J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Sherry)
Matured in wooden casks of Willoughbys Cream Sherry to impart sweet and nutty flavors. Traditionally many fine malt whiskeys have been matured in sherry casks for the enhancement of both flavor and color.
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.
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
413 reviews
Middleton, England
Community reviews
$9.99 bottle, Wine Warehouse. 2015 bottle. Pours murky brown with a small khaki head. Aroma is raisin and fig, alcohol, dried fruit. Flavor is sweet raisin, fig, alcohol, caramel, a bit of floral notes. Lots of raisin in this one, but doesn't seem that different than "regular" version I had yesterday. Very tasty.
Bottle shared@Himmeriegt, Copenhagen - Amber pour with tiny white ringed head. Sweet malty with notes of caramel and toffee, medley of dried fruity accents, some brown sugar, resonating sherry soaked wooden nuances into the sweet malty close. Gorgeous.
Refrigerated brown nip. Burnt orange with small beige head. Aroma is caramel, medium body, low carbonation, and little lacing. Taste is rich caramel, some oak, and a little Sherry. Really nice beer.
This was the 2014 version. Aroma of caramel, wood and sherry. Nice dark caramel color with a thin head. Smooth and oily palate. Flavors we're slightly sweet and very malty but very well balanced. Nice sipper.
This is the second of two barrel-aged Harvest Ales from J.W. Lees. This sherry version is complex, malty, and smooth. This brew has a ruby red color. Fruity nose with vanilla, wood, toasted malt, and toasted sugar. It tastes like caramel, oak, woodsy vanilla, and sherry-like fruit. There’s some booze, but the alcohol is comfortably mixed with the malt. This drinks wonderfully for 11.5%. This 2014 vintage seems to have responded beautifully to its aging.
Aroma of cocoa and caramel
Pours a deep hazy brown with little head which does not linger.
Taste is very well balanced, sherry notes throughout the entire sip. Caramelized oaky flavor. Good amount of malt.
2012 bottle
Bottle. Poured an orange no head. Aroma is Sweet sticky booze. Taste is sweet with booze syrup caramel sugar finish.
5.5 oz. mini snifter from HopCat (Louisville); purported to be "Sherry Cask" on their beer menu. Admins: Please move or delete as you see fit. Aroma: Pleasant semi-sweet raisin-like fruits with slightly lesser nutty/caramel malts. Appearance: Tinted copper with light carbonation and a ring of tan head. Flavor: Definite raisin and sweet fruits at the start; more base beer caramel nuttiness towards the finish, which lingers with alcohol heat. Palate: Light body, slick texture, soft carbonation, long finish. Overall: Definitely glad I had a small pour, would be quite rich otherwise. Still, a neat variation to try; would be fascinating to see the base with a less sweet/more complex Sherry, such as a Palo Cortado or Amontillado, even if they are more volatile.
Bottle (brewed in 2010); pours cloudy amber with a thin tan head; aroma of sherry, wood, dark fruits, and a hint of brown sugar; taste is sweet with sherry, dark fruits, brown sugar, and wood; finish is sweet and dry with some sherry notes
It pours a cloudy medium brown with little head retention. There is a slight tan head. It has aromas of toasted and breaded malts along with a strong sherry smell. It also has a nut aroma mixed in as well. There are hints of floral and spice hopes. There are also hints of plums. There sherry flavor is clearly present in the initial flavor with a sweetness to it and some wood flavors with toast and bready malts. There are nuts in the background. The hops are barely noticeable with some low fruit. It has a full body, but not quite chewy. There is very low carbonation with alcohol warmth that is pleasant. Overall this is a delightful barleywine that has a complex mixture of flavors.
Cask pour at the 2017 ACAF.
Clear dark brown with a minimal bubbly head.
Fantastic aroma with toffee, bread and sherry. The flavor follows. Perhaps a touch too sweet.
Superb creamy smooth mouthfeel.
275ml bottle, 2012 vintage. Pours a murky copper color with a cream-colored head, which is initially very fizzy and then fades completely away in the first minute or two after pouring. Aroma of toffee, caramel, brown sugar, very sweet malt. Taste is dominated by sweet malt, with additional flavors of caramel, alcohol, toffee, brown sugar, a bit of smokiness, oak, fruitcake, cigarette ash, earth, and a bit of cooked vegetable for good measure. Cloying, alcoholic finish.
2003 Vintage from my cellar.
Clear garnet tinted medium brown with a thin ring of off-white for a head.
Complex aroma of dark dried fruits and brown sugar.
The flavor is very sweet and follows the aroma.
I can’t discern any of the Sherry cask treatment, maybe this has enough Sherry notes from it’s age. This would be much better if not so sweet as the complexities of the beer are nicely done.
Vintage 2008, purchased in 2011 and cellared for over 5 years. Poured from a 275 ml bottle.
Murky copper color with considerable fine to large sediment, no head and no lacing, but plenty of legs.
Aroma of sherry, toffee, prunes, dates and brown sugar.
Taste of brown sugar, toffee, plums, sherry, maple, raisins, charred wood and whiskey.
Very full body and medium carbonation with a fabulously rich mouthfeel.
The occasional larger bits of sediment detract from the experience. (I think I may have to filter the rest.) But otherwise, it seems to have come through the extensive cellaring with aplomb.
A very sweet, but rich and complex beer.
2008. A little over the top sweet with lots of grain and caramel coming through the port like character. Not bad but not great. Smooth for 11%.
