Celebration (Fresh Hop IPA) (2024) | Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. | Beer Review |

[@billyrossi4661]

I was in Santa rosa California today and had that on tap do fucking good the weather was beautiful 65° and not a cloud in the sky cheers Joe 🍻

[@averagejoe716]

Nice, Billy! 65 F? It's currently 28 degrees, and about 30-35 minutes to the south of me, they're getting pummeled with tons of snow. We'll see how the Bills-49ers game is tomorrow, but it might be a Winter Wonderland! Cheers, sir!

[@budrhoades6049]

I'm on my 3rd six pack. Legendary stuff ! Great review buddy ! Happy Holidays !

[@averagejoe716]

That's what I'm talkin' about, Bud! Definitely a classic/legendary beer for us hop lovers. Always on-point. It's different enough each year to keep things fresh, but only slightly. The quality is always top-notch. Thanks, Bud! Happy Holidays to you and the fam! Cheers, brother!

[@shortstackruns8676]

One of my favorite "winter" IPAs. A lot of cold IPAs that are popular right now don't do it for me, but give me a nice pine bomb and I'm in the holiday mood. Cheers!

[@averagejoe716]

Agreed! It's a great Winter seasonal for the reasons you mentioned. Hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers!

[@mitch89014]

It is a Tradition to have this beer for the holidays, have not missed a year 20 plus years

[@averagejoe716]

I would imagine that holds true for many old school beer drinkers. It's a wonderful tradition, Mitchell! Cheers!

[@gregvogel2667]

Got a case yesterday from one of my customers. Allways one of my favorites.

[@averagejoe716]

That is awesome! Definitely one of the best WCIPAs out there, and I think it's probably the best seasonal. Appreciate the comment, Greg! Cheers!

[@pottersjournal]

Can't let a year go by without this one. Last year I did and regretted it. So many holiday and winter beers and always something new, I rediscovered the mix-6 and got 2 Celebrations and regretting the only just 2. A case is a beautiful sight, 12 pack is great. One year it was a 6-pack, and I dropped it, 3 broken, I just staired on it in disbelief. I still morn their loss. Nice job here and in the comments on the philosophy of it all.

[@averagejoe716]

Thanks, Jeff! Glad you revisited it again after taking a year off. I did the same back in the 2020-22 range. Just a delicious beer that needs to be talked about every year, IMO. So many people adore this beer, so at the end of the day, reviews like this are for folks like yourself, them ... and myself. Waxing poetic about classics are what it's all about! Sucks to hear about the fallen beer soldiers, but they'll always be in your memory, haha! Cheers, sir!

[@urbanvikingalereview]

I love how Sierra Nevada have kept their recipes. This sounds as great as what I had all those years back. I'm definitely hunting one down mate. Good health!

[@averagejoe716]

No doubt, Dave. Just super consistent and tasty, all with a great price point. The availability is top-notch, too. I hope you can find it, buddy! Would love to see you re-review it after so many years. Cheers, sir!

[@mitch89014]

Old school west IPA, Classic “C” hops, Hopefully this style will never go away, pick a few cases every year

[@averagejoe716]

No doubt, Mitchell! Classic through and through. Always delicious. Cheers, man!

[@rodneysmith9378]

I just tried this for the first time last night on tap. First taste was great then I got that very citreous fruit that I did not recognize until watching your review which was the grapefruit, it was a bit overwhelming, but it didn't linger. Cheers!

[@averagejoe716]

I saw your check-in. I figured you wouldn't love it, but you're the perfect example of somebody who doesn't love beers like that STILL giving it a go. I appreciate you trying it out just to see what it's like. Really cool to see, honestly. Sorry you didn't enjoy it more, though. Cheers, Rodney!

[@DominicParenti]

Spot on review for me. I agree with you that the skepticism about this beer's greatness comes from the younger guys. Between this and their oktoberfest it really nice to see sierra nevada still crushing it.

[@averagejoe716]

Thanks, Dominic! Yeah, I'm not throwing shade at the younger folks -- or specific beer drinkers -- for not understanding the allure to this one, but if I drank strictly hazy beer or maybe hate IPAs, I probably wouldn't understand why this one is beloved by so many. Just one of those beers where I think if you were drinking hop-forward beers 10-15 years ago, this just hits you in the feels. It definitely hits me in the feels, haha! Their Oktoberfest collab every year does so well. Cheers, man!

