Celebration Mini Vert

Discussion in 'Cellaring / Aging Beer' started by JamesShoemaker, May 24, 2013.

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  1. JamesShoemaker

    JamesShoemaker Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2012 Michigan

    Howdy.

    I was fortunate enough to pick up four bottles of vintage Celebration (2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011) at Blue Max in Burnsville, MN yesterday. I remember a few months ago seeing a post or two about how Celebration actually ages gracefully for a hop-forward, low-ABV beer, which is what prompted me to take a chance on them. Plus each bottle was less than $2, so where's the harm?

    Has anybody ever tried vintage Celebrationa, particularly from the above listed years, or done a mini vert lke this?
     
  2. Orca

    Orca Grand Pooh-Bah (4,710) Sep 18, 2010 Washington
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    What are you waiting for? Please report back.
     
  3. mychalg9

    mychalg9 Pooh-Bah (2,123) Apr 8, 2010 Illinois
    Pooh-Bah

    Chug. Chug. Chug.
     
  4. FiddlersBrew

    FiddlersBrew Initiate (0) Oct 6, 2011 New Jersey

    I actually have a 95-98 vert in my cellar of celebration. Waiting for the right time to share it, since I only found it last year. Should be interesting, I've heard it ages well. Obviously not expecting hops but the base beer is nice.
     
  5. Pahn

    Pahn Initiate (0) Dec 2, 2009 New York

    i wouldn't necessarily say it ages well as in gets better, but the point is that it remains an enjoyable beer.

    tip: if the old celebration isn't doing the trick, hit it with a splash of woodford reserve. this also works amazingly well with fresh celebration.
     
  6. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    Spices.
     
    Duff27 likes this.
  7. WassailWilly

    WassailWilly Initiate (0) Sep 8, 2007 New York

    Less spice notes the older it gets :astonished:
     
  8. JamesShoemaker

    JamesShoemaker Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2012 Michigan

    Pending, I'll let y'all know how it turns out. Thanks initially for the interest.
     
  9. JamesShoemaker

    JamesShoemaker Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2012 Michigan

    By the way, Todd, thanks for moving this. I was debating whether to put it here first, but I wasn't sure.
     
  10. eachnotesecure

    eachnotesecure Initiate (0) Feb 17, 2011 Ohio

    Last year I had a pour of a cellared keg of 2005 Celebration and it was pretty good. I agree that it doesn't get better but is still good and drinkable.
     
  11. JamesShoemaker

    JamesShoemaker Initiate (0) Sep 21, 2012 Michigan

    [​IMG]

    So we chilled these bad boys for about two hours. Two pours of 6 oz each from each bottle.

    [​IMG]

    Sorry for the poor image quality on this one. The 2008 was, naturally, the one that I looked at with the most trepidation. It poured that nice orange and didn't have much of a head, but when I sipped it I was surprised to find it extremely carbonated. The hops had completely disappeared and so had most of the holiday spices. What was left was a big, carbonated malt bomb. It was bitter, but not unlike Bigfoot. On to 2009.

    [​IMG]

    The 2009 was similar, but the carbonation was decreasing quickly. No hops, big malt, beginning to recover the sweetness, but still pretty bitter.

    [​IMG]

    (Obviously I had too much at this point. Look at those uneven pours!) The 2010 was probably the most interesting, but only in comparison to its fellows. The spices were slowly beginning to come back, and the bitter malts were definitely fading into sweetness.

    [​IMG]

    The 2011 was nearly identical to the 2010, with perhaps a little more spice behind the malt.

    All-in-all, I would recommend doing this if it's easy, or if you had the opportunity to buy pre-aged beer, but if it requires even the slightest amount of effort, pass. The hops were completely gone even in the 2011, and much of what makes this beer unique was lost to the years, only shadows coming back in the 2010 and 2011. As they say, fresh Celebration is clearly superior, though it's truly a different (lesser) beer as the years go by. Still, it's always fun to experiment, and I'm glad I got to do this regardless. Hope y'all enjoyed.
     
  12. MasterCraft

    MasterCraft Initiate (0) Sep 2, 2012 Massachusetts

    I didn't realize there were any spices in Celebration
     
  13. UCLABrewN84

    UCLABrewN84 Initiate (0) Mar 18, 2010 California

    There aren't.
     
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