Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale

I thought I’d introduce myself since this is my first post, but then I realized your probably don’t care, so let’s get right to the beer!

This is a review of Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale from the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company in Chico, California.

Though it is only available seasonally, and marketed “especially for the holidays,” this beer is used by the Beer Judge Certification Program as an example of an American IPA and not a spiced or specialty beer. At 6.8% alcohol by volume this beer will give you a nice warm feeling of cheer on a cold winter’s night.

Sierra Nevada lists the ingredients as two-row pale and english caramel malts with chinook hops for bittering, cascade and centennial to finish and dry hop. They just say they use a “top-fermenting ale yeast,” but it’s probably the Chico yeast. If you look at some of the more popular clone recipes, you'll see that's really all there is to it.

The beer pours a clear copper color with a thick, creamy off-white head. The aroma is hoppy with hints of flowers, spice, citrus, and pine with a faint malt sweetness. The beer feels smooth on the tongue with the right carbonation for an American IPA and a crisp finish that leaves you wanting another. It has a good hop bitterness with a nice malt backbone, with hints of unsweetened chocolate and cherry, like biting into a Godiva cherry cordial.

Overall I really like this beer. The wife an I stock up on it every year between Thanksgiving and New Years.

Finally on the boat...

Sorry all, and by the way, Hi, this is spAceFFF. I offered to put in my two cents on beerporn, so hey, gotta start sometime right? Well, my first attempt @ a blog/review/my 2 cents will be a Keweenaw Brewing Co. offering, Lift bridge brown ale. This beer is probably pretty hard to come by, unless for those in the upper midwest, but it caught my eye because Keweenaw cans their beers, which has taken my attention over bottles the past year or so. This is a decent brown ale, I wouldnt cross the country to find it, but if it grabs your eyes or you are near the brewery in the U.P. of Michigan, check it out, its a good brown.

Beer pours with a nice, dark head that sticks to the sides of the glass, and dissipates after a few sips. Beautiful brown color, nice and clear but the lights sneaks through. Very smooth, creamy maltiness with little hints of sweetness & a mild hop bite. Nothing really stands out or jumps at your palate, which isnt a bad thing, but it could have a little more maltiness for my palate to be an above average brown...maybe more body. Again not an awesome brown ale but a very drinkable, tasty session beer. (And its canned). Many argue for or against bottles and cans, which one is better for the beer, environment, storage, cooling down, etc... Working in a brewery has shown the advantages of each package...and I would love to someday see more cans in the craft industry. The largest issue with canning may be the cost; a new, basic, 60 cpm (cans per minute) filler runs about 250,000 dollars, not including rinsers, packaging machines & labelers. So, gotta dip in the pockets for this type of packaging.

Well, Keweenaw makes a good brown ale, and I know they have many other offerings (only 3 in cans), the rest I assume on tap at the brewpub. Next time I am in the U.P. I will definitely be hitting up the brewery for a tour and perhaps one of their many styles of beer. Currently this brewery is producing about 3000 bbls. of goodness per year, so maybe someday they will expand further then MI & WI. Cheers.

Fake Larry Bell

Well it all started when my beloved Vicki and I were having coffee. I glanced across the coffee shop and commented to her, "That guy looks like Larry Bell". She agreed and also noted that his hair even looks the same. I knew it wasn't the real Larry Bell but the similarity was striking. He came close to the counter where we always sit and being the shy guy that I am, I let him know that he has a famous twin in Kalamazoo. "I feel sorry for him." the man said. "Don't be. He is a millionaire and a famous brewer." I replied. I quickly jumped aboard the internet with my Ipod and showed him this picture. Come to find out, he is Pastor and his name is Matt. He doesn't like beer and Vicki stated to him, "You have not had any good beer yet." They struck up a conversation and I posed in a picture with this impostor. She even gave him some beer suggestions.

Breakfast Stout: Not just for breakfast anymore

I don't care what the calendar says: Autumn is so over. Unless you're one of those lucky people living somewhere that escapes a real winter, you're either feeling the cold start to creep into your bones, or you will soon. It's that time of the year, time to clear out your stash of fall favorites (you aren't still drinking Oktoberfest, are you?) and pick up some beers that will do a better job at warming you up.

A good imperial stout is hard to beat. I had to bring this one back from Massachusetts, but I'm drinking Founders Breakfast Stout. This 8.3% ABV oatmeal stout is one of the best comfort beers out there, with a luscious oatmeal texture rounding out its considerable bitterness. With only 25 IBUs, it needs more than just hops to balance out the big malt load. The heavy doses of two kinds of coffee and two kinds of chocolate complete the package, especially in the aroma. This is a bold beer. That said, it isn't scary. Every element of this beer is in balance, including the alcohol, which is present but not overwhelming. The scariest part about it might be its appearance. This beer is jet black and completely opaque, even when I briefly held my glass right up to a light bulb. The head is brown. The beer looks intimidating. But again, this is not an imperial stout designed to shock you. It is designed to comfort you.

