Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

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.

My favorite Sierra nevada creation, Nicely bitter and hoppy in both smell and taste. I love this stuff, I wish they sold it here. On a side note some random numbskull in a random thread somewhere I have forgotten complained that this was one of the worst holiday brews he has ever tasted because it lacks the holiday spirit. Is that person waiting for Santa claus to come and **** him with a cinnamon **** or something?

I’m not sure I realized this was an IPA when I drank it, but I liked the amber hue, the solid head, the hoppy character and the nice clean finish. Pretty good beer.

2007 Bottle. Pours an amber color with a two finger white head. Smells kind of citrus. Tastes of hops and bitter. A decent beer, but not a winter warmer. Weaker then the sierra nevada pale ale, stronger then the ESB

Bottle, Xmas 2007 (thanks mum!). Good medium to dark body, short fizzy white head. A bit hoppy, floral aroma.

Draught @ Xmas in July @ the Bear. Ruby amber pour with tight quickly fading head. An Xmas IPA?? Hoppy and soft malts. NIce finish that leans towards dryness. Not bad but not a 96’er.