Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

studentofbeer

California

4.18/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

2004 vintage.

pours a wonderful deep orange/red that glows a bit in my unibroue tulip. it's capped with a nice fluffy but thick sand-colored head that lasts as a good cap for the entire beer.

an engaging aroma of hops pour out of the beer, though it is fainter than i usually remember. citrusy all the way, with grapefruit, orange, tangerine showing up first and then some pine and melon, and a hint of baking bread. sweet and invigorating, with just a spicy edge that suggests band-aid-like aroma.

The beer greets you with a sharp hop bite. It's more than just bitterness or aroma--it's like the hops are integrated into every aspect of the beer, like a resin or sap that adds body. I imagine similar flavors would arise if you chewed on hops. Personally I find this very inviting because it provides real hop flavor on top of the biting bitterness. ymmv.

taste reminds me of orange peel-- there is a strong citrus overtone with a bitter and slightly astringent middle. a nice light citrus sweetness comes through on the front of the tongue, while the back is lashed with wave after wave of hop flavor, culminating in a deep and long-lasting spicy, almost herbal finish and aftertaste. The resin quality just seems to sit in the back of the mouth forever. The malt peeks its head out in the sweet fruit flavors and a bready quality, but the hops are the star.

I know some have said this vintage isn't as good, but i sure as hell like it. I don't remember 2003, but nothing is wrong with 2004 imo. This is a hop onslaught, brilliant because of the amazing depth of hop flavor pulled from the beer. this thing must have been dry hopped like mad. a great, powerful IPA.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2005 22:20:00 | More by studentofbeer

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