Sometimes the hardest decision I make is deciding what craft beer to review. This week I am drinking one of my favorite winter seasonal, and a beer that I reviewed back in 2013, however, because breweries often change recipes and beers from year to year differ slightly in taste I was curious to try this one again and see how it held-up. This weekend Sierra Nevada Brewing Company’s Celebration Ale is What’s on Tap!
Celebration Ale is a fresh hopped brew, meaning the hops used for this beer have been harvested within seven days of being included in the recipe; obviously the key here is freshness. But what I love most about this brew is its look; a nice deep amber-ish color that screams winter. This year’s Celebration is full of IPA qualities, the aroma has tons of citrusy and earthy notes and each sip is full of those wonderful hops! At only 65 IBUs the bitterness is very low which is because of the malts used when brewing this beer. Though Celebration is a true IPA the malts do not allow for the backend to be overly bitter as most IPAs are.
Do not let Celebration’s color full you, this beer is a great seasonal IPA that should be paired with traditional IPA foods – think a bold and spicy – however, because of the beer’s seasonality and malt base pairing this beer with a heartier dish like a porkloin makes perfect sense as well.
Finally, I think this year’s batch might be Sierra Nevada’s best batch in recent years!
Cheers!
Beer Stats
Style: Fresh Hop IPA
Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 6.8%
IBUs: 65
Color: Deep Amberish
Malts: 2-Row Pale, Caramel
Bittering Hops: Chinook, Centennial
Finishing Hops: Cascade, Centennial
Beer Review Stats
Beer Advocate: 93 and 97
Rate Beer: 98
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company's Celebration Ale is What's on Tap!
