Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

rickyleepotts

Arizona

3.3/5  rDev -21.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

It's not Christmas time, but we are drinking a bottle of Celebration Ale. We actually tried this in a beer class at Total Wine & More, and I wasn't impressed. It tasted like an IPA. I had a conversation the other night on Google+ about this beer aging well. Normally an IPA won't age… especially with such a low ABV. He said it gets better… maybe next year I will grab a few bottles and throw them in the cellar. I still have a hard time believing it will age well, but we'll see! Maybe the Scottsdale Total Wine has a few bottles left. I will check the next time I am in.

Good thing I like hoppy beers, because all I remember about this are the hops. Time to drink!

In the Glass: When we did this beer in the beer class, there were several other beers we were tasting. 13 beers total. Perhaps that wrecked my palate a little bit. I will say, I do not remember it looking this thick and creamy in the glass. It produces a very nice, thick creamy head that I want to eat with a spoon! There is also a lovely lace that hangs on to the side of the glass as I swirl it around a little. Looks like a lot of bubbles are rushing to the surface, and it leaves a nice copper color.

Nose: Smells like hops! I remember talking about this beer being nothing special. It's not. At least when I smell it. I wouldn't be able to consider this a winter beer just based on the aroma. It smells like hops. Maybe the flavor profile has changed since I last had this.

Flavor: Nope. Tastes like an IPA. The hops they use are good, but this beer is nothing to write home about. Imagine licking a pine cone… that is the hop profile I am getting from this. Not a bad beer by any means, but not worthy of the "winter warmer" classification. They should brew this all year and change the name/label.

Mouthfeel: The beer has a little bit of carbonation up front, then it mellows out as you swallow. There is a nice biting dryness toward the finish that lingers on the back of the palate. This would be a beer I could easily drink 6 of and not even realize I was drinking beer. (The burp is nice, too. Those same earthy hop flavors come rushing back to the surface.)

Aftertaste: I like hoppy beers, and generally because of the aftertaste. The aftertaste here is somewhat dry, and then the hoppy flavors hang on. It's not overwhelming, but the aftertaste is a typical expectation from an average IPA.

Like I said, this should NOT be a seasonal release. Sierra Nevada is better than that. But for a guy that likes hops, it is a good beer. By the way, the label calls this a fresh hop IPA… and I generally don't like fresh hopped beers. I would like to see them do another version of this and either double the ABV (consider it an imperial IPA) or barrel age it. They just released the barrel aged Bigfoot, so they have some barrels sitting around!

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2013 20:15:33 | More by rickyleepotts

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