2014 Celebration Ale

I just had one from around that date, and while it could have been more fragrant it still had that 'Celebration-y' quality to it, especially in the finish. There are years where the bitterness seems too high, so so far it seems like they got that part right in the pocket this year. I'll be getting more, but probably from a later batch just to see if I notice a difference.

 

I still can't find this, wtf over?

 

Had a 6er bottled on 9/10 last week, just started a second 6er bottled 10/10. I must say, the 10/10 is tasting slightly better. More hop flavor on the back end

 

Sounds great can't wait to try it ..I haven't seen it at my local beer distributer yet

 

I am really impressed with BA's who can taste/remember a significant difference from year to year for a beer that is just this damn good. Celebration Ale has come to be the beer against which I judge all others. I almost consider it a style of its own since I have not really experienced a beer with the same qualities that must be this "balance" thing. This beer, to me, is the only real high point to an otherwise crappy "season".

 

I just poured my first Celebration of the season and it does have a "WOW!" factor...! It is damn good this year! Great price, too at around $10 for a six pack.

 

I know many of us compare the same beer one year to the next, I do it myself, but if anyone of us believes they can accurately remember the intricacies of a beer they drank 10 months ago, and remember them well enough to use that as a gauge for comparison to a beer they are drinking currently, then they are just flat out fooling themselves. Even if you took tasting notes.

Also, Celebration Ale is delicious.

 

You take that back sir, take it back right now!

Winter is by far the best season for seasonal beers. A spike in rotating IS's and barleywines, Christmas ale Belgians like quads and BSDA's all over the place, Celebration. Its the most wonderful time of the year.

 

I will take it back re: seasonal beers. The season just sucks for weather & Holidays. IMO.

 

I disagree. Many studies show that smell and taste can trigger some of the strongest memories we can contain, and with beer you are hitting both of these senses. Just think back to a favorable memory a smell or a taste can trigger, and also think about an unfavorable memory a smell or taste can trigger; it can be years later and when those sense are triggered, it's like you are taken back to that very moment and can recall many details.

 

Im not arguing that, but our memories of past events are often inaccurate, especially when we are talking about intricacies and minutiae. Do an experiment yourself and you will see this. Pick a beverage you used to drink often but havent had in a year plus, say a Coke Cola for example. Try to remember EXACTLY how it smelled and tasted, every last detail. Then go drink one. Odds are your experience will be quite different than your preconceived notion of what it was going to be like, and I doubt Coke Cola has much batch variation.

 

I agree. But next years was way better!!!

 

When you have a certain beer every year for 20 years in a row, you are definitely going to remember some core aspects, especially the smell and the finish. You're also simply going to remember how much you enjoyed the beer in the past. The 9-30 batch was definitely off. The smell was muted from what it was in the past and there was very little bitterness in the finish. However, the 10-8 and 10-10 batches I've had have been in line with what Celebration has been in the past. The finish is just as I remembered, although the smell still isn't quite there.

 

Got a 12 pack for less than $14 (dated in October), tipped my first back last night.

One of the better aspects of the season, bright and flavorful during the dark and cold days.

 

May be somewhat irrelevant to this thread, but I saw a larger-than-12oz bottle of Sierra Nevada Harvest Fresh hop IPA.

I'm just wondering how it compares to Celebration and whether I should get it.

 

Having one on tap. Not a hop bomb, hoppy but nice. Definitely not overwhelming, taste bud burning. Fresh and resiny.

 

Why didn't you grab it!? Sierra Nevada Harvest (now Northern Hemisphere Harvest) was on the Top Beers list for years, I love it and assume any fan of Celebration would. If it was the yellow bottle "Equinox Single Hop", I might leave it, as it's several months old. There's this stuff, too-


Cheers!

 

Nice yummy Fresh Dreadnaught > Heady Topper all day (almost) everyday.

 

I picked up some 9/29 and it tastes like Fruity Pebbles/Froot Loops and dish soap. I'm hoping that this is just one of the first runs and not as good as other batches. I love this beer and I sure hope it's not palate shift.

I bought several cases for my wedding last year and drank a lot of it during and after the wedding for months. I remember it as the classic chinook lingering bitterness, citrus aroma and balanced malty background. This batch was nothing like that. Poor storage? Weak batch? Me?

 

I'd hate to say it but I think I prefer Celebration in Bottle than on tap this year. Bottle reminds me I how I remember celebration being. The lingering bitterness and nice malty backbone. On tap seems a bit more bitter.