Winter...my favorite beer season

While we are still a month away from the official start of winter, I think winter as a beer season has arrived.  Today I went to Whole Foods and saw my first 6 pack of Sierra Nevada Celebration.  This is one of the two Sierra Nevada winter beers, with this one specifically for the holiday season.  It also happens to be one of my favorite beers!  A few years back I made a homebrew version of this beer which is now part of  my regular rotation.  Of course mine has never been spot on, so I always look forward to tasting the real thing each year.  Celebration is an IPA and if you like Sierra's Pale Ale, you should definitely give this one a try.

I am drinking one as I type this blog so here are my thoughts on the 2006 version:

• 6.8% ABV - I'm not sure how that compares to past years but I am sure it is in the same range.
• A big hop aroma but not over powering like some of the super IPAs out there now.  The signature Cascade hops shine through but are balanced by the other two hop varieties as well - Centennial and Chinook.  I also notice some sweet malt aromas.
• Bitterness and hop flavor balance nicely with the malt, but make no mistake about it...this is a bitter beer.  The bitterness and hop flavor linger long after you take a sip.  And just to clarify...bitter does not mean bad!  Many people associate bitter with bad.  It can be if not balanced with other flavors, but the sweetness of some beers allows for a good dose of bitter.  If you worry about "bitter beer face"...maybe you should check out a beer by Coors.  They make some very mild beers that even bragged about the lack of bitterness in commercials back in the day. 

Overall another great beer by S.N.  Now I can start the countdown until February when they release Bigfoot, their barleywine.  Luckily I have some Celebration and a whole host of other great winter beers that are soon to be released.  I'll review each of those as well. 

And now if you will excuse me...time for my second Celebration!