Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

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

2004 Edition: didn’t care for the 2003 edition as much as I like the 2004 edition... maybe my tastes have changed, or something. Beautiful deep orange color, nice fargin’ head. Smells of lovely hops, grapefruit, and pine. Tastes luscious this year... 2003 edition. Paid $7.99 for a 6-pack. Great appearance: beautiful burnt orange color, with a huge, fluffy head, that retains well and laces nicely. Absolutely gorgeous!! Wonderful citrus (grapefruit) scented ipa... mmm, looking forward to tasting this. Edited: OK, so I finally finished my 6 of this, and I have to say, I really didn’t enjoy this beer much at all. I don’t see why there’s so much hype about it. It’s funky bitter, and leaves an almost unbearable aftertaste in my mouth. Love IPAs, but not this one.

on draft: huge tight tan head with a orange copper glow below. nose of citrus mango hops and vanilla. down the hatch is a perfect suttle sweetness and then the hops come to dominate fruity and flowery and crisp and spicy. a tangy buzz that pushes the palate and feels like a frothy pillow. good f@ck’n stuff. better then i remember.

Coppery color big head redducing to a nice lace. Nose is citrus with some pine. Flavor is full and hoppy with a bitter finish that stays around for a while.

I have had this one a few times in the past but not recently so I decided to try it again, especially as I am rather fond of their regular pale ale. sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a caramel color with a medium sized tan head. There was a nice flowery hop aroma. The flavor was nicely malty, a bit sweet and had a strong flowery and grapefruity hop presence. There was a light hop bitterness on the finish. A nice IPA overall with a good malt balance.

2004 edition. Pretty clear deep orange color with big white head. Aroma has lots of northwest hops, along with apricot and some malt. Very floral. Taste starts off really bitter, has enough malt to back up the hops (barely) and finsihed dry and bitter. Excellent beer.

Pours a deep amber color with a lasting small head. Aroma and taste primariy of hops, but with a decent malt balance. Dry, an exceptional mouthfeel and wonderful level of carbonation. An excellent IPA.

A blend of PNW hops dominates the aroma, led by Chinook but with some stronger Centennial notes. It pours a clear amber with a light head, but the hop lace lasts. The hop flavor resembles a grapefruit without the acid, quite apparent on the tip of the tongue. The palate is rather dry, with only a slight malt residue but plenty of dry hop flavor. The overall synergy led me to such a high rating.

Draft. Pours amber with a tiny white head. Hop aroma is pleasent. Taste is earthy hops with a smooth bitter aftertaste. Taste would best be described as a SNPA with more hops. Very enjoyable. It’s a shame this stuff is only available for a limited time each year.