It’s the first Friday of the month! For all of us beer bloggers, that means it’s time for The Session - a day where the beer blogging community gathers together and writes around a common topic. This months Session, hosted by Barley Vine, is all about winter seasonal beers.

As some of you know, Celebration Ales were really what got me into cellaring beers in the first place (Be sure to see my story about cellaring Celebration Ale. It was one of the first things I wrote for the site, so be gentle on me ). For this months Session, I thought it would be fun to bust out one of my old Celebration Ales and compare it to a fresh one. Call it a Christmas throwdown if you will! It’s Christmas past vs. Christmas present, 2004 vs. 2007. Which vintage will prevail?

Color - There’s clearly a big difference in color between the two brews. The ‘07 pours a crystal clear almost pumpkin orange, while the ‘04 was a mysteriously murky dark brown shading towards orange. I’d say it’s a matter of taste when deciding which one is more appealing, but I’ll give it to the 2004 for now. First point goes to the 2004 vintage!

Two vintages of Celebration Ale side by side - The ‘04 (on the left) is clearly darker

Carbonation - The’07 is fairly high in carbonation, with lots of bubbles streaking up the side of my pint glass. The ‘04 still has decent carbonation, but is noticeably flatter then the ‘07. Point goes to the 2007 here. (2004 - 1 2007 - 1)

Aroma - A very strong smell of sweet caramel malts was coming off of the 2004. The 2007 was a little subtler, but still had a pleasant aroma of piney hops. If I didn’t know better I would have said I was smelling two completely different beers. I have to say the 2004 just edges out the 2007 here. (2004 - 2 2007 - 1)

Head - The 2007 vintage formed a beautiful white head which slowly melted into some creamy lacing. The retention throughout my drink was fantastic. The 2004 couldn’t compete here, it formed a brownish head that quickly faded away significantly faster then the 2007. Big point for the 2007 vintage here. (2004 - 2 2007 - 2)

2007 is on the left. I poured this five minutes before the ‘04, and the head is still retaining better.

Malt Flavors - No contest here. The 2004 has a wonderful caramel-like sweetness to it. The 2007 has just a hint of sweetness hiding behind the big hoppy flavors. (2004 - 3 2007 - 2)

Hop flavors - No contest here either. The 2007 Celebration Ale is loaded with fragrant hops suggesting pine and citrus flavors. Some hoppy bitterness hits you when you sample the 2004, but it is way subdued compared to the 2007. (2004 - 3 2007 - 3)

Body - Three years of aging have let the 2004 develop a heavier somewhat syrupy body. The 2007 is light and refreshing. Both match up well with the individual beer flavor profiles, so no points are awarded here.

Complexity - Even though the 2004 vintage has developed an interesting sweetness, it’s no match for the depth of flavor that the fresh hops in the 2007 bring to the table. (2004 - 3 2007 - 4)

Finish - A bit of warming alcohol leads to some sweetness on the palette as you finish the 2004 Ale. No real lingering flavors, here the finish is very quick. With the 2007 ale however, you’ll be tasting those hops for minutes afterwards. Point to the ‘07.

Final Score - 2004 Celebration Ale loses to the 2007 Celebration Ale 5-3.

In the end, the aged sweetness of the 2004 just didn’t hold up to the fresh hops of the 2007. I would still recommend cellaring this beer, as the aged version was still delicious and interesting to drink. My gut feeling says that three years might be a little too long to age this brew - I’m looking forward to trying some with only a year or two under them.

I hope you enjoyed my tasting. Please be sure to check out the Barley Vine website for a whole host of interesting articles about winter seasonal brews.

Jason

jason@brewbasement.com

www.brewbasement.com