Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale
Aroma - Piney resinous hop aroma. Malt sweetness. Mild esters. Smells like hops just out of the bag. Appearance - Amber with a nice copper hue. Hazy from the hops. Frothy offwhite head poured two fingerwidths and dissipated to one fingerwidth. Good lacing and head retention. A lot of visible carbonation. Taste - Immediate piney hop flavor. This is followed by some malt backbone and a smooth bitterness. Like in any good IPA the bitterness dominates, however, it's smooth, not assulting. Also, the bitterness doesn't coverup the hop flavor. I don't know if this beer is dry hopped, but it tastes like it is. The malt really takes a back seat. There is just enough malt to keep the beer somewhat balanced instead of being a total hop bomb. Mouth Feel - Medium/thing body. High carbonation, but very smooth. No carbonic bite. A smooth bitterness through out. The bitterness lingers. Overall Impression - The is a good IPA. I can immagine that this would be great pared with some good Italian. The hops would cut right through. This beer is on the verge of just being an assulting hop bomb, but there is some malt and flavor to save it. It's not my favorite IPA, but it's worth buy each year. Try it if you haven't.