J.W. Lees John Willies (Cask)

Brewed by J.W. Lees
Style: Premium Bitter/ESB
Manchester, England

Serve in English pint

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Cask by handpump at Kay’s Bar, Edinburgh (15 May 2013) - clear golden amber, good creamy white head, weak biscuit malt aroma, good lacing, sweet, biscuit, fruity, creamy texture, bit thin, nicely balanced beer

Castle Inn, Kendal. 27 April 2013. Good second pint of the day, rinsing away the stale Stella we’d had in a lesser pub. Bit concerned with the initial cloudiness but that cleared to leave what is a simple, decent session ale.

Cask @ Abbey Inn. Kinloss [260413]
Amber, clear, frothy white head, good lacing
Aroma - very soft caramel malts, touch of toasted cereal
Taste of soft caramel light fruity malts, light cereal, dab of soft bitter english hedgerow red berry hops, bit nutty, soft honey, light taste for abv but quite pleasent with no off notes
Palate - Thin to medium body, bit oily, quite sweet palate. Finish is soft - more light berries and fruity caramel malt comes through with a dab of weetabix and toasted malts.
Overall - Easy drinking, quite decent english bitter. Was in good condition which is critical for this sort of beer

First tasted this at the Crystal Palace, Glasgow (JDW) in February 2008. Cask, handpump dispense. Clear pale copper red in colour with a thick creamy buff head. Slight note of digestive biscuit in the short aroma. Thin creamy mouthfeel and good lacing. Pale malt gives a thin digestive biscuit base with a hint of sweet toffee. Short hop resins impart a quick bitter bite to the metallic tasting aftertaste. Slightly edging towards the malt in the tart redcurrant fruit finish. A below average ESB and expected more from a 5% ABV.

Cask @ National Winter Ales Festival 2009. A pale amber beer with a thin beige head. The aroma has notes of malt and caramel. The flavor is sweet with notes of malt, caramel, and toffee, leading to a lightly bitter finish. Fine.

Cask Handpump at the Saracens Head, Stockton Heath 30/05/2009 Some hop aroma. Golden coloured and fruity with a little bitterness in a crisp malt finish.

Small head with short duration. Color is amber. Aroma and taste are malt, caramel, hops and notes of fruit.

(Cask at Rain Bar, Manchester, 23 July 2009) Brownish amber colour with creamy, beige head. Malty, nutty nose with notes of toffee, caramel, hay, wort and dusty hops. Malty, nutty taste with toffee, caramel and a mild, bittersweet finish. Medium body, slightly sweetish. Not really exciting, but definitely drinkable.

Cask @ The Rain Bar, Manchster M1. Pours a pale amber color with a small white head. Has a malty caramel aroma with some fruity hints. Fruity malty caramel flavor with some hoppy hints. Has a fruity malty hoppy bitter finish.

Cask at the White Horse, 23rd April 09. Copper amber. Quite sweet, honeyed taste & moderate weight. Tart citrus at the finish.