I was alerted that Sierra Nevada in Mills River was releasing Celly Drippings this week. Basically it is the sacks of hops from the Celebration Ale fermenter which are hung and allowed to drain. That beer is collected and kegged for release. I think someone said there were 7 bbl collected this year in MR. So I went expecting a hop bomb and that wasn’t the case at all. Side by side with Celebration the drippings were lighter in color and more hazy. The aroma was quite nice, but the flavor was more muted and malty than Celebration. It was interesting, but personally I’d rather have a pint of Celebration than the drippings.
They also released the Christmas Jam IPA this week. The Christmas Jam is a concert and typically a local brewery brews the beer. I think SN brewed it the last time they had the concert, but Covid stopped the concert for a few years. This year’s beer is 6.2% ABV and is a lovely dank IPA. If you happen to get a chance to visit SN in NC in the near future you should definitely give that one a whirl if you like dank IPAs.