J.W. Lees Manchester Star Ale

Brewed by J.W. Lees
Style: Porter
MIddleton, England

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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(Bottle at Pikkulintu, Helsinki, on 2008-11-29) Black. Small tan coloured head. Raisin and sweetness in nose. Raisin, liquorice, bitterness, roastedness and sweetness in taste. Raisin and light bitterness in aftertaste. FIne beer.

I was a bit surprised by this beer. It comes in a dark brown bottle and it’s an ale. So I was expecting a copper color or brown. This beer is dark... I mean really dark. So I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. It is a very nice dark beer with more of a porter taste than an ale. Definitely worth a try.

Appearance: dark browns under a mousse-like tan head which slowly fades into a thin layer. Smoky embers along the bottom when held up to light. Swirls with random tan spots and a dense creamy head.
Nose: creamy. Chocolate Oreo cookies. Milky. Chocolate cake. Chocolate malt with a whisper of dark fruits mixed in – raisins and prunes. Pumpernickel bread.
Palate: creamy – like a chocolate cloud melting in my mouth with milky Oreo cream delights. Prunes and raisins covered in chocolate brownies. Chocolate malt. Faint tingle of black fruit tartness along the edges – plum skins. Glides across tastebuds like silk. Milk chocolate in the breath.
Final Thoughts: yum!! Truly a delight of all the senses, from sight to smell to sound to mouthfeel to taste to finish. Another winner from the fine folks at J. W. Lees in Middleton, England. As with all English imports and otherwise, drink as fresh as possible. This is not a beer you want to age so savor now and by more later.

(500 ml from McKean and Charles) Dark brown with three and a half fingers of tan head that recede a bit but leave a lasting cap. Nose of chocolate and caramel. Mouthfeel smooth but a bit loose and thin (which I understand to be acceptable for the style). Outstanding malty flavor of chocolate, caramel, honey and a bit of smoke. Medium-light bitter pinch in finish. ABV very well-hidden. Excellent, I could drink gobs of this stuff.

Poured a almost black color with a tan head from a bottle. Aromas of roasted malt, chocolate and a twinge of nuts. Flavor is the same, nice porter overall.

Bottle, 500ml from Patrick, cheers. Black with ruby hue, cream head. Sweet start, but this fades into a fruity, blackberry, blueberry then chocolatey mix, becoming quite full on the palate. Wine like hints, full Bordeaux, maybe there is some syrupy notes towards the end. Why this is so hard to get hold of here I don’t know. Decent.

Bottle. Pours near black with a beige head. Lightly roasted malty aroma with some nutty sweetness. The flavor has dry roasted malts, some lightly sweet nutty notes, and a dry finish. Pretty good.

Aroma of milk chocolate, raisins, brown sugar and brandy. Appearance was black with bubbly tan head. Flavor matched the nose, with the addition of some coffee and nuts; virtually no hop presence. Palate was bubbly and the mouthfeel was medium. Good; based on the description, I may have had an old bottle. With that being said, I would go out of my way for this, but it was a very well made porter.

In aroma, its fruity and has a complex malt profile with a hint of alcohol, almost like a barley wine. The flavor is heavily malty and fruity, a bit of dark fruit and possibly cherry in there. Excellent ale, among the best.

In short: A creamy porter curiously blending nuttiness and
How: Bottle 500ml. Consumed probably fresh, a few weeks after purchase
The look: Near black body with a medium tan head with medium retention
In long: Nose is a bit roasted, some crusty raisin pie. Taste has a nuttiness reminiscent of cashews, fresh dates and prunes, dark breakfast grape juice, milk chocolate bar, pie crust, raisins, some caramel. Mild leafy hops presence that adds a fresh tobacco leafs flavor to the beer but not much bitterness. Mouthfeek is creamy and fluffy with a carbonation that has a lot of very soft bubbles. My description seems to indicate a good beer but the truth is that I thought the fruitiness and nuttiness didn’t work well together at all, like someone had poured a glass of breakfast dark grape fruit juicy in my a perfectly fine porter. This seems to be a beloved beer from a flagship English brewery so I apologize to any Englishman for my bad review of this loved and I also apologize in advance for this tyop.

Smells yumbo, looks very intensely dark red (in a blue glass!), amazingly bitter/sweet/smoky all at once. Is it thinner than the average porter? Really good beer - makes me wish I lived back then, but then I wouldnt have any internet : )