Most imperial stouts don't have oatmeal, but even without the silky texture that oatmeal provides, good imperial stouts shouldn't be overpowering with alcohol. They should be balanced, warming you gently from the inside after you swallow. No beer should ever taste "hot" in the mouth. This one, like the best imperial stouts, tastes hugely roasty and bittersweet, with many layers of flavor to tease out. Enjoy it.

The imperial stout is one of my favorite styles, especially this time of year. Like Founders Breakfast Stout, many are only brewed once a year, so grab them before someone else does. Try cellaring a few, if you're into that, and you'll find some of the bitterness drop, the alcohol flavor mellow, and some sherry-like flavors might even develop. It's my understanding that darker beers age better than lighter beers. If you don't want to bother cellaring, don't. Brewers work hard to make their products drinkable as soon as they leave the brewery. As for me, I'll be enjoying the rest of my Founders Breakfast Stout over the next few weeks. I'll also try making my own version, complete with coffee and chocolate, very soon.

Stay warm.

Tis the Season!

A Scottish Christmas? Traditionally the Scottish people celebrate on New Year's Day (named Hogmanay). Since the church of Scotland is the Presbyterian Church, they do not celebrate as others do as the church does not think much of the festivities of Christmas. Those who follow the Church of England keep it low key as their church does not approve of loud, unruly behavior.

Also according to my research, the Scottish folks have an odd tradition. If the fire goes out on Christmas Eve, the family will have bad luck in the coming year. According to custom, mischievous elves climb down the chimney and cause troubles in the family, however a fire in the hearth or bonfire will scare them away (dirty little elves!)

Why am I telling you about customs of a Scottish Christmas you ask? It is because I'm about to embark on a review of a Scottish Christmas Ale. I give you....

Bell's Christmas Ale

This particular beer did not produce much head in my Abbaye De Floreffe goblet which is to be expected in this particular choice of glassware and my pouring method. As I let the beer sit a moment a small head of froth appeared at the top of the glass.

This beer poured a ruby to dark red color with a cloudy appearance. The aroma is of faint spices and plum notes, almost herbal with a hint of malts and hops detected.

The taste is malty and medium bodied and although a great beer, it is a bit unremarkable for a Scottish ale in my opinion. With that said I think this is a great beer to share with family and friends around the upcoming Christmas holiday.

Dark Horse Crooked Tree IPA

I wont lie... I love this beer... So, if unbiased reviews are your thing... Skip ahead.

I always feel at home with a bottle of Crooked Tree. If you could take the comfort of warm milk... And make it an overhopped Midwestern IPA... Well, this would be a fine example.

It pours with the consistency of milk... Nice and smooth... The head bubbles nice and thick like pancakes on the griddle! Man... The only other beer that has a better mouth-feel might be the Tres Blueberry Stout from the same brewery. Once you get a feel for those bitter hops wrapped in that smooth package... You start to feel like you are eating a rich desert. You begin to savor each sip.

I read or heard somewhere that these guys have a retro roadhouse style brewpub... The brewer is an artist who draws all the labels... And he is known to grow totally unkempt beards. These kind of nuggets of info only add to the character that is the Dark Horse brand. Not that this beer needs any help with character!

Seek out Dark Horse beers!

FFF BrooDoo Harvest Ale

According to the bottle... "BrooDoo Harvest Ale is a seasonal ale that glorifies American hops. BrooDoo is brewed using fresh green "wet" hops picked right from the vine and put into our beer vats, from vine to brewhouse in one day! BrooDoo also uses the best American malt money can but. Enjoy."


Broodoo is an awesome harvest ale... To be quite honest its probably hoppier than most IPA's. The hop aroma, the hop flavor, and the hop residuals are very powerful but not over whelming...



It pours a nice amber almost orange color with a nice head (don't let the pics deter you... I was slow to the camera) With a very strong citrus (grapefruit) and pine hop aroma it hints at what is to come...

The flavor is a great balance between biscuit maltiness and fresh wet hop bitterness... With the hops coming back after the swallow... This is a great everyday beer... but maybe its just me... I mean its only 5.5% and lets not forget about the label...



With a label like that the beer had better be top notch to back it up... And this one succeeds!

Overall review...

Exceptional!!!