Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Stronger initial taste than the pale ale, a darker more full-bodied experience. A bit too bitter for my tastes.

2007 12 oz bottle. Pours a deep golden color with a hint of red. Small slightly off white head with some lacing clinging to my pint glass. I can see why the hopheads would love this beer. I’m not one, but I will try to be fair in my rating. Aromas of pine, citrus and flowers greet you upon the pour. Mouthfeel is neither oily or dry, medium. Flavors of the aforementioned pine and citrus dominate the tongue. A definite hoppy bitterness lingers in the finish. I’m going to put the other five of these to bed for a year and see what happens.

Bottle-Memphis. Beautiful pale copper pour that cleans up with 100% transparency. Lacey white head. hope nose is very enjoyable.

Pours a dark amber with a few fingers of off white, slowly dissipating head. Citrus hops dominate the odor. A nice smooth taste that starts off light and slowly builds with the hops, leading to a nice, citrus aftertaste. Its a very smooth, drinkable beer.

This beer is dank, great body, reminds me of good times. Full of flavor and has a perfect texture for me.

Aroma of hops, spices, and malt. Flavor is dominated by bitter hops and almost enough malt to balance it, but not quite. Nice fizzy mouthfeel. A very nice IPA.

12oz bottle. 2008 edition, drank fresh. This tastes a lot more like the Wet Hop Harvest beers than it did in years past. Lacks a real crisp bite, but more than makes up for it in earthy hoppiness. Deep amber orange color. Watery pleasant mouthfeel. Smooth and creamy. Great. 12oz bottle, 2007 edition - Deep amber color. Very hoppy and bitter, balanced by a sweet malt backbone and a warming alcohol presence. Hops come up fresh and cool, not a hop syrup effect like some other strong IPAs. A classic, a precursor to the Double IPA phenomena. 12oz bottle, 2005 edition drank in March 2008 - Deep murky amber color. Holds up quite well, definitely mellows a little bit but the overall hop character covers and/or works with any devolution in the beer. The aroma is a little off as would be expected, and the beer probably has more amber/caramel qualities than it would have had it been drank in 2005. I wouldn’t want to age one much longer.

2007 bottle. Amber in colour with thick lacing head. Scent kinda reminds me of Mill Street Tankhouse, hoppy, rooty, coriander. Taste is sharp, hoppy, dry and rooty. Complex and yet light.