J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados)

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados)

Only available filtered and pasteurised in bottles.
Matured in wooden Etienne Dupont Calvados casks from the end of October until mid March.
This fully fermented ale has been brewed by JW Lees as a celebration of the brewers’ art. Harvest Ale can be enjoyed now or laid down like a fine wine for enjoyment to come.
3.8
496 reviews
Middleton, England

Community reviews

3.3 From notes. Gus opened this one at the hotel before we left for Side Project on November 24. 275 mL bottle. Says it was brewed in 2012. The pour is a thinner bright golden amber color with a thin ring of light tan colored head and no lace as it falls away to nothing. The aroma is something else. There is a ton of apple brandy barrel. It’s got an overly sweet toffee and caramel with a hint of growing alcohol. There is a banana Laffy Taffy thing going on that I’m not too keen on. There is a light oxidation on the back of this one. The flavor is equally interesting. There is a light malt up front with a sharper toffee that leads back into a light booziness. The oxidation presents itself in the form of a metallic banana Laffy Taffy which is a little strange. The mouth feel is light and clean, but a bit watery, with a light carbonation and a lingering aftertaste of sharp barrel and banana extract. This one is strange from front to back. 7 4 6 3 13
3.5 Refrigerated brown 2012 nip. Opaque burnt orange with small white head which dissipated quickly. Aroma is rich caramel malt, medium body, low carbonation, and no lacing. Taste is calvados, oak, and some caramel malt. Prefer the regular and port version to this.
4.6 A classic barley wine full of flavor. The one downfall is its very sweet. Possibly due to its 2011 vintage. A very special brew for sure.
4.4 English Barleywines are the road less traveled for me. I usually go for the hopped-up varieties. Still, this trip into lesser known territory was a lot of fun. I tasted the 2014 vintage of the Calvados Harvest Ale. It appeared to have kept nicely at the back of my nearby bottle shop. Dark orange color with minimal head. Surprisingly boozy and starchy flavors, even for a Barleywine. Toffee, molasses, caramel, vanilla, chocolate, toasted apple, and dark fruit. There’s just a hint of vinous tartness at the finish - easy to miss. A gorgeous brew that I can probably only justify getting once, though I sure as hell wouldn’t mind one with a cigar.
4.0 Murky deep amber with a thin ring of cream head. Dough, caramel, chewy malts, light barrel notes. Chewy on the palate, caramel, toffee, light alcohol, hint of apple in the finish.
3.2 9.3 oz. bottle. 2012 edition. Pours clear copper with a minimal white head. Aroma of sweet malt and brown sugar. Taste is malty, sweet, caramel, brown sugar, booze, almonds, green vegetable notes. Overrated. Did not finish.
4.0 Slightly hazy dark copper with a thin foamy white top. Big sugary dark Brandy nose. Big brash flavor that’s sweet and wheaty but also caramelly and loaded with cognac/Brandy/dark rum with a very full palate and malty toffee wheaty base with a warm finish.
3.2 Bottle. A- Bread dough, wine grapes, molasses, subtle iron. A- Mahogany color, clear liquid, minimal head. T- Burnt sugar, medium sweetness, baked apples, grapes, slightly boozy. P- Full body, average texture, average carbonation, boozy finish. O- Bottle from 2013. Okay, but definitely heavy on the apple brandy. A bit sweet too. I can’t decide if I like it or not. It’s also got a odd tangy booziness to it. Definitely not worth the price at $12 for a 9 oz bottle. Not sure if I want to try other variants now or not...
4.1 Bottle: Poured light brown copper with tan head. Very stick caramel, toffee, barrel. Sweet sticky caramel molasses.
4.1 Found on tap at The Hay Merchant in Houston. Aroma is like an aged tawny port, holy shit, grape and apple with wood hints. This is serious sniffing business, tannins and caramel, out the park here just sit back and waft it in baby. Has minimal head but a pretty brown dark copper body with carbonation hugging the glass. Flavour is heavy and sweet with lots of syrup with apple and caramel shining through. Fruity notes too. Alcohol is well hidden but this is too syrupy. Leaves a cloying feel on the mouth. Still, some very compelling things going on here.
4.0 Cask at Max’s. Pours hazy copper with a thick, creamy off white head. Tastes like dried fruits, toffee, cookie malt, smooth and creamy, light booze, and golden raisins. Medium body and low carbonation. Smells like golden raisins, toffee malt, and light booze. Delicious!
3.5 2006 bottle. Probably should have consumed this sooner. Whatever. Super murky and viscous tawny amber pour with almost no carbonation and barely a wisp of head. Nose shows tons of dried dark fruits, prune, raisins, dried apples, burnt sugar, caramel, and oxidized malt. IN.TENSE flavor. Like condense dried fruit juice and burnt sugar/caramel. Apple note comes through more than you’d expect at this age. Definitely some oxidation going on. Super full bodied and coating mouthfeel.
3.8 2009 bottle. Cloudy brown some floatimg turds and sediment at the bottom. Sweet liquor or sweet wine aroma. Big malty barley wine with lots of sweet grape or apple in it. Aroma is slightly misleading because taste is also sweet but with a ripe fruit smack. The Calavdos barrels are extremely apparent, heavy raisin taste. Different for sure but a bit too sweet for me.
