A snowed-in log cabin, chimney smoking in a deep forest mountain valley. Poinsettia leaves adorn the table and some of the autumn's hops harvest lay in pine baskets under the woodshop's bench. Peat and Moss, the black lab brother-sister companions of many a winter warm themselves by the fire. Trimmed in deep red, the Celebration Ale's bottle puts me in a state of mind/taste before the first sip. Celebration Ale is a special ale for the holidays that features the first hops of the growing season. Made with whole cone American hops, it’s an IPA full of complex flavors and aromas.
The beer pours a deep golden red. (The Christmas tree in the corner of the room looks especially nice when viewed through this amber liquid). The head is thin but active, similar to the highly hopped IPAs of summer, fish eyeballs and all. The smell of this beer is typical of an IPA: yeasty with faint citrus notes. The taste however, differs from other IPAs. It’s hoppy, but not overwhelming, and nicely balanced. There’s a certain 'barkiness' to this brew. Whether real or imagined, this subtle woody flavor is a treat that makes Sierra Nevada's seasonal a beer for the winter and a recommended beverage for any celebration.
Musical Pairing: Mannheim Steamroller plays “Coventry Carol.” Of course, one of my all-time favorite holiday albums, I think this short version pairs nicely with the Celebration Ale. The subtle shifts in instrumentation and texture as the carol progresses (a movement from classical and steel strings to who knows what kind of dulcimer and harp back to guitars again) mirror the beer's progression from yeasty/citrusy nose to the woody mouthfeel and return to the hop's faint bitter aftertaste. I strongly recommend continuing on in the Mannheim Steamroller tracking to experience their version of “Good Kind Wenceslas.”
P.S. Could the ridiculous comment on the Coventry Carol page be from none other than home-of-American-hops-born and Tomahawk frontman polymath Mike Patton?
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