I have been looking forward to this release all year, only to find that my palate must have changed and I do not enjoy it at all anymore. How bizarre. The bottles were dated last month so I don’t think it is a freshness issue. Maybe I’ll try it on tap somewhere.
I just tried it last night. I enjoyed it but not as much as previous years.
The recipe changes every year. Haven’t seen it yet, but 2013’s Celebration was (to me) way better than last year’s.
For me all these Christmas beers are great the first time you drink one. Then the newness wears off quickly and you’re left with a bunch of syrupy/spicey beer you end up throwing up next summer because they break down in storage. :-X
Mix-a-six is the way to go for me if I want to partake
Celebration has always been one of my favorite seasonals (tried it every year since it first showed up in Indy), but last year’s from Mills River was the first that I didn’t like. I’m gonna try it again this year to compare. I thought last year’s was more bland and light on hop character than any other year’s.
are you trying to start something here?
i like it. i agree it is not as assertive and bold as usual but i am enjoying it nonetheless. it seems more like a hoppy amber this year (Red Seal?). i brewed something in the vein of celebration and hope to compare the two when mine is kegged and tapped.
I went out of my way to purchase this beer last year and was kind of disappointed after all of the hype I had heard/read. I am a bit confused by the seemingly controversy surround whether the recipe does or does not change.
My favorite seasonal was Samuel Smith’s Winter Warmer but I haven’t seen it for a couple years.
god that is one of those interweb rumors that won’t go away. It does not change. Its the same every year with the first dried hops of the new harvest. I’ve heard countless interviews with Steve Dressler where he is emphatic that it doesn’t change.
What does change is nature - the growing conditions for the hops which have impacts on the hops used and the final flavor and aroma of the beer. Also, people’s memory of something from a year ago versus what is right in front of them has a way of being either overly critical or overly nostalgic.
here is the recipe:
its solid. and dare i say exact.
Um, no it doesn’t…obviously the hop crop will differ from year to year, but they assured us at Beer Camp that the recipe is the same every year.
THIS^^^^ I was directly told by several people at SN that the recipe does not change. I have no reason to doubt them.
Good to know that it does not change.
One that does change that I really enjoy is Anchor’s Christmas Ale
Celebration is (was?) a red IPA, though. No spice at all.
I think this may play a factor in it as well.
Yeah, celebration is just an IPA.
I seem to have been mistaken. I’d always been told the recipe changed from year to year, and until now had never heard otherwise.
Wasn’t trying to start anything, was simply misinformed.
Sorry - i thought maybe you were joshing the board (i should have used an emoticon now that i think of it), trying to start that discussion up as a joke. Every year someone inevitably says that ‘but the recipe this year is different’ which launches pages of debate. Most of the folks on this particular forum are longtimers and aware that it doesn’t change, so i thought maybe you were being funny.
I think people’s memories are more to blame than anything. I would bet that SN pretty carefully selects their hops to maintain consistency of flavor from year to year - not necessarily to pick the “best” crop of hops.
Actually, prior to last year, I always felt like Celebration was remarkably consistent to my memories of it each year. I normally went through a case or two each fall. Just thought last year’s was really bland. It won’t stop me from buying some this weekend.