Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale — The Holiday Beer for People Who Hate Sweet Holiday Beers

Every November, the seasonal beer market floods with spiced ales, winter warmers, and pumpkin-adjacent abominations. Into this chaos walks Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale — a fresh hop IPA for people who want to celebrate the season by drinking a great IPA rather than a cup of mulled wine with a beer label slapped on it.

Celebration has been Sierra Nevada’s winter seasonal since 1981. It was the original fresh hop seasonal in American craft brewing, released annually with hops picked earlier that fall. Forty-plus years of tradition, and it still doesn’t taste like tradition for its own sake.

Deep amber pour, reddish in the light, with a cream-colored head. The nose is fresh and vivid — Cascade and Centennial hops announcing themselves with citrus zest, pine, and a floral note that smells like the hop yard made it into the bottle. The malt backbone is rich caramel and toasted bread, a full winter malt bill that gives the hops something substantial to work against.

The taste is the whole package: caramel malt sweetness, bright citrus hop character, a clean robust bitterness on the finish. It’s fuller and richer than the average IPA, which makes it perfect for cold weather. There’s warmth in the malt without any heat from the alcohol, and the hops stay vivid right to the end.

This is a beer that knows exactly what it is and has never second-guessed itself. In an industry that chases trends like a golden retriever chases squirrels, that kind of confidence is worth celebrating. Appropriate, then.

The Verdict: The best winter seasonal in craft beer. It’s not even close. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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