J.W. Lees Harvest Ale

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

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: DEC 20, 2003 This bottle is just like the one in the picture, 1988. Definite sherry-like parts of the aroma, along with candied apple, raisin and alcohol. Deep burgundy red in color and with a very substantial amount of dusty-brown particulate matter, not just at the bottom of the glass but suspended in huge bits throughout. No head forms at all, and there are only a few tiny bubbles. Effervescence is bound to wane over a 14-year period, no doubt. Served in a brandy snifter at cellar temperature. Flavor is almost equal parts sweet and alcoholic, and the consistency is not viscous but thin and smooth on the palate. Sugary date/raisin, lightly toffeeish and a bit of cherry malt flavors with little to no discernible bitterness. Very warming and quite a good choice for a dessert beer or nightcap. Finish goes on forever, and is where the alcohol makes it's presence felt the most. Very much a British interpretation.
A few tasting notes on the 2000 vintage, making this 3 years old, compared to 14 -- seems to have a much thicker, syrupy mouthfeel. Appearance is much clearer, less sediment and particulates. Head is longer lasting and creamier. Maltiness is far more assertive, powerfully sweet, fruity, sticky and toffeeish. Overall, more robust but less complex than the previously rated vintage, perhaps unsurprsingly.

Ruby brown, thin head. Aroma of dark fruit-rasini, plum, fig, along with molasses, bready malt, earthy. Taste is rich and complex, lots of dark fruit, leather, tobacco, molasses, mellow sweetness.

Bottle from Booths Ripon. Cloudy dark red brown with a sweet sugary warming red fruity flavour, leather and smoke with more sweetness on the finish.

275ml bottle from the 2006 crop. Pours out dark amber with zero head apart from a dozen or so bubbles. Wonderful toffee aroma. The taste moves through stages: first the deep caramel tones with added campfire hints, then the fruitiness (possibly aided by the ageing process) comes to the fore. It then gives a blast of heat before finishing on a few of those unfortunate cardboard notes. I notice the cardboard finish decreasing as the glass empties but I don’t have too many qualms about its presence; after all this is six years old now. Overall it’s a well-crafted barley wine but I think I’ll have to try a fresher one, as I suspect I’d enjoy it a little more.

VINTAGE 1987! Holy fuck was this a good beer. Pours a cloudy brown with a respetable off white head for a beer this age. Tons and TONS of huge floaties. Huge woody, nutty aroma. Pure bliss in the nose. Impressive taste. Very smooth, sweet, nutty, caramel, toffee. Amazing vintage. Tasted and smelled like a campfire. WORLD CLASS.

2006 edition.pours cloudy burgundy with quite a bit of sediment.has the appearance of apple cider.aroma is malty sweet with caramel and over ripe apples and pears with perhaps what i think might be nutmeg.flavor is very sweet.caramel,apples,pears raisins and nutmeg and the alchohol is very well hidden at 11.5 abv.has a oily mouthfeel and a long sweet finish.harvest ale is perfect description because this will definitly remind you of autumn.aroma is wonderful in this but then its all average from there.well hidden alchohol but it takes on almost a carmel apple pie flavor which for some might be pleasant,but for me is over the top sweet.if i had this in a two ounce pour as a dessert beer i think that would have been more fitting.glad i had it but i wont search it out again

2006 Vintage. Muddy cider-caramel with almost no head / Musty, nutty nose of cooked orchard fruit, caramel, and oak / Medium to full body, some astringency, sweet and malty but mellow, with good balance but very bitter finish / Flavor of apple cider, caramel, big tobacco, nut, grass, and oak / Score is very tentative as haven’t tried a more contemporary version of this 6 year old. It is a treat to try something this old.

The 2006 vintage. Ruby red to dark brown in colour with a weak head. Very vinous nose, grapey port-like aroma with a nutty, meaty background. Full bodied mouthfeel. The taste follows the aroma, nutty, grapey and port-like, with a slightly sour, meaty flavour in the finish.

Bottle - 2008 vintage sampled in 2012. Murky orange pour with a smaller white head and lots of sediment. Huge nose of caramel, sweet sugars, molasses, plum, and some booze. Full palate. Taste is sticky sweet sugars and fruits, with plenty of caramel malt. Really good stuff!

Vintage 2000. Sampled on 2/15/10. Poured into a snifter. Pours a thick, syrupy mahogany with a thin tan head on top. This disappears to just a ring around the edge. Little spotty lace. Scents of toffee, molasses, syrup, and wet wood. The body still retains a good amount of carbonation, but the finish is extremely smooth and warming. This is a very sweet beer after all these years. Big toffee and caramel notes. Sugary syrup finish. Sort of a chalky mouth on the back end. This is almost too sweet for me. It’s definitely a slow-sipper. Not a bad bottle to split among friends, and enjoy by the fire.

2008 bottle at home tasting, having tried 06 and 07 in the past. Murky amber/brown pour with barely any head and some sediment. Aroma dominated by sweetness with caramel, toffee and a little fruit. Flavour is the same, dominated by sweetness but in a nice way similar to a Stille Nacht with a few years on it. Full bodied with low carbonation. A really great beer.