[@dangruhn9838]

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving and didn’t get too buried in snow. My favorite winter seasonal. It’s literally American Craft beer history in a glass. Classic, hoppy, malty perfection. I really don’t get much difference between year to year releases as it always delivers on consistency. Cheers 🍻!

[@averagejoe716]

It was a really good one, Dan! Hope you and the fam also had a very Happy Thanksgiving, dude! This is beer is beloved by many, which warms my heart. I always love when old school breweries like Sierra Nevada get the praise they deserve. As you said, it's American history when it comes to craft beer. I always get slight differences each year, but probably not enough to notice if I weren't sitting down to review this one. The quality is always top-notch, and it most certainly delivers on consistency. Cheers, good sir!

[@StudioGREGORIO]

~~~ As the self confessed "Not Big IPA Guy", I do enjoy the first few sips of this, but usually get worn down by the bitterness of a full glass. Too each his or her own. Nice review. CHEERS !!!

[@averagejoe716]

Totally get it, Gregory. In the review, I was just referencing folks who say they don't "get" the beer, then you see their Untappd check-ins or IG posts, and it's nothing but two or three styles, and they're all relatively new "hyped" styles. Everybody has different preferences when it comes to most things in life, so I can understand why certain folks don't like it, but to not "get" when people love this one and look forward to its release every single year is a whole 'nother ballgame. Appreciate you, good sir. Thanks, as always! Cheers!

[@curtisbrause9255]

Just grabbed this again for the first time in a long time and looking forward to trying it again.

[@averagejoe716]

I'll be curious to see what you think, Curtis. Here's hoping you love it! Also, I hope you and the fam had a very Happy Thanksgiving! Cheers, buddy!

[@curtisbrause9255]

@ I’m sure I will! Sierra Nevada is always quality. I just grabbed that, a new OH IPA, various Hoof Hearted beers, and a Bohdi. I’ll have to decide which I want to get to first. Haha. My Dad and I just broke into that Endolith by the way. We like it quite a bit! I’ll be interested to see what you think of it.

[@averagejoe716]

Dude, my Bodhi review goes up Thursday ... and I kind of lost my shit. Much like this beer, I'm sure a lot of people wouldn't go nuts about it, but holy crap did it hit me in the feels. Awesome on that Endolith! I'm going to try to get one of those JO beers reviewed before the end of the year.

[@curtisbrause9255]

@ Oh I’m looking forward to drinking Bohdi for sure. I think I’m gonna break into that tomorrow. Haha. I’m glad you liked it so much. It’s definitely still considered a classic around Columbus. Oh yeah whenever on those barleywines. I’ve been waiting to get up to my parents to break it open. I’m far from an expert in barleywines but I enjoyed it for sure. Likely getting into big vanilla/chocolate stout from Jackie O’s next. 😁

[@averagejoe716]

I shout out you, Gregory and a few others in Ohio, and I talk about how it's a classic DIPA from the Midwest, without question. Such an amazing beer that I feel many folks have forgotten about outside of Ohio. Nice on that stout! Hope it's delicious. Love me some Jackie O's, so I'm sure it'll be damn good.

[@MichaelArsenault-s4s]

Another solid year. At a few weeks old, did seem to be much fruit action. But i let it sit a couple more weeks, and then there it was, fruits were poppin. Picked up a 12 pack at Whole Foods for 16.99

[@averagejoe716]

Yep ... always solid. The consistency from a bigger craft brewery is unrivaled, IMO. Maybe Lagunitas. There's others, for sure, but I haven't had too many Sierra Nevada beers -- especially classic seasonals -- that were significantly different quality-wise from year-to-year. So damn tasty, and you can't beat that price point. Cheers, dude!

[@jsenigaglia]

DontDrinkBeer (hilariously) said recently of this beer - “if this beer came out for the first time these days, nobody would care” (or something close to that) to which I said “if Super Mario Bros 3 came out today nobody would care, either”. You had to be there to really appreciate where we’re at these days with this beer. I’m glad we were 🍻

[@averagejoe716]

Yep. Goes for a lot of things in life, honestly. When you apply it to beer, it still makes sense. Heck, even watching some folks try Pliny or Heady Topper and not understand the allure is wild. Beer has come a long way in the past 20 years, but the classics are still the classics, and they will never go out of style. Just like classic movies, music, food, etc. I just have a problem with people raining on the parade of others because THEY don't "get" it. Beer is subjective, but at the same time, just because you don't "get" the beer doesn't mean it's overrated or bad. Anyway, I hope you and your fam had a Happy Thanksgiving, Joe! Cheers, sir!

[@sadekx5251]

