Winter Sour Ale
Brasserie Trois Dames

 

Pours a crystal-clear deep gold, with a 1 ½” off-white foam, active micro bubbles, semi hold, 1.5 minutes. Aromas of funk, brettanomyces, ground ginger root, slight grassy, mild citrus peel, woody oak, white wine grapes, green apple notes, semi musty, leathery, straw, and hay. The taste is tart, ginger root, citrus peel, white grapes, oak, spicy yeast, ripe fruit, green apples, lactobacillus, and pale malts. The mouthfeel is crisp, mildly tart, thin body, low to medium carbonation, smooth semi dry finish, minimal warming, with subtle citrus and lingering funky notes. Overall flavor is very complex, refreshing, juicy and dry, highly enjoyable. The taste is malty, not very sour, neither the ginger or citrus peel are overbearing or too spicy, just a solid balance of fruit and spice.

-clear, amber tap pour with almost no visible effervescence. The aroma is citrus and grape with a mild funk. The flavor is of a tart golden ale with orange above all. The finish is clean. This is very pleasant.

 

330 ml bottle into tulip glass, no bottle dating. Pours slightly hazy pale golden yellow color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with great retention, that reduces to a small cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, ginger, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, leathery/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oranges, ginger, wine barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, ginger, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, leathery/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, wine tang, herbal/grassy/zesty bitterness, and peppery yeast/ginger spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/sour lemon, lime, orange, ginger, citrus peel/zest, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, wheat, cracker, white bread, peppercorn, leathery/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oranges, ginger, wine barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt, tang, bitter, tart, spiciness balance; and no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tart/sourness, wine tang, and bitter/spiciness after the finish. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic/sticky/tangy/tannic, and fairly crisp balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7%. Overall this is an excellent fruited/spiced sour/wild ale. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oranges, ginger, wine barrels, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, easy, and fairly crisp to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/drying finish; not overly lactic or spicy. Great balance of oranges, ginger, and Brett/Bacteria complexity; great wine barrel presence, and pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. A very enjoyable offering, and well made style example. Not overwhelming on any aspect.

11.2 oz. bottle.
Moderate pour yields a one inch egg shell white head over a hazy golden body with a bit of clumpy lacing. Nose of citrus (orange, grapefruit), slight funk, and even slighter ginger. Taste mirrors nose very nicely with a real nice tart and slightly spicy ginger finish. Great mouthfeel and overall, seek out this Swiss offering and you won't be disappointed. Cheers to a job well done!

Nice candied orange ginger taste

 

 

 

Poured from 11.2-ounce bottle into a glass tumbler. This turned out to be a very pleasant surprise. Pours an ever-so-slightly hazy pale amber color, with an evanescent white head that settles into a thin ring. Light crackery malt underneath yeast funk and tart orange on the nose. Nice burst of flavor on the palate. Again, yeast funk and tart orange, with some nice orange-zest bitterness. Finish is crisp and clean, with a lingering hint of orange zest and spice. Light and refreshing, this "winter sour" would be a fantastic summer drink as well. Or anytime, for that matter. Well done!

 

 

incredibly impressive beer, they all are from these guys. seemingly somewhat conventional, or at least maybe not as far out as some of their others, a wit type beer, funked out to the max, and done with ginger and orange. makes sense for winter, but for some reason i expected it to pour dark. it instead looks like a wit, hazy with a little orange among the muted yellow, plenty of haze but no visible sediment, and a tall white head proportional to be amount of beer in the glass and receding only very slowly. a great aroma on it, the ginger is very apparent even with some age on the bottle, its sharp and fresh. the brett is mature here, really funky and musty like, farmy and distinct, but there also must be some lacto working here too, as there is definitely a nice little pucker on it, mouthwatering from the smell. the orange is more subtle in the nose, more the rindy bitter bits rather than the fruit itself. wheat base it seems as well. the flavor is much like the nose, the ginger leads the way with the wild yeast, and its a cool profile, more bretty than sour despite the name and the nose, and with a beautiful citrus finish both from the orange and from the lemony properties of the lacto here. dry as a bone, and effervescent on the carbonation, it feels incredibly lively and expansive on the palate, bu also really delicate. the ginger finishes itself up nicely, no lingering spice at all, and no bitterness from the orange peel either, its just gone, evaporated from the tongue. like most of the beer these guys do, the yeast is the star here, very well done in that regard, but also a clever recipe thats very well built. we loved this bottle, and hope to see it around again for future winter seasons! pricey but worth it.