J.W. Lees Harvest Ale

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

Serve in Snifter

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UPDATED: JUL 7, 2004 Originally rated 5-4-1-1-1: This was a bottle of 2001 Harvest ale. This brew poured a small head of fine to medium sized light brown bubbles that, as it receded, left very little lacing. Its body was a cloudy dark brown color. It has an aroma of cinnamon and spice with some fruity notes. It had a burnt taste that was awful. Yuck what a drain pour. Was this sample bad? Maybe I'll have to sample another one if I can brave myself to try it again. Well, I finally braved this one again. This time it was a 1997 version and wow what a difference a few years make! This sample was much much better. Maybe the 2001 bottle was bad or it had not aged enough. So I will over-write my previous 5-4-1-1-1 rating with this new rating of 6-5-7-4-15 on the average of the two brews. This time the brew poured a large head of fine to medium sized light brown colored mostly lasting bubbles. The body was hazy softly carbonated dark brown colored and had a vinuous caramel malty aroma. The mouth feel was mildly vinous smooth thick and chewy. It had a strong deep rich caramel flavor. Much much better than the 2001. Age definitely does it justice. It has the most caramel flavor of any of my last 1100 ratings. Third bottle previous average was 6-5-7-4-15. This bottle was a 16 year old 1988 vintage bottle. Its cap was rusted, but the retailer told me it was still good. OK, time to put that to the test. 16 year old beer! Here we go! The rusted cap was rusted only on the outside. The inside cap was clean. This brew poured a very small head of clear medium sized mostly diminishing bubbles that left behind no lacing. The body was very hazy with a few small chunks of yeast, or other matter, in it. The aroma was vinous with a mild caramel note. The mouth feel was smooth with a mildly burning sensation of port like wine. The flavor contained notes of malt vinous alcohol, port like wine and was quite tasty for a 16 year old beer. The alcohol content was subdued but very noticeable. This beers ratings were 7-4-7-5-16 for an average of 6-5-7-5-15. Moving up just a hair on my ratings list.

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.