Today’s Advent beer pick is something old and something new from Chicago’s Goose Island Brewing Company: Sixth Day, which was formerly their Christmas Ale. This is a seasonal classic and each year the recipe changes; over the last several years the Christmas Ale has been getting stronger, culminating in this year’s Sixth Day which is 8.3% abv.

At that strength this is effectively an Imperial Brown Ale, brewed in the English style, and should cellar nicely if you’re so inclined. Goose Island also suggest some food pairings, including ham, turkey, lamb, aged Gouda, and dry Jack cheeses—which all strike me as being excellent Christmas day fare!

“Sixth Day” of course refers to the sixth day of Christmas in “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song: Six Geese-a-Laying.

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