Miasmatic Review

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

To continue with the Winter Themed beers, tonight I tried Celebration Ale by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. I’ve never reviewed a beer by this company; in fact I’m not sure I’ve ever had a beer brewed by them in the past.

A very festively dressed 12 oz brown bottle is the delivery method. The label has a nice winter scene of a cabin with red flowers around it. The label just screams, “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!” The neck label, also very festive… has the year of the beer on it as well as a little story about making winter brews.

The beer has a nice copper and orange color to it. There isn’t a hint of cloudiness to it at all. The only thing that obstructs the view is the carbonation bubbles. A thin off-white head is produced that fades quickly to a film on top of the beer. There is some lacing, but not much.

On the first scent the nose is assaulted with the scent of hops. A slight citrus and spice scent can also be detected. The combination almost gives the beer a pine scent. The taste is much like the smell. The bitterness of the hops overpowers the rest of the flavors. You can barely taste anything else. The aftertaste is much of that of pine. It’s so bitter it’s difficult to drink.

It is a medium bodied beer with a normal carbonation level. There is a nice smoothness in the mouth. It coats the mouth and throat; unfortunately that coating helps the taste to linger.

I was really hoping for a nice somewhat spicy winter or Christmas ale, this however is more like a bitter IPA than anything else. The scent is overpowering and the taste is almost overwhelming. Over all I have to give this a 1.5 out of 10.

Now if you excuse me I'm going to go gargle with Jack Daniels to get the taste out of my mouth.