Beer

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... i'll be pounding Santa's Butt later tonight.
 
Last night went to an Irish pub that had a nice selection. Had a West Coast IPA, Lost Coast 8 Ball oatmeal stout, and an Innis and Gunn Irish whiskey cask. All good. I found out a little too late they had Goose Island Bourbon Stout on draft, so I'll start off with that tonight.
 
How does the St Bernardus Christmas Ale compare to the ones that you guys mentioned?

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... awesome name and label, but a pretty ho-hum brew overall.

I liked it quite a bit; don't see too many double-alts around.

Currently drinking:
Dark horse 4 Elf winter ale: a noticeable but not overpowering spice presence in a base beer that's somewhere between brown ale and porter. I'd describe it as a higher abv, bit lesser spiced version of the classic Anchor Christmas ale.
 
I've been down on Anchor xmas the past couple times. It has this chalky element I don't like. The better years have a strong plum/prune/juniper/pine combo that really works.

St. Bernardus xmas is so similar to the Abt 12 that it's the best by being the most similar to another very great beer. I think Great Lakes is the best of the others I've had.
 
I was going to try the Great Lakes tomorrow. I saw it at the liquor store the other day.

What would you guys recommend for winter/seasonal beers besides Great Lakes? I plan to get 2 or three 6 packs and maybe one or two mix and match six packs. There's lots of cool looking beers I want to try and I can get just one of each as a sampler

EDIT: If nothing else I'll get a tasty chocolate stout or milk stout. Just hoping to stumble on a standout, not resort to sameness
 
Lately I've been drinking Ritual's Single Rye IPA, just because it's the best beer on tap at my sports bar. It's really growing on me though, good stuff.