This episode from the crypt recorded days after their son was born weirdly coincides with his first week of pre-school. Dan and the whole fam taste two from Fantome and a special release from Wynkoop.
Fantome Hiver
Fantôme’s winter saison, which as Dan mentions changes every year but weighs in at 8.0%. Bottle is capped and corked as most of their brews.
Appearance
Aggressive, foamy white head on a orange/copper, hazy brew.
Aroma
Nice malt and fruity esters, with a nice spice notes and a touch of smoke.
Taste
Complex, fairly dry with a mulled cider-like fruit note.
Mouthfeel
The carbonation plays a major role and adds to the dryness of the beer.
Overall
A great offering that can be enjoyed in the late fall and early winter. Like many of the Dany’s brews, this beer is remarkably complex but still equally food-friendly and acceptable. A number of Dan’s family members cheered tasting this.
Fantome Printemps
Fantôme’s spring saison brewed with spices, which once again is capped and corked, weighing in at 8.0% ABV.
Appearance
Very fluffy and active head and carbonation once again. Lighter in color, coming in a flaming light orange.
Aroma
Grapefruit zest and spices on the nose, but definitely lighter in aroma than the Hiver.
Taste
Balanced, light and refreshing with no detectable alcohol. Spiced very similar to Belgian Witbier, but definitely echoes the feeling of rebirth/spring.
Mouthfeel
A much lighter mouthfeel than the Hiver as well. Garrett Oliver’s “scrubbing bubbles” are in effect.
Overall
More typical Belgian style, probably more accessible on the palate to non-beer drinkers. If I were to go back, I would taste this beer first prior to the Hiver. Totally sessionable, but because of the higher ABV, definitely try to share or at least pace yourself.
Wynkoop Brewing Rocky Mountain Oyster Stout
[INSERT TESTICLE JOKE HERE] What started out as an April Fools Day spoof video in 2012 ended in an actual release of what Wynkoop calls “the ballsiest canned beer in the world”. The beer was made in tiny 8-barrel batches and was the first in the Even Smaller Batch Series of beers. This export or foreign-style stout was made with Colorado base malts, roasted barley, seven specialty malts, Styrian Goldings hops and 25 pounds of freshly sliced and roasted bull testicles, weighing in at 7.5% ABV and 3 BPBs (balls per barrel). They were released in pairs (ha ha ha).
Appearance
Dark brown/black color with a thin, tan head.
Aroma
Coffee (most powerful), vanilla and some of the other notes the brewer listed.
Taste
Coffee continues to dominate on the palate, but the malts and barley follow up nicely in the second quarter. Yes, we did taste some nuts both literally and figuratively. Roasty and moderately dry on the finish.
Mouthfeel
Great body, just enough carbonation and fairly luscious. I want to say it’s great to put in your mouth [LOL].
Overall
There were way too many jokes to mention in the summary here, but know full well we had it covered. A remarkably easy-drinking stout overall, which Dan said he wanted to use in a float. Ice cream would definitely contain nuts FTR. If you can somehow get a hold of this gimmick beer, it’s well worth the taste (and a laugh).
Cheers and remember:
Life’s a tap…drink up ’til it’s dry.
All music on this show came to us from the now defunct Music Alley.
Intro: “Meet Me At The Bar” by The Beer Drinking Fools
Outtro: “Bubblegum and Beer” by The Supersuckers
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