Review: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale (2008)

My first review. I'll try to intersperse these once in awhile.

I had one of the Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale's on tap at Recreation Billiards in Winston-Salem, NC a few weeks ago. I liked it, so I picked up a sixer.

It pours a very nice reddish-gold (amber?) color, with a very thick, creamy and lasting head. Down to the last sip there was a good 1/4 inch of head. Started off with an inch of foam or so. Left a very high amount of lacing down the glass as well.

A strong aroma of hops and a slight citrus aroma pervades. First sip was very hoppy - I love IPAs, and am what would be considered a "hophead", so naturally I enjoy this beer. As the beer warmed, the hops mellowed out slightly. A bare hint of citrus can be tasted in the background as the beer warms, but for the first few sips, all there are are hops, hops, and more hops (not that that's a bad thing...).

Overall, I really like this beer - but it's nothing particularly special. To me, it tastes just like any other IPA - there's nothing in particular that makes it stand out. Personally, since I thoroughly enjoy hops, if I want something like this, I will just get an IPA to get the full-blown hop flavor. However, that being said, this is still a beer I enjoy. It's something I would definitely order again, but if there are other IPAs on tap, I would probably choose them instead. In fact, I would probably choose Sierra Nevada's "Anniversary" Ale - I don't have any in front of me so I can't compare directly, but from what I remember, it was hoppier (just the way I like it!).

As I said, it's definitely a quality beer, and one I would drink again, but there's nothing particularly spectacular about it. If you like IPA's and hops, you will enjoy this beer. If you're not particularly fond of hops, I wouldn't reccomend it.

On a home-brew note, my batch of Charlie Papazian's "Cherries in the Snow" has been bottled, and I hope to open the first one in a week or so. I brewed the "Chocolate Thunder" I wrote about last time a few days ago, and I'm excited about it. When I was brewing it, I was skeptical about the amount of chocolate - once I put the cocoa in, the chocolate was all I smelled. However, once the beer went in the primary, the hops and malt began to come through. I definitely want the chocolate flavor to come through, but I want beer, not hot chocolate. I think it should turn out pretty good. When I rack it to secondary in a few days, I'll post another update.

The semester ends in a week or so, so I won't be brewing anything else until after the new year. I threw around a few ideas I was considering last time, but I'm also considering now brewing a pale ale/ESB/IPA (something in that general area). Generally, if I'm out somewhere, I'll order an IPA over a pale ale simply because I love the hops. However, I'm thinking about making something thats still hoppy, but smoother, and has a greater depth of flavor. That's why I'm thinking about cutting down the hops a little bit and allowing some of the malt to come through, and making a pale ale. Something like that is more of an "everyday" beer, something that one could pretty much grab whenever they want a beer, whereas my other recipes have been more "specialty" (at least to me), and are things you have to be in the mood to drink.

That's all for now. I picked up a bottle of Sam Adams Chocolate Bock the other day, and I'm really excited to try it. However, I'm waiting for a night when I really want it - it's too expensive, and too specialized, to drink just for the sake of having a beer. I'll post a review for that when I eventually try it - hopefully sooner than later.