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J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 3.9 748

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale

Percentile
99
overall
Brewed by J.W. Lees
Style: Barley Wine

Middleton Junction, England

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
7483.91/5.03.9/5.011.5%93.4Snifter
Commercial Description:
Available filtered and pasteurised in 275ml dark glass bottles. Has appeared occasionally in cask.
This fully fermented strong ale has been brewed by J.W. Lees as a celebration of the brewers art since 1985. Harvest Ale can be enjoyed now or laid down like a vintage wine for enjoyment in years to come.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 omnivore (270), San Francisco, California, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/518/20

Mar 3, 2003  
Overall... DAMN!
2000: Musky and sweet... it smelled like sex. Topaz in color. The flavor was just brilliant on the tongue.
1999: much sweeter, more buttery and woody
1996: even sweeter, stronger finish with overtones of toffee and fruit
1991: much more mature, confident not as sweet as future years
1988: much sweeter, and very rummy flavored
1986: this is undenyably paramount, it vanshes off the tongue almost too quickly, leaving you to wonder at the flavors you just tasted. This stuff ages phenomenally. Everyone who tried it was floored at what great things happened to it.


 tarheels86 (918), Washington DC, USA
2.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/105/55/102/510/20
Feb 6, 2010  
On tap at Paradiso. All proceeds benefit Haiti. Pours a nice cloudy deep amber with a bellowing yellow head. Awesome retention and lace. Honey, vinegar, overall flanders sour nose. Taste is a super sweet and sour dichotomy with light tamarind. Very odd mix.


 Travlr (982), Washington, Washington DC, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/59/104/517/20
Jan 28, 2010  
2000 limited Edition, courtesy of Fritz from the Washington Post, at Pizzeria Paradiso - thanks Fritz! Deep golden amber with very small white head that disappears quickly and leaves scant to no lacing. Aroma of sour apple and vinegar. Flavor is apples and wine with slight cinnamon in the background. Sour, complex and fascinating.


 bubbleflubber (917), Collinsville, Virginia, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20
Jan 23, 2010  
2000 Limited Edition release. It pours a dark mahogany-amber with a quickly diminished head. The bouquet, heavily sweet, contains caramel, toffee, vanilla and aerated sugars. The flavors are of liquid toffee, maple syrup and brown sugar, finishing with rum butter and a faint kiss of alcohol behind a toffee-espresso candy. The ABV is very well hidden, but provides a comforting warmness. Highly complex, the mouthfeel is thick and syrupy, with a palate of Werther’s Original candies and an almost chewy texture. A perfect nightcap, I’m so glad I waited the 10 years in aging before presenting this, as it has mellowed so much in contrast with other JW Lees’ more current counterparts. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!


 stobbe74 (834), Denmark
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/516/20
Jan 18, 2010  
Bottle, 27,5cl. Pours an unclear orange beer with a firm offwhite head. The aroma is hops, raisin and alcohol. The flavor is sweet, hops and earthy. The palate is bold and complex. Overall a sweet and bold beer, that could use some hops for better balance.


 HOPSHUNTER (499), Tampa, Florida, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/59/103/515/20
Jan 10, 2010  
1999 vintage. Bottle. Poured a deep amber color with a very thin tan head. Nose is complex with notes of brown sugar, alcohol, caramel, chocolate, floral hops, and loads of honey. The body is a bit thin. Flavor is loads of honey and caramel with secondary notes of fig, currants, dates, and light cinnamon. Finishes with a bit of warming alcohol.


Scouser (52), Pennsylvania, USA
4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/58/104/518/20
Jan 5, 2010    Updated: Jan 8, 2010
1988, which makes this beer 21 yrs old at tasting. Smells like sweet raisins and caramel. Murky dark brown with no head or lacing. Very soft and smooth palate, also sugary sticky, it stays on your lips, nice! Very complex beer, hard to describe! Sweet fruity, raisin, malt taste. At first, this beer had a background flavor of almost cardboard,(thought that maybe it had oxidized a little) but after it had time to breath that taste disappered. This was a gift and a good one! A special treat, i liked it!


Brian2d (18), Spain
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/105/59/104/518/20
Jan 1, 2010  
Deep red-brown color. Caramel aroma, fruity and rich, with some wheat underneath. Not much carbonation, texture syrupy and sticky. Sweet, full body. Seemed almost like a sweet liquor, very rich.


 FunkyBrewster (572), Chicago, Illinois, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/59/105/518/20
Jan 1, 2010  
275 ml 1999 bottle. Pours a deep red kind of brown with a creamy light tan head. Aroma is very sweet and fruity, lots of big malts coming through with a heavy dose of dark fruits, sweet toffee and some prune and plum characteristics. Tastes so rich with maple and oaky notes in the start along with the dark overripe fruits. So very sweet from start to finish, barely any hops present tiny bitterness in the finish. Boozy but blends perfectly like a nice port. very rich full sticky body and almost no carbonation. Damn this is a tasty night time sipper



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