Filed under: IPA (shaker, tulip), Sierra Nevada | Tags: active, Alcohol by volume, amazing, basil, beautiful, beer, Beer rating, blood, cardamom, cloudy, creamy, curry, deep, Drink, dry earth, drying, excellent, Food, fresh, grains, grapefruit, grass, India Pale Ale, orange, peanut oil, pine, Recreation, red, rye toast, sawdust, strong, white
pourn: Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2008
Glass: Shaker, Tulip
Purchased at: Oaktree buy rite, South Plainfield, NJ
Price: $16.99 for two 6 packs.
Size: 12 fl oz
ABV: 6.8 %
IBU: n/a
Estimated Calories: 170 C
RateBeer Rating: 96
Aural: quiet opening, active carbonation, nice pour
Aroma 8 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: sweet
Impression: nice
Malt Aroma: rye toast, peanut oil
Hops Aroma: dry earth, grass, basil, grapefruit
Other Aroma: pine
Notes: A great active aroma. Very mindful of a strong IPA.
Appearance 5 out of 5
Color: dark
Clarity: cloudy, bottle conditioned
Head Retention: average
Lace: intricate
Notes: Beautiful beer. Deep red orange hues with a white head and lace.
Flavor 9 out of 10
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Impression: nice
Malt Flavor: grain bread toast nut
Hops Flavor: curry, cardamom, grapefruit
Other: orange, grapefruit, pine
Notes: Sawdust and blood. Like an accident happened, but in a good way. How do they make such a commercial beer so very good?
Palate 5 out of 5
Mouthfeel
Sensation: creamy drying
Body: full
Carbonation: average
Finish
Length: long
Intensity: strong
Balance: bitter
Notes: Perhaps the best aspect of this very good beer. Leaves you wanting more.
General Impression: 18 out of 20
Craftmanship: excellent
Freshness: fresh
Personal Taste: loved
Notes: An amazing beer for the brewer and price. Just fantastic.
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9 Comments so far
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Enjoying Sierra Nevada Celebration 2008 tonight. Very dry, quite hoppy. Very red. Crisp. Like a terrycloth towel. Pine aroma, grapefruit. Very nice. Clinging white lace and a small white filmy head. golden, amber, and red hues. A bit of rye in the finish. Very nice for such an affordable beer. Surface tension is beautiful. Nice medium finish is bitter and quite burnt. Well done.
Comment by lemasney 11/06/2008 @ 3:07 AMYou are right on target with the Celebration. Sierra Nevada created a very well crafted beer with this IPA. In fact, probably my all-time favorite IPA. I only wish it was available year round. I have tried the Torpedo and I still prefer the Celebration for some reason.
Comment by hoppyipa 05/05/2009 @ 12:59 PMI’ve had a chance recently to do a side by side tasting, and the difference is there, but subtle. Celebration seems to have more syrup, smoke, and scotch qualities. Torpedo is really just straight up about hop bitterness. Both are delicious. Cheers to SN for putting truly great, affordable beers in everyone’s hand.
Comment by lemasney 05/05/2009 @ 1:42 PMI found the Sierra Nevada “Bigfoot Ale” a very nice barley wine.
Comment by cmblake6 06/07/2009 @ 11:04 PMI just had a bottle of the 2009 Celebration ale, it was delicious. I agree with your assessment. The one issue I have is that your bottle cost $16.99? Or is that for a six-pack? I paid $3.99 for a 24 oz bottle. Either way I feel you’re being over charged. Just saying.
Comment by Julian 11/17/2009 @ 10:34 PMIt was for a 12 pack, I believe. Definitely not a bad price.
Comment by lemasney 11/20/2009 @ 4:27 PMThe characterization of Celebration Ale as a terrycloth towel is inspiring — I never thought of it that way yet must agree. Although it’s called an IPA, I disagree. It doesn’t have that sharp hoppiness that overwhelms the malt. It’s my favorite of all Sierra Nevada brews.
Comment by M J 01/16/2010 @ 6:20 PMWhere does that $16.99 price above come from? A case costs much more and a six pack costs much less, at least in Flair Beverage in Manhattan.
I edited the post to indicate that it was for a 12 pack. SN brews are about $30 a case in this area.
Comment by lemasney 01/18/2010 @ 1:00 PMBreakfast, lunch or dinner…this is a good beer.
Comment by Tim 02/10/2010 @ 9:28 PM