In all the years I’ve been doing this Advent beer calendar, I’ve never picked a beer from Switzerland, so for today I’ve done just that with Brasserie Trois Dames. Trois Dames offers up a Winter Sour for a nice change of pace from our regularly-scheduled winter warmers and IPAs.

Here’s the description of the beer, which sounds something like a soured imperial witbier:

Double-malted white beer with 30% wheat malt. This « Grand Crû » type white beer has an alcohol content of 7%. Sweet orange peel, lemon and ginger are added in the final boiling stage and during the lagering process in the fermentation tanks. These ingredients lend a note of citrus and spice, whereas the ginger, evocative of lemongrass, leaves an intense and racy flavour. The beer is slightly peppery but develops an aftertaste of freshness. No wonder we have decided to propose this beer in winter.

In fact Shelton Brothers, which imports the Trois Dames beers, adds an additional fact: “It is a blend of a strong double wit aged in wood for six months and a freshly brewed saison type ale.”

Look for tart and spicy in this beer, something that might pair well with sugarplums and aged cheese.

Find Trois Dames Winter Sour on:

• Untappd
• BeerAdvocate
• RateBeer
• Facebook