Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

Sierra Nevada always makes a fine brew, and thier celebration ale is usually one of the better winter beers around. This year though, they seem to have done an exceptionally good job and this seasons bach of Celebration Ale is pretty special. Unlike the usual gloppy, heavy handed, overspiced generic brown ale marketed by many brewers during the holiday season, this is vibrant, flavorful and not overly heavy and seems to go well with just about everything I've tried it with so far. May be the best holiday beer I've tried yet. I'd love to find this on tap!

You know, I was just thinking about this tonight, as I was drinking Great Divide's Hibernation Ale. Pretty sure they don't distribute in Chicago, and I've got a longer post on Great Divide coming, but it's quite a bit different than Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, which I've always enjoyed but haven't had yet this season, and I've been meaning to revisit. Honestly, I've not noticed a great difference in this beer year-to-year (as with, for example, Anchor's Christmas brew), but you've upped it on the priority list.

I'd love to find this on tap!

Sheffield's is having a release party for Celebration Ale on 12/7 @ 7:00 pm.

I have always been a fan of Celebration Ale. It is true that it is slightly different each year, and my understanding is that it is a conscious decision to play with the recipe a little each year - maybe add a different spice, use a different hop varietal, etc.

And I look forward to the Great Divide post. They are a fanastic brewery that I think too often gets over looked. Their Titan IPA is one of the best.


Sheffield's
3258 North Sheffield Avenue
Chicago, IL 60657

schenked wrote:And I look forward to the Great Divide post. They are a fanastic brewery that I think too often gets over looked. Their Titan IPA is one of the best.

Not to threadjack, but ditto here on Great Divide. I had the Hercules double IPA (or maybe it was labeled as an imperial IPA) at a local bar the other day and I really enjoyed it. Very hoppy but without being overly heavy-handed -- winter in a glass. I would put it in the same class as Dogfish Head 90 minute.

Thanks for the heads up regarding Sheffields. I'll walk over this weekend for sure. Funny someone should mention the Dogfish Head IPA 90 min., this is also a favorite of mine at this time of year and I picked up a 4-pak of this along with my last six of Celebration Ale Sunday . I've also been liking the Great Lakes Flaming River Pale Ale alot recently...just got some of their Christmas beer but haven't tried it yet, but based on my experience with their other beers , expectations are running high.

Happy Holidays to all!

Celebration Ale can be found on tap at the Clark St. Ale house. I had a pint the other day. Really hoppy, slight cedar sharpness (think pencil), not quite as spiced or complex as I remember in the past.

Personally, I like a really spiced winter warmer style - More like Anchor Steam's Christmas Ale or Goose island's, although they seem to have tamed theirs down in recent years.

What I really want to find on tap are the beers that really 'celebrate' this style - like Affligem's Noel or Corsendonk's Christmas ale.

See the list of others that might be available in bottles that I posted on another post [url=http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=101787#101787
]http://lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?p=101787#101787[/url]

Clark Street Ale House
742 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL

Great Divide does distribute in Chicago.
Atleast they used to.

As of today Sam's Marcey St only has Old Ruffian Barley Wine on the shelf and no longer lists them on the website!

Binny's is still listing several varieties...

kiplog wrote:

What I really want to find on tap are the beers that really 'celebrate' this style - like Affligem's Noel or Corsendonk's Christmas ale.

Maproom.

They don't have those two at the moment, but they are your best bet for seasonal Belgians on draft. Hopleaf has about the same number of draft Belgians (10-12), but Maproom rotates a much greater variety through their dozen slots, and has more seasonals, and rare offerings.

As of right now, their Holiday Belgian Drafts are:
N'ice Chouffe Barleywine style
Winter DeKoninck
Gouden Carulous Noel (which is a wonderful strong, dark, belgian with a complex, anisey blend of 6 herbs and spices that is much more drinkable than most spiced beers)

Maproom also has Great Lakes Xmas from Cleveland and will certainly have both Anchor and Sierra Celebration on draft before long.

On Mondays, Belgians are $1 off and they have a free spread of dried sausages, cheese, and a dozen mustards.

Also, Maproom udpdates their draft list every week.

The Maproom now has Celebration on tap. Happy drinking.

The Map Room
1949 N. Hoyne
Chicago, IL 60647

Clark Street Ale House now has Sierra Nevada Celebration, Anchor's Christmas Ale and Goose Island Christmas Ale on tap.

But as much as I like all of the above, they also have Three Floyds Alpha Claus, which is now my favorite of the style. Much more complex, bolder, spicier and with more of a punch than the above.

They've got a sampler option too, so for less than the price of one, you can celebrate the season with 3 of them side by side.

Clark Street Ale House
742 N. Clark Street
Chicago, IL[/code]

Thanks to the helpful Meisters on this board I've now sampled the Sierra Nevada celebration ale on tap and was very pleased.I continue to think this is an outstanding beer, tho clearly less heavily spiced than many other seasonal offerings. I was hoping to like the Great Lakes Christmas ale but found the faint echo of clove/nutmeg kind of off-putting. Almost as if someone had eaten a slice of pumpkin pie and then had a drink from my bottle.

Haven't tried the Three Floyd but based on my experience with their other beers, expectations are very high!

I'm pretty sure that celebration ale doesn't contain any spices. The "piney" quality that it possesses comes from the hop varieties that they use.

Tim

That seems right.I can't really detect any traditional spices in there either. Seems sort of like Sierra Neveda pale ale on steroids. Fuller, toastier and with that woodsy edge.

Celebration Ale -- yum! And it has that characteristic Sierra Nevada hoppiness.

Affligem Noel -- very good. I think it's a bit on the medicinal / syrupy side though. I don't have a great beer palate, but something about it is too opaque for me.

And the winner is ... Delirium Noel. Holy crap is this awesome beer. Sweet, spicy, bubbly, tart ... it's got everything. Seriously, it blows the others away.

Delerium Noel? Where to get this pray tell?

Sam's has it, $10/750ml. I haven't tried it, but damn, I might have to.

kuhdo wrote:Delerium Noel? Where to get this pray tell?

Saw it at Binny's on Clark a week ago as well...I think it was under $10.

Both Celebration ale and Delerium Noel can be had at Hopleaf; Celebration is on tap and DN in bottle.

5148 N. Clark, Chicago, (773) 334-9851

If you've never eaten there I recommend the mussles and frites.

O.K. I'm on it. Thanks.