Beer Review, Fantôme Brise-BonBons

Last night, after Paddy and I got done transferring our beer into secondary fermenters, I opened a Fantôme Brise-BonBons, November 13, Day of the Beer. (I guess there should be an exclamation point after the name)

This one poured out very flat. As you can see from the pic, no bubbles at all. I even got somewhat aggressive, but still not much. The ones that were there quickly dissipated. The color of it reminded me of dehydrated pee. It was a dark yellow. Paddy's glass was the first I poured and it was almost crystal clear, my glass wound up being murky from sediment, but I didn't try to stir up the sediment. It just sort of naturally settled lower.

It smelled fruity, like pineapple. It felt thin, and there wasn't very much fizz.

It tasted tart, and orange, like a pineapple-orange juice. It wasn't very bitter. Kriddy said it had a vinegar flavor to it, but I didn't get it. Of course, I think she looks for the vinegar flavor whenever something is tart.

After a couple of sips, I couldn't help but do Chipper Dave's Burp Test. It burped like I was drinking a glass of OJ. I could even feel (if that's the right word) the pulp.

It's not a horrible beer, it reminded me a little of a Goose Island Imperial IPA that I had once a few years ago, that had very strong citrus notes to it. It's definitely not the beer for everyone.

Days of the Beer, November 13

The beer for today is Fantome Brise-BonBons

On November 13, 1002, English king Ethelred ordered the killing of all the Danes in England, that event became known as the St. Brice's Day massacre.

The order came about, as Vikings had been attacking England from 997 to 1001, and had eventually wore down the defenses of the country. Additionally, there was a population of Danes in England, and it was believed that they were providing support for the Vikings.

Because of this, Ethelred "the Unready" published the decree to slaughter all the Danish men and women and children who were in England.

It is not believed that all the Danes were killed, but in some cities there was a significant loss of life. In Oxford, the Danes took refuge in a church, that was later burned down. Among those killed was the sister of the king of Denmark.

Her death led to an invasion of England by Denmark in 1003.

The name St. Brice comes from Bricius of Tours.

As to the beer:

Fantome Brise-BonBons is a Hoppy Saison or IPA that is 8% ABV. It comes in 750 ml corked bottles.

With joy, and a little bit of mischief, Fantôme brewer Dany Prignon dedicates this very bitter beer to all of the many varieties of brise-bonbons - literally, ball-breakers - in the world. Specifically, this beer is meant for wise-guys, braggarts, pains-in-the-ass, muck-rakers, trouble-makers, know-it-alls, stuffed-shirts, blow-hards, and bores, as well as nut-cracking, wind-bag, prattling-on, self-appointed experts on every-thing, and nose-in-the-air snobs, convinced they can do anything better than you.

Dany intended to make a beer too bitter for a normal person to enjoy. The problem is, everyone loves it! Guess we're all just a bunch of brises-bonbons sometimes.

I've got a bottle of this chilling in Kriddy's fridge. It is currently available at West Lakeview Liquors, but is not on their ordering page.

So, for the St. Brice's Day massacre, have a Fantôme Brise-BonBons, hold your nose in the air, and go kill some Danes.