Celebration IPA
Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Very tasty. Not a beer for the meek. Very hoppy and refreshing. Look forward every winter to acquiring this wonderful beer from a mega- brewery. Don't drink too much at one sitting

 

 

 

Drank straight outta the can in my Hawaiian shirt puffin. It's hoppy, it's malty, it's a damn fine beer! Hoo doggies!

A yearly special treat. Notes of citrus, pine, grapefruit and resin. Pours a beautiful amber copper color. Bitter without being over bearing. A true classic.

Served from a can.
Amber in appearance, pretty dark in color for an IPA. Clear overall, but a little hazy. Good head with medium retention.
The aroma is defined but the hops. Clean, resinous and piney. A bit of underlying fruitiness.
Flavor comes in as expected from the aroma. Strong flavor of hops and bitterness, not very malty. Although rated at 6.8% ABV no taste of alcohol.
Mouthfeel is prickly and well carbonated. Smooth with a medium body.
Aftertaste is a pleasant bitterness which intensifies over time.
Overall a hop forward IPA which is pretty bitter even for its style.

 

 

Celebration (2025) from Sierra Nevada. Six-pack of 12 fl oz cans from Franklin Beer, Franklin, PA. On room temperature shelf at distributor. Lost receipt so no info on price or date of purchase, but it was earlier this month. Reviewed 23/01/26, review 3680. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottom of can stamped “PKGD 092525.” Stored at home at 40 degrees F. Served at 43.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature is 50.5 degrees F.
Appearance – 4.25
First pour – Deep gold (SRM 6), clear.
Body – Medium amber (SRM 12), hazy. Under direct light, same with a moderate quantity of precipitate. When rear-lite, same but translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum 4.5 cm, aggressive center pour) Vanilla, medium density with short retention, falling to an undulating 0.7 – 1.1 cm frothy crown fed by spotty carbonation and a complete rocky cap. Lumpy torn curtain lacing remains as the crown retracts.
Lacing – In addition to the aforementioned lacing, a thick, three-dimensional band of microscopic to small bubbles remains above the fluid.
Aroma – 4.5 – Massive resinous pine. No alcohol (6.8 % ABV as marked on the label).
Flavor – 4.25 – It begins piney, resinous, and slightly bitter – like chewing a mouthful of white pine needles. No alcohol. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Eventually, slight gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium: Creamy/syrupy: Soft but lively carbonation.
Style: Follows the BA style description.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Uncredited label art – the cabin in the woods? Apropos for such a monstrous terpene presence. Hard to believe this is the first time since 2008 I’ve seen this.

 

Poured into a beer tulip from a 12 oz can dated 9/29/25.

Pours a amber/red color with a very slight haziness. About an inch of rocky off-white head. The head has a slightly reddish tint to it. The head settles in to a good ring and thin layer of foam on the top. Very nice sheets of lacing on the glass.

Aromas of pine, hop resin are present, with some grapefruit notes in the background. This is a nice combo, very inviting. Hop notes are well balanced by the malt.

Same notes as noted for the aroma are present in the flavor. Solid malt backbone, some sweetness but balanced by the hop flavors and bitterness. A good firm bitterness on the sip and on the finish.

Medium body on the palate. Bitterness from the hops seem to dry the palate a bit too much, it lingers a bit too long for my tastes.

This is one of my favorite of the "old-school" IPAs out there.

Dynamo. Just mastery. Pure craft. Total passion. A backbone beer of the industry. Monumentally sessionable while also one being plenty… a miracle beer

It's really great this year! Really nice pine tar and caramel flavors. I love wet hop season. Described by a hop-averse friend as tasting like "wet cigarette", which to me sounds like a GLOWING review.

One of the best beers on the planet! I look forward to it every year. This is coming from someone who rarely buys IPAs, but this one is special.....

Pours a dark amber with a light murkiness in color and a thick white head on top. Strong smell of hops malt. Has a very hoppy taste with notes of caramel.

Not yummers

Slightly spiced hoppy goodness.