Sierra Nevada Goes National With Its Rarest Beer, Celly Drippins

Last year was the first year Sierra Nevada Brewing publicly announced the release of its rarest, most exclusive, limited-release beer, Celly Drippins. Made annually from beer dripped from the hop bags used to make Sierra Nevada Celebration Fresh Hop IPA—which this year was released nationwide on October 13—Celly Drippins had for years been a secret tap in the brewery’s taproom in Mills River, North Carolina.

It was a secret beer, but word slowly got out and beer fans started making travel plans just to try the ultra rare beer.

The first public report of Celly Drippins appeared on the All About Beer Magazine website in 2023. And in 2024, Sierra Nevada, for the first time, made a public announcement and release event for the unique brew. Only 14 kegs of the beer were available and they sold out midway through the day after the official release event.

Although Celebration is brewed at both of Sierra Nevada’s breweries—in Mills River and in Chico, California—differences in the breweries meant that Celly Drippins was only available at the Mills River location—until now.

Two Release Parties

Isaiah Mangold, head of new product development and innovation brewing at Sierra Nevada, works out of the Chico brewery and admits, just like in Mills River, Celly Drippins was secretly available in Chico in prior years. As with Mills River, it was intended to be a special gift for employees, but “if you were at the bar at just the right time, you could have a magical experience,” he said on a video call.

But Chico is also now going to officially release Celly Drippins to the public.

Celly Drippins is made from extra beer that drips from the hop bags after Celebration is brewed and removed from the fermenter. Very small amounts of intensely-hopped beer drips out of the hop bags and those small amounts are accumulated to create Celly Drippins.

Due to differences in the tank sizes and tank design at the Chico brewery, in some years, as little as five gallons of Celly Drippins could be made. “It’s such a laborious process,” said Mangold. “And it ties up valuable tank space.” But by carefully managing available tanks, Chico was able to make about eight barrels of Celly Drippins this year, roughly 250 gallons and roughly the same amount as is available in Mills River.

Daily Releases

Celly Drippins will be available each day in each location from November 21 to 24. At 3:00 p.m. local time at each location on November 21, a limited quantity of the beer will be made available until that day’s allotment is sold out. From November 22 to 24, the beer will be available starting at opening time, again, until that day’s allotment is sold out. To maximize the availability of the brew for customers who have made the trip to visit the breweries, Sierra Nevada is not allowing take-away sales of the beer.

Despite now collecting and releasing Celly Drippins at both brewery locations, the beer will remain Sierra Nevada’s rarest beer. Because it made as a result of brewing Celebration—brewing about 5,000 glasses of Celebration yields only one glass of Celly Drippins—production of Celly Drippins cannot be increased.

Mangold suggests differences in how Celly Drippins is collected at the two breweries means each location’s Celly Drippins might taste slightly different, despite Celebration being brewed to exacting standards so that it tastes the same regardless of where it is brewed. But anybody making the cross-country flight in time to try both versions of Celly Drippins would be in a very exclusive club.

A Celebration Sweepstakes

In recent years, the release of Celly Drippins at the Mills River taproom has become a place of pilgrimage for beer lovers, with Sierra Nevada fans making travel arrangements to taste the rare beer with like-minded people.

To facilitate this opportunity for two lucky people, Sierra Nevada, which has a history of fun contests to reward their biggest fans, has announced a Celly Drippins sweepstakes, with the winner and their friend enjoying an all-expenses paid trip to the Mills River Celly Drippins release party.