Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Brewed by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Chico, California USA

June 2006 - 2005 Version - I think I’m rating this numerically higher than I think it really should be. Aroma is citrusy hops. Flavor is citrusy hops. I don’t find it so amazingly complex as others do. The appearance was great, huge head, beauty orangey color and tremendous lacing. The mouthfeel was nice and thick, yet creamy. Those bump up numbers. The flavor was predominantly citrusy hops, maybe a touch of pine. Some malt distinguishable, but not much, maybe a touch of caramel. An okay IPA, but I wouldn’t run out to get it.

350 ml bottle at home 2008-02-02. Pours a cloudy bright orange color with yeast haze and a thick, lasting head. The aroma starts off sweet and fruity with notes of mandarin, grape and apricots. The head note is slightly more piny and focused on the sweet grape. Somewhat nutty with a hint of caramelly malt. Frothy mouthfeel. Big and sweet with lively carbonation. Very soft at the start. The bitterness becomes more noticeable and comes to the front after you swallow, leaving the beer balanced and rich. The bitterness is really nice. Earthy and only slightly piny. Again, only a touch of roasted caramel malt before the aftertaste of hops take over. Very nicely balanced and characterful. After a few sips, the hops really become dominant. Not the most complex IPA.

Smells of sour citrus hops. Pours a clear copper with a big foamy off-white almost tan head. Taste is pungent hops with a very dry/bitter finish to it. A very nice IPA, not quite as good as I imagined Sierra Nevada’s IPA would taste though.

copper/bronze with nice, frothy 2 finger head, slight haze. big hop aroma with slight malty notes. not the smoothest for me. was not what i was expecting for a "seasonal," in that i generally expect a warm malty beverage. this one does however have a night balance of hops and malts. i prefer this one straight out of the bottle. not bad by any means, but not great. would go great with a hawaiian pizza!

A very nicely balanced IPA??? Almost too much so to be an IPA. Great crisp hoppy taste that finished well with malty sweet notes. Not too heavy to enjoy a couple. Supports itself nicely from first to last sip. Nothing outspoken about this beer, a definite solid choice for the friends.

On tap...Pours a slightly hazed copper color. Citrus and malt nose. Easy on the palate for an IPA. Very piney flavor w/ typical hop bitterness, the finish was was slightly sweet. Overall, a good IPA.

Bottle. Really nice aroma of citrus, floral, and perfumy hops mingling on the canvas of the malt. Flavor is predominantly the citrus, but still remains rather complex for such a hop-dominated brew. Nice IPA to slurp down on a slow night. 8-4-7-4-15-3.8 Rerate 2008. Lordy, I cannot taste anything above the unbelievable level of astringency. Had some nice citrus hoppy notes and caramel malt notes in the aroma, but once it got in the mouth...yikes.

2007. Pours a lightly hazy amber color with a medium off white head. Pretty powerful hop aroma, alot of grapefruit citrus in this as well. Definitely get some hints of malts too. Nice aroma. The hops are pretty big and bol but the malts really show up too give it some balance and slow the bitterness somewhat. The citrus is mostly in the finish as the front was pretty piney. Damn solid IPA, lot going on in the flavor with nice balance overall.