Holiday-ish beers, round 8: Sierra Nevada Celebration
By Noah Davis • Dec 11th, 2008 • Category: Tasting notes
Produced every winter for many years and found nearly nationwide, Sierra Nevada Celebration is damn near a winter institution. It’s an American IPA through and through — you can check the BJCP guidelines — from its reddish-copper-hued top with a firm head to the fragrant spicy and floral hops kissed by grapefruit. The taste starts with a sturdy malt backbone that’s toasted and lightly caramelized before exploding with American-grown hops and their citrusy, flowery flavors and aggressive bite. Celebration uses the season’s first hops kilned in the Yakima Valley, and the only way to get a fresher hop flavor is to sip a wet-hopped beer. So, sure, the name has more to do with a celebration of the holiday kind, but we like to think of it more as a celebration of hops. Well-made and nostalgic, Celebration is one of the most drinkable brews of the holiday bunch.
Finally, a little tip for you, reader. You like the concept of Christmas in July? Put a case of this away in your closet; it tastes equally delicious on a poolside summer day.
I feel so much better that this year’s Celebration is back to old form as far as taste. I have always loved it, but the last 2(maybe 3) years have been somewhat disappointing, HOWEVER; Sierra has hit its stride once again this year and ‘Celebration’ is again among the best of the Holiday brews. Such a great season for beer!