As always this is my go-to beer for late fall to early winter. lets hope SN won't get bought out and ruined like the old "craft" breweries. Seriously, Lagunitas, New Belgium, Founders, Boulevard and even recently Stone man, the quality has dropped off significantly. Cheers and happy holidays !

[@averagejoe716]

I hope they never sell out. I agree with most of what you said outside of Lagunitas and Boulevard. Born Yesterday and Willettized = still amazing, IMO. The problem with them is their wonky distribution. Boulevard's barrel game is also amazing, mostly when you factor in the price point. I think they make some of the best bang-for-buck barrel-aged beer, especially from a bigger brewery. The others I agree with, especially New Belgium and Founders. Just not the same. Quality has went way down hill, and I don't even buy Founders products for other reasons. It's a shame how many have fallen. Good to see you around, Sadek. Hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving and that you're enjoying the holidays. Cheers, sir!

[@gorequillnachovidal]

have a 6 pack in my fridge

[@averagejoe716]

Right next to the Root + Branch? BTW, have a few Root + Branch reviews coming over the next few weeks. Cheers, sir!

[@Chaz4543]

I give it a try every year and its just too hop forward and bitter for me to love it. Its not a style I normally gravitate to. No Im not a haze bro either as all ipas are one of my least favorite beer styles. As far as winter seasonals go, I just dont want a west coast IPA or even a white ale/witbier as a winter seasonal. I want scotch or scottish ales, brown ales. or stouts or porters. I just had some Shiner Holiday Cheer and Celebration is supposedly better because its more hop forward and bitter and higher abv ? No its not. Personal preference, man. I wonder if you know that Brookyln Brewery this year changed their winter seasonal from a "Winter IPA" to a Brown Ale lol.

[@averagejoe716]

You basically summed it up in the last few sentences. What I was saying in the review is that I've seen a handful people on social media say they don't "get" the allure of this beer, and why people go nuts every single year it's released, and it's pretty simple: it's a delicious beer for the style. Beer is 100% subjective when it comes to taste, and it's perfectly understandable why you don't hold this one in high regard because you're not an IPA lover. I get it. At the same time, to dismiss this one and/or not understand why people love this when you don't like it based on your personal preference is also being somewhat tone-deaf. I'm not saying this about you, Chaz, I'm saying this about the people who write on IG or Untappd that say "I don't get this beer," and then their Untappd check-ins consistent of hazy beer and fruited sours. Of course you don't "get" this beer, as you don't enjoy the style. There's some styles out there that I don't completely "get" either, but I don't rain on the parade of others, as I understand that we all have different taste buds. Also, I'm with you on certain styles not being my thing typically for Winter seasonals. One of them is White Ale/Witbiers, as you mentioned. However, the review I have coming tomorrow blows up in my face because it's an actual wheat beer that I enjoy it, haha! But you're right, I'd rather have a Winter Warmer or some kind of holiday-themed beer over wheat beers, IPAs and a few other styles. Lastly, I did not see that Brooklyn changed their Winter seasonal, but it's good to see more Brown Ales out there, even if I don't love the style. I think most Winter seasonal IPAs should be limited to beers like Celebration, or beers that contain something that invokes the holiday spirit (like IPAs with spruce tips, for example). Cheers, dude!

[@Chaz4543]

@@averagejoe716 Brooklyn Brown Ale was just a part of their regular line for years. They have had both the Winter Ale (Scottish Ale) and Winter Lager (Schwarzbier) as their winter seasonals in past decade. The Lager replaced the Ale I think. The Winter IPA started being the winter seasonal around 2021 I think but now its replaced with the Brown Ale which I thought was random and a bit weird but Im not complaining because I like brown ales. Guess I associate brown ales more with fall seasonals than winter.

[@averagejoe716]

Wait, they took Brooklyn Brown Ale and just made it a Winter seasonal? That sucks, especially for people who love that beer. Now they can only get for a few months? I always hate when breweries do that. I agree that a Brown Ale reminds me more of the Fall than Winter by a wide margin. I thought you were saying they brewed a new Brown Ale or it was a different beer. Damn, that's unfortunate.

[@dl1314]

I tried the 2021 and remember that it was too bitter for me. I'm not a west coast ipa fan.

[@averagejoe716]

Totally understandable. Not a beer for everyone, especially WCIPA or folks who don't like bitter/piney IPAs. That said, it's an awesome beer for folks who love the style. Beer is subjective, obviously, so you like what you like. Appreciate the comment! Cheers!