Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Another Christmas beer? What do you want from me... it's a seasonal! This beer was packed with flavor, and was interesting to me since I'm still working on appreciating hoppy beers.

This beer is a typical IPA and comes in at 6.8% ABV and is full of character. It has a very citrus-like aroma when poured, with a backdrop of hoppy scent. At first taste, you get smacked in the face with the hoppy notes, while noticing that they are more of the floral hop taste rather than the bitter kind. That sweetness stays with you between sips and is very nice indeed. There is a very slight hint of Christmas spices in this beer, which are overwhelmed by the hoppy nature of an IPA.

Though it is a higher ABV than a lot of "normal" American beers, this beer goes down easily and you could probably enjoy a few of these.

I give this beer a solid B+. I might be able to give it a higher rating if I were more appreciative of the hoppy nature of this IPA, but I am still developing a taste for these kind of beers. Hopefully we'll get Alex or Roy to chime in on this one, as it gets a lot of rave reviews in the online world of beer.

-Bo