275 ml bottle into tulip glass; 2012 vintage, bottled on 5/23/2013. Pours lightly hazy deep orange/copper color with a 1 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, plum, fig, apricot, apple, white grape, toasted biscuit, and oak; with lighter notes of leather, tobacco, nuttiness, vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of bready malt, fruity yeast, sherry barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop notes; with great strength. Taste of big caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, plum, fig, apricot, apple, white grape, toasted biscuit, and oak; with lighter notes of leather, tobacco, nuttiness, vanilla, herbal, light pepper, and yeast/toasted earthiness. Light herbal bitterness on the finish; with lingering notes of caramel, brown sugar, golden raisin, plum, fig, apricot, apple, white grape, toasted biscuit, oak, leather, tobacco, and yeast/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malt, fruity yeast, sherry barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; with a nice malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Light carbonation and full bodied; with a very smooth, creamy/slick, and lightly syrupy/grainy/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden minimal warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an excellent English barleywine. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of bready malt, fruity yeast, sherry barrel, and light-moderate earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV. A very enjoyable offering.
Poured from a bottle. Hazy copper color, small white head. Musky grain aroma. Medium body with a sweet port flavor and a sweet finish.
A grape like aroma, with a hint of sherry and malt. Pours a hazy caramel. Sweet sherry like taste with a medium body and a sweet boozy finish.
2010 bottle.
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a nice looking hazy burnt brown color with no head or lacing.
Don’t let the appearance fool you, as the smell takes in the normal qualities of an English Barleywine. Tobacco, vanilla, caramel, toffee and cocoa blend to be a really nice sweet and dry aromatic quality.
The flavor is sticky sweet carrying it into the finish. Less vanilla displays all around.
On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sipping quality about it. Carbonation runs extremely light but I’m guessing that’s due to the age of the beer, so no hit from me.
Overall, as an aged barleywine, this is absolutely awesome and would love to have again.
Pours a medium copper color with a finger of white foam. Sweet toffee, rich honey and layers of maple, nutty, soft prune and dried fruit. A bit sticky and less cohesive than some of the other variants.
Very rich and delicious. The best parts are the aroma and taste with very volatile bold bursting components. The sherry characteristics match perfectly with those of this beer - fruits, toffee, caramels, oak. Excellent body too.
2012 bottle. Solid orange pour with no head. Aroma is sweet brown sugars and toasted nuts. Taste is very earthy, woody, and very sweet... Like cloying sweet. Very low carbonation. Having a hard time finishing because of the sweetness. The alcohol is well hidden. Would love to try different versions. It’s probably the sherry making it too sweet for my liking.
Surprisingly good head of foam for this 2012 bottle. Pretty long lasting too and it even has a bit of lacing. The brew itself is a a clear copper.
The smell is of big caramel malt that is sure to bring the sweet in the taste. But, its more of a maple syrup like sweetness and I can dig that. Some of the ample alcohol gets through as well.
The taste follows through where the smell left off. Sweet maple that coats my tongue without going overboard. Hints of some kind of nut and a mild woody fruity taste that I find totally enjoyable. Booze is there and I think it compliments rather than detracts.
As full as medium bodied can get with a subtle level of carbonation.
This is very good. $10.15 I do not regret paying.
Bottle split @ Clerko. Thanks to whoever shared this. Amber pour with a tiny white head. Nose is full of banana nut bread. Toasted buttered nuts. Some sweet/tart plum skin and baked apple pile. General woodiness shows in the flavor that wasn’t so apparent in the nose. A touch of black pepper. More banana nut bread and sweet plums. Pretty hot and approaching cloying sweetness, which brings down the experience a bit. Thick and oily. Pretty interesting to try.
2005 vintage. Murky brown pour with little carbonation. Aroma was big sweet fruits, cake, brown sugar, booze, caramel. Flavors were sweet with big sherry notes throughout. Super smooth and mellow with good boozy notes. More sweet fruits and cake. Syrupy mouthfeel with light carbonation. Finish was sweet, lightly bitter. Not bad for a ten year old barley wine. Super smooth.
Bottle 2005 vintage. Pours a deep amber color with a small off white head. The nose is all barleywine; sweet caramel malts, fruits, raisins, some vanilla, and vinous character. The sherry is there, but not up front. The flavor is just the opposite with the other flavor working hard to appear from behind the wall that is sherry. Overall I enjoyed this beer, but the sherry could be less in your face with this one. Thick and syrupy in the mouth. Definitely a sipper.
pours clear golden orange with a nice reviving off-white cap, nice lacing. candied golden raisins, honey and barley sugars - cloying; lightly smoked and salty maltiness, charred wood, umami hint. light to low carbonation, medium-full body - oily and syrupy; cloying spicy-smoky finish. alcohol is well integrated but smokiness is almost embarrassing. then again, perhaps sherry casks also held a scotch? tasting regular harvest proved to also be smoky. mysterious.
bottle from dusty...2012 vintage...crazy good beer...Brian the regular gives it 5 stiffees...one of the best beers i have ever tried....wow!...(#455)
Shared 9.3 oz. 2008 bottle poured to snifters, showing a cloudy, brown tone, with a light, quickly diminishing layer of tan foam, light dots, and a lightly viscous, leggy film on the glass. The nose was toffee, caramel sweetness, some dried fruit, and a hint of smoky ham. The taste was similar, adding some alcohol/sherry warmth, and syrupy sweetness to the palate. A mellowed but tasty sipper.
2011 bottle thanks to Paul. Pours a pale orange with small beige head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is strong sherry and smoke. Medium mouth, nice booze, sweet malts, wood, light dryness, very nice.