J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Sherry)

Great thanks to Papsoe for sharing!
Hazy dark amber color. Sweet malt aroma. It has a full mouthfeel, with full malt flavor, very sweet, classic English Barley Wine, with minimum bitterness. Almost syrupy at the end, but luckily there is some more caramel and bitterness. It may be my imagination, but I feel some cherries both in the aroma and flavor. In complexity, it’s second to the Lagavulin only. Excellent.

Bottle. [After party @ Papsoe, thanks buddy] Average creamy head that mostly diminished. Spare display of lacework. Hazy amber color. Very complex aroma of sherry, wood, vanilla, mild bread, grain, hint of fruit. Very vinous, alcoholic. Over the palate came raisins warm alcohol and again wood and vanilla. Full bodied with a soft carbonation and thick alcoholic texture. Heavy sweet and mild bitter flavor. Lingering sherry wood finish. Very complex sweet and lovely. 8 / 3 / 8 / 4 / 17

2004 Bottling.
Been wanting to try this one for awhile now, but with over a $8 price tag I’ve been hesitant. But after drinking this gem, I’m not only going to buy more, but I’m backing up the truck!
Pours a murky reddish brown in color. Smell is heavenly, absolutely wonderful. It took me awhile to take my first drink, because every time I lifted the glass to sip I was hit with wonderful sherry, oak, and that never mistaken JW Lees malt bill. Taste is unforgettable. I don’t know why this beer is not talked about more for it’s incredible flavor and readily availableness. Taste has the same underlying JW Lees barleywine, but with wonderful Sherry undertones and a woody oak flavor as well. This is one beer I wished would never end.
A true treat that is a definite sipper. I WILL seek more of these out and buy them on a regular basis.

Aroma: Woody pipe tobacco wreathed around a ripe, fruity essence: baked apples, pears, prunes, a touch of peach and some raisins, sweetened by a hint of maple syrup and dark rum, shine their way through a curtain of velvety, earthy, oaky, resiny notes from the hops and sherry casks. Alcohol comes through only slightly, mingling with the dry-yet-robust pome fruit scents to lend the impression of Calvados. (I wonder what the Calvados cask version smells like...) Appearance: Deep, plummy chestnut brown with a bright ruby shine to it. Head is blanched almond-colored, smooth but volatile, and surprisingly large and stalwart - not huge, but big for the style and the ABV. Flavor: Sweet as hell but full of fruity barleywine goodness and woody, nutty, resiny sherry flavor. Gushingly sweet flavors of white sugar, apple juice, honey, and sponge cake dominate, but the varnishy, walnutty tweak of sherry offers a pleasant distraction. This beer does not have what I would call depth or complexity, but it isn’t boring. I must say, though, it is too sweet. Palate: Suitably thick, with subdued carbonation. And yet it’s also quite dry - the finish, though sweet, is surprisingly not syrupy. Overall: I do like the sherry flavor, but unfortunately it doesn’t really do enough to buoy the leaden sugars that overwhelm this beer - nor is it interesting enough to warrant those sugars, or the big ABV, for that matter. I suppose this deserves some points for its totally undetectable alcohol, but then again, a little spicy heat might help to fence in its out-of-whack sweetness.

Malt saturated alcohol and fruit aroma,like your sniffing a whopatuee mix, murky and cloudy,smooth thick and sweet, sherry flavors are very evident, caramel,alcohol, and candy sugar all evident,a nice one beer only tonight brew