Harveys Quatercentenary Ale

Brewed by Harveys
Style: English Strong Ale
Lewes, England

Thanks to hezron for bringing this bottle! Poured a clear garnet with a short dusting of white head. Aroma was of sweet caramel and darker fruits with old toffee sugars.. sweet and somewhat artificial.. can’t put a finger on it. Flavor was of sweet lighter fruits and caramel.. some artificial sweetener in there.. warmer finish, but not too boozy.. some notes of oxidation. Medium-bodied with some grainy, oxidized notes.. sweet with a nice feel to it.

Thanks to Nate for sharing this rare beer. The beer pours to a glowing ruby body with a thin white head. The aroma is British malts and hops. The flavor is a British barleywine with lots of pale malt and aged hops. Sweet, sticky, moderate mouthfeel with a syrupy backend.

Bottle from the Dodgy Deli’, Cowley Rd, Oxford 16-6-07. Pours brown with a definate red hue, nose was very port like and rich. Taste was a real assault on the taste buds, alcohol very present but a real burnt sugar, bonfire toffeenes to this, maybe a little bit crude but certainly becomes more and more complex with great bitterness. Ok so the BB date was Dec 06 I think but at 75 pence a bottle this was worth scooping up half the shelf.

Dark brown with a small off-white head. Rich aroma with port, wood, malt, grain, and hay. Sweet flavour with port alcohol notes, warming. Really excellent beer.

Rich ruby pour with a nice cap of fine beige. Spiced rum cake aroma, sweet and soft. A bit of strawberry fruit. Plummy, maple syrup sweetness, dark caramel, a bit of sherry and dried apples in the finish. Full palate, a little cloying. Looks and smells better than it tastes, but still an interesting barleywine.

Red brown body, small beige head; Super nose, huge deep and complex, lots of Creme Brulée, backed by a fresh hoppy, unripe berry bitterness; Quite a bit of dry carbonation, soft texture, slightly bitter, balanced and deep; Looong slightly bitter and sweet finish, caramel like texture, aromas of Creme Brulée and Creme Caramel. Amazing beer!

A deep amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma is very sweet with strong notes of over ripe fruits, as well as berries like strawberries and cherries. The flavor is sweet malty with strong notes of fruit and berries, as well as lighter notes of alcohol. The end is dry and OK bitter with a touch of wood. The mouthfeel is smooth.

Bottle. Clear dark chestnut colour. Very malty aroma, a bit dusty. Sweet raisin flavour, very malty, sweet and dusty. The bitterness is a bit rough. Low carbonation. Very nice, but one bottle is more than enough.