Goose Island Sixth Day (6/10)

Goose Island from Chicago, Illinois, brews Sixth Day.  Their web site says “Every year to celebrate the holiday season, we brew up our Sixth Day, and with each year we change the recipe slightly so that you have something special to look forward to.”  Sixth Day is a brown ale at its case, and is available from October through December.  The odds are good that you can find a few bottles on local retailer shelves right now.

It pours a dark brown with thin off-white head that doesn’t last long.

The aroma is a mix of pine-like hops and caramel malt.

The flavor matches up with the aroma.  It starts a bit hoppy and bitter (like a number of Goose Island brews), then gives way briefly to the sweet malt backing.  I get a bit of leather, dark fruit, and perhaps some ginger in there as well.  It’s quite a bit more bitter than I’d like a holiday beer to be (I mean 55 IBUs in a Christmas beer?  That’s IPA territory.)

Rate Beer gives Sixth Day an 88 overall.  That’s in line with Beer Advocate, which rates it 81-88 overall.  For me, it’s slightly more hoppy than I’d care for, so I give it a 6 out of 10.  With a year of aging to drive down the hops, I think it could easily rate a 7.  (In fact, a year-old bottle I found in the back of my refrigerator actually was a bit more tolerable.)

I picked up this particular bottle at Kenny Road Market.  It’s also been seen at The Andersons General Store in Dublin and at Whole Foods in Dublin.  Pricing is around $1.39 per bottle, depending on the retailer.

Flavor Profile:
Sweet, Malty, Dry, Bitter, or Sour: Hoppy
Spice Level:  Low
Hops Level: Low to Medium
Dominant Flavors: Hops, Malt
ABV:  8.3%
IBU:  55
My Rating: x/10