Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

jondeelee

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

The 2010 version of Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale is a "Fresh Hop Ale," featuring "the first hops of the growing season." To the nose, this translates to slow, rolling waves of hops, bringing grapefruit, pine, and citrus notes. a lovely yeasty bread dough aroma lingers in the background, complete with brown sugars and apricot fruit esters.

On the tongue, the beer is immediately hoppy bitter, bringing in full force the grapefruit and pine notes from the nose. Perhaps because of the freshness of the hops--first off the plant--there is an extra hint of spiciness and wildness to the brew: a lemon-peppery citrus zest that infuses the bitterness. Behind these, and moderately difficult to locate, given the hops, lies a layer of malts, complete with brown sugars, apricots, and pecans. The hops dominate the mouthful, however, and continue into the aftertaste, which is almost exclusively hops, and divebombs the tastebuds for quite a while. Mouthfeel is medium, and carbonation is medium-high.

Overall, this is good beer, though its relation to the Holiday season should be noted as going little beyond the festive label: there are no Christmas spices in here, no fancy gingerbread or shortbread ingredients. Instead, there's just malts and hops, hops, hops. IPA lovers should take note of this one.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 03:56:42 | More by jondeelee

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