J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Lagavulin)

2004 vintage, whiskey barrel aged. deep ruby colored, tiny tan bubbles with some spotty lacing. aroma of sweet malt and plums. flavor is smokey, thick, smooth, with brandy-like sweet notes. very full bodied, alcoholy, with a full, sweetish finish. i have a thought that the whiskey barrel aging added much of the attraction to this barley wine. this brew doesn’t really try ro hide the 11.5% abv.

275ml Bottle: Sweet aroma. Smells of malts, smoke, wood, honey, brown sugar, raisin, and whiskey. Poured amber with a slight copper hue in color and a small, fizzy, off-white head that disappeared. Cloudy. Full of small and medium-sized particles. Light to medium sweet flavor. Tastes of smoke, malts, honey, whiskey, tobacco, tar, and wood. Medium body. Thickish, oily texture. Soft carbonation. Smokey, sweet finish lingers. 11.5%ABV well hidden.

(275 ml bottle (2005) from 1828 Vintage House) Pours cloudy, murky amber with lots of chunks floating around. Just barely a trace of a head. Aroma of nice Scotch, rock-candy malt sweetness, brown sugar, alcohol and perhaps wood. Mouthfeel is fairly smooth, soft but a bit loose. A little sticky on the back end. Not much carbonation. No real lacing, just a light syrupy film inside snifter. Flavor is sweet, malty and Scotchy. A sugar bomb for sure but I like what the barrel aging does in these two JW Lees BA versions I’ve had so far. It mellows out some of the high sweetness and alcohol of the original beer and lets more of the pure malt flavor along with whatever flavor is in the barrel really come through. This one has a mellow fine Scotch note along with candy malt, brown sugar and perhaps a bit of vanilla woodiness. Some alcohol presence but pretty well-integrated. Bittterness builds towards finish and gives a nice little hit. Flavor-wise this is almost on par with the Calvados but a bit less impressive on appearance and mouthfeel.

Small bottle from By the Bottle in Vancouver, WA--Poured a murky, hazed amber-copper with a thin wispy whitish head. Nose of sticky sweet smoky malts and whiskey heat. Doughy sticky, cloying body with some fruit and wood complexities. A real sipper. Not my favorite. Lots of sugars that became harder and harder to gut as the beer warmed up.

9.3 oz. bottle (2004) into sniffer. Pours a hazy woody red color with a nice offwhite head that took a very violent pour to stir up. The aroma is pretty intense - some musty chewy malt with some caramel, wood, and booze notes. The flavor is a bit too sweet for me and includes some soy notes (the number one turn off for me in a beer) in addition to maple sugar, dough, and caramel characteristics. No hops really. I think this thing has some serious potential if it has been stored correctly for a long time, and I feel mine has probably been exposed to light and above cellar temperatures. Either way, it is pretty good and interesting, just a bit intense right now. Medium to full bodied and heavy on the palate. Overall: definitely a very slow sipper, and not getting as much whiskey on the flavor or aroma as I was hoping for. This thing is so sweet that I lick my lips and it just tastes like sugary caramel candy. If your are a sweet barley wine lover, this stuff is probably streight up your alley.

2006: Intense in every catagory, reeks of smoke, peat, moss, salt, ashes and oak, with some candied apricots and peaches thrown in, alchohol is just right for the type of product and is well covered and very drinkable. This is a very complex beer. Although, I enjoyed this beer, I like the port version best.

2 year old bottle. Pours a hazy, copper color with an off-white head. Aroma is of caramel malts, raisons, whiskey, and a little oak. The oak and smokiness from the barrel come out pretty strong on the flavor at the beginning. Caramel and raisons come out next. Finishes slightly bitter but not too much. Still some warming on this one with a lingering flavor.

(Bottle 27,5 cl) Courtesy of boboski. Pours a slightly hazy dark amber with a small rough off white head. Distinct aroma of smoke and tar. Full-bodied with a low carbonation. Flavours of sweet caramel and vanilla, smoke, tar and tobacco. No bitterness. Of the four barrelled J.W. Lees I think the Lagavulin version offers more resistance to the extreme sweetness of the base beer. 200608