J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Lagavulin)

Brewed by J.W. Lees
Style: Barley Wine
Middleton Junction, England

2004 bottle. Pours a deep dark amber-brown with an off-white ring. Rich aroma, of smoke, wood, meat, malt, dark fruits, and whisky. Taste is sweet and smoky, of malt, wood, meat, and sugar. Hides the alcohol well. Lingering smoky meat and sweet dark fruits. Wonderful.

By far the most complex of the different barrel aged versions of this beer I’ve had. Smoke really cuts and complicates the already sweet and complex flavor of the standard. Tons of charred fruit , tar, huge Islay presence. Crazy. v.2008

2003 Vintage. 275 ml bottle. Pours a mostly clear orange-brown with virtually no head save a few scattered large bubbles that popped within seconds. Very pleasant aroma of caramel, orange, and scotch whiskey. The flavor is loaded with lots of rich caramel, orange, scotch whiskey, smokey peat, and oak. Rich and lustrous on the palate. This is a wonderful sipping beer and I thoroughly enjoyed the hour and a half I spent relaxing with this bottle on Christmas Eve.

Vintage 2005. Shared with the family for the annual ’fireside barleywine quaff session’. Thanks for grabbing and sharing this one dad. Dark orange-mahogany pour with a minimal white head and some residual floaties in the bottom of the snifter. The aroma of whiskey barrel emanates in the room even before the first aromatic delves. The nose presents in the form of tawny port, whiskey, and a humongous caramel-toffee character. Fresh grapes, vanilla, booze, and wood further add to the subtleties, though its all about plum-grape dark fruit and brown sugar-caramel dark sugars. The first quaffs yield caramel, vinous sweetness, medjool dates thoroughly smoked peat, whiskey, and touches of nectar fruit in the form of apricot, pineapple, and peach. Explosive flavors of dark-sugar sweetness with an astonishingly well placed oaken earthy peatiness prevail to strengthen the whole arrangement. Complexities are subtle, though as with all the Harvest Ale’s I’ve had, this one is all about the malt sweetness. Hop profile is minimal to non-existent, demonstrating the epitome of the English style. Nearly flawlessly crafted. Palate is rich, full, smooth textured, and smacking, finishing clean, tannic, oaken and pleasantly slippery. Another masterpiece from J.W. Lees, and a true family sipper. Perhaps its the ambiance that warrants such a high rating, but there you have it. Life is good.

Thanks Chibbyman. 2008 vintage. Brown pour with very little head. Sampled a cellar temp. The aroma was whisky and a little sweetness. This beers flavor really did explode all at once. Sweetness, whisky, oak, vanilla, smoke. Alcohol was hidden. Very tasty but I would find it hard to finish a whole bottle by myself.

VINTAGE: 2006 Man oh man...happy birthday to me! Golden coppery color with almost no head at all (as was expected). Not so unlike apricot nectar. The aroma is quite smokey/peaty, like scotch (duh!) but in a sweet vaporous cloud. The taste is amazing! Very sweet malt taste combined with just the right amount of smoke and peatiness to make it completely enjoyable. There is also plenty of honey-dipped fruit flavor to be found here. Peaches, apricots, pineapple, perhaps a date or even a fig. Tastes almost like smoked butterscotch. (Where is the 11.5% a.b.v.? Certainly not in the taste! Wow! Super smooth!) This is like liquid velvet in your mouth. It feels so good that I think I’d drink it even if it didn’t taste this wonderful. I could easily enjoy several of these in a row, but when something tastes this good you want to savor it and make it last. I can’t wait ’til I get the chance to buy more of these. (Fortunately, that will be in about 4 weeks!) This is so amazing, I can’t recommend it highly enough! Pick one up as soon as you are able.

2007 Bottle. Poured an orange/brown with a quick fizzy off-white head. Aromas of whiskey, barrel wood, and light alcohol. The flavor found whiskey, caramel, and smoke. Medium to full body with a sweet wood aftertaste.

275ml 2006 bottle. Pours a deep, slightly murky, brown sugar toffee brown color with a couple of bubbles. So, Lagavulin is my scotch of choice and as I pour this into the glass the rich earthy peat is just intoxicating my nose. Sweet and buttery caramel on the nose with some smoke and earthy peat. Silky slightly viscous body with traces of carbonation. Sweet, prune, smoke and the unmistakable flavor of Lagavulin. Not for everyone and definitely one to take the time to enjoy.