Tuesday, December 18, 2007

25 Beers of Christmas, Day 18: Sierra Nevada Celebration 2003


Against my better judgement, I put a bottle of Celebration in the cellar for a number of years. I have heard of other people doing this and while I don't typically don't lay down IPA's, my curiosity outweighed my prudence. It does have nearly 7% ABV and is bottle conditioned so you never know. This bottle has been in my possession for 4 years.

It pours a reddish copper with a quickly dissipating head (from the age I presume). Still quite hoppy in the nose with slight fruity malt and some aromas from mild oxidation.
The hops have faded revealing some lightly fruity pale malt. The body is quite fizzy, perhaps from bottle conditioning creating more carbonation. Some light oxidation and lightly stale cascade hops. Lightly sticky finish.
It's not great but I was expecting a mess. It actually aged quite nicely for the style. Not recommended but an interesting experiment.

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