Review by: Cory Smith
Christmas — a time for cheer, a time for joy, a time for IPA’s? Ok, maybe not exactly, but when it comes to Sierra Nevada, it’s hard to say no to an IPA. When that IPA is their Celebration Ale, it’s downright impossible to turn down.
Celebration ale is made with fresh hops from the year’s first harvest. If you know your hops, you will know that before they are used in brewing, they are picked from the bine and then dried to release their full flavor. Well, there is a trend in brewing that says, “Bah Humbug” to drying hops and greets the freshest hops with open arms. Sierra Nevada is famous for using only the purest ingredients around, and this mentality is in full display with Celebration Ale.
The start of Celebration season is a festive event. We can’t start brewing until the first fresh hops have arrived, but once they have the season is officially under way! First brewed in 1981, Celebration Ale is one of the earliest examples of an American-style IPA and one of the few hop-forward holiday beers. Famous for its intense citrus and pine aromas, Celebration is bold and intense, featuring Cascade, Centennial and Chinook hops—honoring everything we have at Sierra Nevada.
This sounds like holiday heaven to me, let’s dive in.
Appearance:
I wouldn’t say that Celebration necessarily scream “Christmas” when it comes to its appearance, but it definitely looks like an IPA worth celebrating. It’s a deep amber color with a thick, frothy white head that reminds me of icing on a gingerbread man. As with all Sierra Nevada beers, the carbonation seems perfect, and the clarity fits the style. IPA’s, especially fresh-hop IPA’s, shouldn’t be too clear. They should look like they were hand-made, and this beer projects rustic artistry like no other.
Aroma:
As you could imagine, it doesn’t take pulling the beer close to your nose to smell it. The pine and orange peel aromas reach out and smack you in the face. While I don’t love calling an IPA a “Christmas Beer”, this, and Accumulation, have the right idea in terms of making you feel like this is a beer for the winter. The pine and fresh spruce aromas on Celebration Ale are outrageous. It reminds me of being on the slopes in the middle of a coniferous forrest. Its citrusy punch balances out the bready malt notes in this 6.8% ABV beauty of a beer.
Mouthfeel:
Celebration is about as close to perfect as you could as for from an IPA in terms of mouthfeel. It’s slightly-more-than medium bodied, it is well carbonated but with soft, small bubbles, and it finishes bone-dry, just like a West Coast IPA should. If someone were to set out to make a West Coast IPA, I would tell them to look no further than to Celebration ale for their mouthfeel inspiration.
Taste:
The difference between wet hops and dry hops is night and day. The wet hops in Celebration give it a very bitter characteristic, that I feel would have been turned a bit more sweet and juicy had the hops been dried. It’s the same kind of bitterness you get from eating bitter greens — it’s lingering, and all in the back of the tongue. That being said, I think it’s a pleasant bittering. Notes of grapefruit peel come out, as do notes of pine and earthy hops. When it comes to the malt bill, there’s just enough sweetness to keep this from being undrinkable. The malt imparts a bread-crust-like bite, as well as a hint of caramel sweetness. But the malts aren’t the star of the show, those wet hops are, and it makes me wish more beers used these wonderful, fresh, spicy hops.
Conclusion:
Celebration Ale is a great example of both a big, West Coast IPA, and a beer that utilizes fresh hops. I don’t think they could have made a beer taste like this had they waited for the hops to dry out, and I’m glad they didn’t wait. Something about that fresh, light, bitter, green flavor is very appealing in a rustic, earthy, unclean way. I really enjoy this beer, and am going to give it a 97. This isn’t a typical “Christmas Beer”, but in terms of an IPA it’s fantastic, and If you have strolled past it on your shelves this season, stop walking by and start drinking it. You’ll be more merry for picking it up.
-Cheers
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