Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Orange in color with a nice white head. This is a great beer for hop heads. Plenty of hop bitterness, flavor, and a super aroma. I am actually burping up hop flavors as I write this. This beer is not for the faint of heart so don’t waste on friends that aren’t real beer drinkers.

I wouldnt say this was really a winter beer. I expected something dark and spicey, maybe one to cellar. Instead I got a delicious IPA that would probably be better fresher. Amber beer with strong head. Strong pine aroma, cakey. hops flavour throughout and nice and dry. not very sweet. Where’s the 6.8% alcohol hiding? Misleading label/title but Good stuff.

Bottle pours a rich amber copper color with a very foamy white head. Very nice floral, citrus, pine aroma. Flavor starts sweet and hoppy but is quickly followed by a bitter aftertaste with some hints of malt. Nice variation on an IPA.

Pours a nice amber color, with full foamy head with a bit of lacing. Nice fruity and pine aroma. Awesome IPA wish I could get this all year long.,

12 oz bottle. 2007 variety. Pours a clear (until that yeast plug in the bottom is let loose then its nice a cloudy) copper/amber color with a nice 1 finger dense cream head that holds well. This one looks like a nice ale should look, makes you want to drink it! Aroma isnt too powerful but is a mix between piney and citrusy aromatic hops and some sweet carmely malts. Taste is nice and complex. Starts off with some aromatic fresh hop taste (ostensibly from the aroma) and a little yeasyness then moves into the nice sweet carmely matly taste and finishes with bitter hops. Nice and complex for an IPA. Enough of a malt backbone to keep up with the hops but not overpower them: they are still the stars of the show. Moutfeel is good, full bodied but not heavy and with a nice strong dose of carbonation. Definately the go to beer for any hop fix among the winter seasonals. Too bad they dont make it all year round, its one of my favorite IPA’s out there.

Bottled. This winter ale has a very pleasing reddish colour and a floral, citrus aroma. The flavour has some nice sweet fruity malt but is dominated by the hops. It is extremely bitter, almost too much really. I realise these heavily hopped beers are very popular in America, but I tend to like a bit more balance. However, it’s very well made and definitely enjoyable.

12 oz. bottle. Pours copper with a light, frothy head. Aroma of flowers and sweet malts. Malts prsent up fron, but quickly taken over by hops. A relatively smooth IPA with a bitter finish.

12/20/07: 12 oz bottle. Very impressive beer. Cloudy copper, nice head. Aroma is fruit, pine, citrus. Taste is hops. re-rate 11/5/2009: Deep reddish amber pour. White head that clings to the glass. Big strong hoppy flavor with some alcohol and caramel. Absolutely stunning beer, This beer makes me believe in jesus.