Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale - Wow!

BNVince · 11-14-2007, 01:20 AM

I threw a little dinner shin-dig last night and one of the guys brought over a 12 pack of the Celebration Ale. I think it's fantastic. Luckily for me, only 5 were drank last night. So I'll be savoring a few of these puppies all week.

On my palette, it seems that this is basically an American Amber with an IPA twist. I see that it is dry hopped as well. I would like to brew something close to this in an extract form. Do you think starting with a basic American Amber recipe and upping the IBUs to 65 + dry hopping would get me around this flavor of the Celebration ale?

jacobyhale · 11-14-2007, 01:35 AM

I've seen several Celebration ale clone recipes around. Do a search, I'm sure you'd come up with something that has been already proven.

**niquejim** · 11-14-2007, 01:53 AM

here's the AG version
http://forums.moreflavor.com/viewtopic.php?t=18917&highlight=celebration

BNVince · 11-14-2007, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niquejim

here's the AG version
http://forums.moreflavor.com/viewtopic.php?t=18917&highlight=celebration

The grain bill for the recipe is as follows:

12# Domestic 2 Row Malt
1# English Crystal Malt 45-50L

That seems way off in terms of the color of the celebration ale.

RoaringBrewer · 11-14-2007, 12:53 PM

Search for Dude's CA clone... seems to be right on.

BNVince · 11-14-2007, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilkkyBrew

Search for Dude's CA clone... seems to be right on.

I can't seem to find it but I did find this(pdf) that looks good to me.

**TexLaw** · 11-14-2007, 01:54 PM

Let that stuff age cold for a couple of years, and you won't believe how good it gets.

TL

BNVince · 11-14-2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexLaw

Let that stuff age cold for a couple of years, and you won't believe how good it gets.

TL

Couple of years! You have the patience of a Jedi Master my friend.

RoaringBrewer · 11-14-2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TexLaw

Let that stuff age cold for a couple of years, and you won't believe how good it gets.

TL

I am starting a new 'tradition' this year of setting aside a 6-pack of the Celebration Ale and doing upward/downward tastings in future years. Not sure how well a 6.8% beer, capped with a normal cap, will hold up to 3-5 years of aging, but I'm sure at least the first year or two would work just fine... Any thoughts on aging this for 3+ years? Should I wax top them or something if I plan to store that long?

RoaringBrewer · 11-14-2007, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BNVince

I can't seem to find it but I did find this(pdf) that looks good to me.

Here's is Dude's clone recipe post:
http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f12/recipe-tomorrow-question-4788/

You can see a side-by-side (to at least confirm he nailed the color) on page 3 - he also confirms that its pretty darn close to the real thing taste-wise.