Winter is here, and with it comes a slew of specialty Christmas and winter beers. As such, I'm going to post some special reviews along with the normal list I have to get through. I was over at State Line Liquors yesterday, and there were so many different exciting seasonal beers to choose from. Between the local craft breweries and offerings from overseas, it would take me years to try them all. There's a few in particular that made my "wish list" for this year though... Affligem Noel, Scaldis Noel, Samuel Smith's Winter Welcome Ale, Mad Elf, Insanely Bad Elf (which I have waiting in my fridge), Petrus Winterbier, Anchor Christmas Ale, etc. I actually was considering doing a "12 days of Christmas" type thing, but my wallet is saying not this year.
One that I had not necessarily considered was Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale, but Solomon and Lindsey had it at thier house, so of course I had to give it a shot. Now Sierra Nevada is one of the breweries I feel like I've never given a fair chance. Once a long time ago I went to a party at a friend's house, and they had Sierra Nevada's Pale Ale and Miller Lite to drink. This was back when Miller was pretty much the only thing I'd had, so I wasn't terribly interested in the Sierra Nevada. At a friend's request I gave it a shot, and thought that it was bitter and unpleasant in comparison. It wasn't until recently that I started going back to them to try some of what they have to offer, but in a toss up, I'll generally take something a little less well known. Go figure.
Anyway, according to Beer Advocate, as a style, Winter Warmers are malty, not characteristically bitter, can contain some spices at times, and may have a warming sensation from the alcohol. Sierra Nevada's Celebration Ale is none of those things. In fact, it's pretty characteristic of a standard IPA, or India Pale Ale.
The beer poured a hazy light brown/copper color. I got a small off-white head despite the moderatly vigorous pour I gave the beer. It was maybe a half finger thick, and dissipated pretty quickly. Still, there was a bit of lacing on the glass as I drank it.
The aroma was very pleasant, with a mixture of sweet maltiness, hops, and a hint of cherry. I didn't smell any type of spices or anything to indicate the seasonal nature of the beer though.
The taste was pretty much a straight IPA - malty on the tip of the tongue, then dominated by the bitterness of the hops throughout the rest of the mouth. There might have been a touch of caramel flavor in it at first, but nothing that really stood out. The finish was bitter, and left the aftertaste of the hops in my mouth for a while.
The mouthfeel was good - the body was medium-light, and the beer left a nice coating on my teeth. It was definitely well carbonated; not noticable at first, but a good strong tingle if I held it in my mouth for a second. I also noted that the beer was very crisp and refreshing - definitely more on the wet side.
The drinkability was fairly high as well. The few IPA style beers I've tried, I wasn't really a fan of. This includes Dogfishhead's 60 and 90-minute IPAs, which most people consider excellent. I've always found the hops to be too strong and overpowering, to the point where it's not even enjoyable. This beer however, I found to be well balanced. It was still bitter, but it wasn't bitter in a way that I had a hard time drinking it, or felt like getting rid of it. All in all, it was a good if not very good beer; it just wasn't particularly wintery.
- Adam
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