J.W. Lees Harvest Ale

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

Serve in Snifter

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3 ounce sampler sized pour at the 2013 Vintage Beer Fest. Aroma was woodsy, burnt tree leaves, caramel, dried fruit, and a faint, non-intrusive menthol. Appearance was dark orange with a lingering layer of white foam and steady carbonation flow. Taste was an unusual and incredibly smooth (despite the high abv) collection of complimentary flavors: sausage, peppercorn, dried mint, and wooden cask. Palate was medium bodied and slightly carbonated. Overall, I was surprised by how amazing this beer was, given that I’ve read 20 years is the limit on aging barley wines. This was an all around subdued and highly enjoyable beer that aged very, very well, and I look forward to trying again sometime in larger quantities from different aging periods.

Bouteille 275ml (vintage 2002). De couleur brune-ambrée et claire. Nez fruité (prunes, moyen de raisins vineux et de dates, notes de cerises), malté de caramel toffee sucré, légèrement terreux avec des notes de sucre brun et de sirop d’érable, d’alcool liquoreux doux, de vanille, de chocolat, de houblon terreux et herbeux. Ronde en bouche avec un pétillement assez bas et une texture sirupeuse aux notes liquoreuses. Goût fruité sucré et légèrement vineux (prunes sucrées, raisins vineux et notes de dates et de cerises vieillies) avec des notes de vanille et de fumée bois lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel se rajoute un goût de caramel toffee sucré aux notes terreuses avec un fond des notes de sucre brun ainsi que des traces de sirop d’érable et de pain. Parallèlement l’on retrouve un goût légèrement amer d’alcool liquoreux très doux mais réchauffant avec des notes de noix, de poivre, de houblon herbeux et des traces de chocolat noir. Post-goût long, légèrement amer d’alcool très doux avec un léger goût fruité (prunes, moût de raisins et de cerises) ainsi que des traces de houblon herbeux.

Draught. Pours an orange-copper color with a moderate white head. Nose seems rather sweet, especially for the style. Taste is both sweet and a little fruity, which I found odd.

2011 bottle. Burnt orange, white head that disappears. Powerful nose. Candi sugar, burger king burger (seriously), paint thinner, marshmallow. Taste is candi sugar, caramel apple, grilled meats, restrained bitter finish. Full body.

Dark golden pour, minimal head, aroma of sweet malt and an abundance of over ripe fruit. You need to try this with a very different frame of mind than you have when going into other beers. Flavor is among the sweetest I have ever tried. Just intensely sweet malt with some really nice complexity coming from flavor notes of ripe fruit, smoke, and carmel. There’s a minor level of bitterness. Similarities to peach jam seem appropriate here. Mouthfeel is almost syrupy thick. This is way more like sipping a liqueur than a beer, and if you approach if from that perspective you’ll likely have a better experience with it. Once I took a step back and tried it again, knowing what it was, I liked it more. Due to the absolute massive nature of this one, I think it would hold up in the cellar just fine, but probably should be left alone for at least 5 years before seeing how it changes over time. It’s worth putting a couple away for that purpose only.

2004 vintage. Super sweet nose of prunes and candied fruit. Red-brown, completely flat, glassy surface. Fortified prune juice initial; move to a more concentrated fruit melange in mid; final goes through a mix of sweet, chocolate, fruit, and cake. Medium-heavy body, kind of oily. Thick flavors throughout.

Aroma of plum, fig, intense nuttiness, molasses, dog vitamin. Appearance is sediment filled dark brown with a bubbly ring of head. Flavor matches the nose, with a dog vitamin finish. Palate is medium, oily and flat. Good, but maybe a bit past prime.

2004 bottle. Cloudy borwn with a bit of lace. Huge caramel malt nose, chocolate, tons of raisins. Again huge caramel and raisin flavor, molasses, superbly, unapologetically sweet. Lovely.

2000 Vintage poured from 275ml bottle. Aroma is honey, dried fruit and some port. Taste follows with lots of sweetness. Tastes include clover honey and some caramel/toffee elements in there too. Wow, almost tastes like mead with the heavy honey taste.

Drank in August 2012 alongside each of the other four variants. 2001 vintage. The beer pours a reddish-amber color with an off-white head. The aroma has a ton of toffee, as well as some maple and brown sugar. The flavor is full of brown sugar and maple. The beer is very sweet. There is some alcohol as well as some dark fruit/cherry notes. Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.