Tag Archives: fresh hop

Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: 65 IBUs. Malts – Two-row Pale and Caramel. Hops – Chinook, Centennial and Cascade.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We first brewed Celebration IPA in the winter of 1981. Each year, we use only the first fresh hops of the growing season to create this complex and robust ale. Layered pine and citrus hop aromas balance delicately against rich, malt sweetness to shape this bold wintertime classic.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 3

Intro: A 12 fl oz bottle with a packaged date of 19th October 2015. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear dark copper colour with a two finger cream coloured head that had great retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Citrusy lemon, apple, piney hops and sweet but slight biscuit malts. There was also some herbal and spice here and there.
Taste: Light citrus and hop bitterness before it kicks in with some strong maltiness and surprising booze but nice spice.
Mouthfeel: Creamy, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was definitely more malty and boozy than I expected (and not in a good way). However, I will retry this again to make sure, but at the moment, I definitely prefer Hop Hunter and Torpedo IPA over this.

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Sierra Nevada Southern Hemisphere Harvest Fresh Hop IPA

Brewery: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American IPA
Other Notes: Brewed with southern hemisphere hops, 100-day IPA, drink fresh, don’t store. The second of five beers in the 2015 Harvest series.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) We’re devoted to whole-cone hops, and we’re always on the hunt for rare and exciting hop flavors. Mirroring the fall US harvest, New Zealand hops peak during our spring. Southern Hemisphere, the second in our five-bottle Harvest series, highlights floral, citrus and fresh fruity aromas from fresh hops picked, dried and shipped halfway across the world and into our brew kettle in one week. Drink this IPA fresh and watch for the rest of this series that explores diverse hopping methods: single hop, fresh hop, wet hop and wild hop.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.53
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.5

Intro: 2015 version. A 22oz bomber with a packaged date of 27th April 2015 i.e. day 99 for this 100-day IPA and poured into an IPA glass.
Appearance: The beer poured a clear amber ice tea colour with a big three finger off white cream head that lasts a long long time and leaves lots of lacing.
Aroma: Its all quite light as nothing stands out. Just some light caramel malts and maybe just a bit of apple, pear and pine.
Taste: For an IPA, this is rather malt driven. Initially sweet caramel and candied sugar followed by slightly bready, buscuity malt. It finishes with some floral hop bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I prefer SN’s other IPA offerings over this one as the malt is overpowering here. The aromas were also a little light for me.

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