is fresh and yeasty in a good way, lots of pepper, dark fruits and some pleasant sour and tart. Fizzy and clean mouthfeel. Me like a lot.

3.0 Pours a muddy brown with a large tan head. Smells of leather, yeast, smoke. The taste is dry, spicy, herbal dryness - this one leaves my mouth bone dry and slightly bitter. Medium body with fairly active carbonation. I’m not sure what is going on with this beer....it isn’t bad but it might be going sour. It is certainly interesting and complex.

2.2 Muddy brown with medium but brief head. Really sour and bitter taste. Hardly any sweetness. Grape fruit and stomach acid in the flavours. Watery texture.

2.5 75cl Bottle at UDRBM, thanks Harmen. 2012 edition. Super slimey brown pour, off-white head. Aroma of light smoke, roast, brown malts, a bit salty. Flavour is light salty, smoke, light iodine, light sweet, tart, hint of smoke in the earthy finish, but all flavours were very light and muted. Full slimey mouthfeel, thin bodied. Not what it’s supposed to be I guess. Hope my other bottles are better...