4.2 0.33l bottle thanks to Cristobal37. Hazy brownish dark orange body, practically no head with huge chunks of sediment. Aroma of dark sugar syrup, apple brandy, cider and oak. Taste of caramel, burned sugar, toast and apple cider. Quite boozy beer. This cider brandy character makes it very unique for me.
3.8 Shared 2008 bottle. Clear body looks like whisky but with a good light tan head. Very sweet up front but more moderate by the finish. Sweet malty aroma with more complexity in the flavor.
4.3 Beautiful deep red orange color, minimal head. Deep sweet caramel, very dried fruit forward. Raisins. Incredibly sweet, minimal bitterness. Heavy body, very clean mouthfeel. Very long finish. Excellent.
3.6 Hazy amber pour with small off white head. Aroma of malts, caramel, apple brandy, hops and a slight funky cheese aroma. Taste of caramel malts, toffee, green apple, brandy, hops and fruits. Full bodied, soft carbonation, nicely balanced. Delicious beer, a little off putting from the funky cheese aroma. Possibly an infected bottle but taste said otherwise. Very enjoyable beer.
3.0 Bottle. Hazy deep amber liquid with small to medium off-white head. Aroma of booze, wood, raw sugar, toffee and raisins. Taste is medium sweet and light bitter with notes of raw sugar, raisins and booze. Full bodied with low carbonation. Meh.
4.0 Aroma of Granny Smith Apples, and a caramel malt, pours a hazy fresh apple cider like brown with no head or carbonation. Tastes of malt, sweetish apple brandy with a medium body and a sweet caramel malt finish. Better than any Clavados I’ve ever had.
3.7 2010 bottle at the May 1st DC tasting. Poured a dark brown, ruby color with a fizzy off-white head. Aroma was boozy malts, light barrel notes. The flavor is better than the regular J.W. Lees, in that there’s a bit more complexity here. Light barrel notes, toffee, sweet character.
3.4 Bottle at the DC RateBeer Tasting, thanks radagast83! Slightly hazy brownish orange with beige head. Aromas of raisins, caramel, toffee, butterscotch. Tastes of caramel, toffee, butterscotch, light booze, oak. Medium-light body with a dry finish.
4.4 Bottle at the Foundry. I’m generally not a fan of barley wine, but this sweet and fruity sipper turned out to be an excellent finish to a pleasant evening. Aroma of apple, cherry and brown sugar, pours out with a small head and an almost ruby color. The bottle says ’Brewed in 2013’, and it certainly has aged well. It is quite sweet with the flavors following the aroma. Very rich, complex and balanced, quite smooth and with the alcohol quite evident. One to savor.
3.8 Bottle. Pours a clear brown with no head. The aroma is dark fruit, caramel, brown sugar. Medium mouth, candy sugar, raisin, caramel, boozy finish, very good.
3.6 Pours a medium copper color with a finger of white foam. Lots of sweet honey, caramel with some underlying apple skin and a trace of some fruit driven acidity. Almonds, maple, honeycomb some heat from the booze on this one.
4.1 The barley wine side of this is superior. However the calvados component is muted. Still overall a very tasty brew.
4.0 April 30, 2015. Bottle at CBC pre-tasting, vintage 2011. Shared by Theydon_Bois, thanks! Dark amber with a small frothy white head. Aroma is sweet caramel, toffee, baked apple notes, calvados alcohol, some dried fruits and spicy notes. Taste is sweet malty with caramel, dried fruits, notes of vanilla and slight oxidized notes. Finish is warming alcohol and sweet toffee, apples and hints of vanilla. Medium to full bodied, sticky texture, soft carbonation.
4.0 2013 Pours a deep copper/gold with some foam. Lacing I can’t get even when I swirl the beer in my glass. Rich caramel malt, wood, and some hints of fruit in the smell. Taste is like it smells with the addition of vanilla and some toffee. This is sweet but not overly so. Almost chewy body with light carbonation.
3.9 Nip bottle courtesy of Theydon_Bois. Pours tiny hazy golden with no head. Smell is malty and fruity with caramel, toffee, vanilla fudge, caramel covered carnival apples, raisins, moist soil, minerals and apple brandy alcohol. Taste is sweet, bitter, malty and fruity. Mouthfeel is soft, round, slightly sticky sweet, boozy and medium to full bodied. Taste is sweet and slightly bitter with caramel, toffee, vanilla fudge, ripe apples, raisins, minerals, apple brandy alcohol and hints of cinnamon. Really good UK barley wine with a nice twist. Another treat!
3.8 11.5 oz. bottle 2004 vintage. Pours a deep amber color with a small off white head. The nose is all barleywine; sweet caramel malts, fruits, some vanilla, and quite a bit of apple character. The calvados barrel is there from the beginning. The flavor is much of the same with the calvados barrel influencing everything, honey and raisins. Overall I enjoyed this beer, but the calvados could be less in your face with this one. Thick and syrupy and sweet in the mouth. I am glad to have shared this slowly with someone else as it is strictly a sipping beer.
3.7 Bottle gift from Dennis Bell. Bold notes of prune, raisin, barrel and spice. Finish was somewhat apple, booze and pepper. Nicely done. spice oak Finish: peppery