Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Super-dee-duper. Bottle from Wally’s in Westwood. Easily the prettiest IPA I have ever encountered: a deep mahogany readies one for a much more alien beer. A blast of sweet hops (alphas?), apple, cranberry peel greet the mouth upon consumption. A beer whose very existence demands celebration.

Clear amber pour, good whitish head. Malty, hop aromas let you know what to expect. A little bitey, but finishes clean. Kind of like a good version of their pale.

Copper brown pour with a moderate head on a clear pour. A nice caramel hop nose. This is what I think of when I think of big American Ale. Full bodied, but not that big. Lovely malt sweetness followed by full fresh hop blast. The hops define this ale. Balance is lovely as it hides the alcohol nicely. Flavor blast comes on a bit too strong but finishes nicely with a sweet aftertaste. Malts are evident, beautifully so.

Nice amber pour, wtih a whtish head. Aroma is citrus, floral and juicy hops. Taste is very hoppy and finish is quite bitter.

(Bottle, 2007 edition). Spicy hop fragrance. Lovely hazy orange amber color, with light tan head. Tasty hops, but under control, and the citrus is more toward orange rather than the typical IPA grapefruit. An astringent bitter finish goes on forever. A very pleasing IPA.

2007 bottle, found in a local Tesco and served cool not chilled. Dark amber but slightly cloudy, with a big head that soon shrunk, and a peppery and malty nose. On the tongue, there’s a big hoppy attack with a notable spicy overtone - more pepper, maybe cloves, maybe a little cinnamon - and a very bitter aftertaste. Lighter bodied than a winter warmer but still pretty powerful - more of a winter IPA. Tasted again, this time chilled, the pepper and spice are still there but the malt’s toned down, and the overall effect is somehow both cleaner and more vinous and flavoursome.

Bottle 2007. Scent is of an old man’s after-shave cologne and the aftertaste matches. Dark reddish brown color with a small cream-colored head. Tastes of light hops with some spices. Full, but muddled palate. Difficult to distinguish the different tastes. Not a bad brew, but not very refreshing.

Aggressive hop flavor, but the malt more than keeps up. Bitter is kept nicely in check, all around balanced pretty well. Nothing really wintery/holiday-ish about this one, its just a fine IPA.