What better way to celebrate the holidays than to drink beer. With so many holiday brews on the market though, it can sometimes be tough to decide which seasonal beers to try. You can do what I do, try them all. If that isn’t an option, read some beer reviews and find a beer that you might like.
My second seasonal review of this holiday season is Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale. It’s an IPA, so if you love bitter beer, read on.
The beer pours a beautiful rosy amber color with a very nice head. The picture I took doesn’t do it justice as I’m still trying to figure out my camera (it kept focusing on the Christmas tree so it had already been poured awhile by the time the picture was taken). Celebration had nice lacing and is what I would probably consider “perfect” lacing if I could have it my way.
I think my favorite part of this ale is the aroma. I wasn’t that close to the glass when I was pouring and I could immediately start smelling a beautiful smell that almost made me bust out singing Christmas carols out of pure joy. It smells of citrus and piney hops, almost as if it was a Christmas tree turned into beer. Yum.
With the aroma being so good I was expecting a lot out of the taste. I was a little disappointed though on my first drink. Don’t get me wrong, it was really good, just not special. It did have a nice hoppy flavor that had hints of orange and grapefruit. I’d probably consider it a good IPA to drink if you like hops, but not a lot as the hops seem fairly weak for an IPA.
I did enjoy drinking this beer more and more as the glass started to get emptier, especially since it is such an easy drinking beer. Definitely give it a try this holiday season if you’re looking for a very drinkable beer.
My Sierra Nevada Celebration Review: B+
Here are the details:
ABV: 6.8%
Style: IPA
What’s your thoughts on Sierra Nevada Celebration?
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Comments
I’ve had it bottled and on tap and the draught version blew the bottled version out of the water. I don’t know why there is such a difference, but as you noted the bottles didn’t seem to have that extra zing. The draught version definitely had that special character that made the beer interesting.
Celebration is one of my all time favorite beers. I can’t wait until it comes out every winter. To me, Celebration is extremely well balanced. It does lean towards the hoppy side, but the great malty backbone keeps it from being overly hoppy. Even down to how it looks in the glass makes this beer so wonderful. Great color and always producing well-sustaining, fluffy head. A beautiful offering from one of the country’s craft beer pioneers. Cheers!
I have read a number off reviews for this beer, and they generally jive with yours. I found this beer really bad bordering on undrinkable. The typhoon of hop destroys any potential for other flavors to come out, for me. I guess I need to try it again as I’m in the minority. I like your blog.
What’s the IBU?
Its 65 IBU