Elizabethan Ale
Harvey's Brewery

Elizabethan AleElizabethan Ale
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From:
Harvey's Brewery
 
England, United Kingdom
Style:
English Barleywine
Ranked #158
ABV:
7.5%
Score:
89
Ranked #12,143
Avg:
3.97 | pDev: 14.61%
Reviews:
134
Ratings:
180
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jul 17, 2022
Added:
Dec 31, 2001
Wants:
  11
Gots:
  10
A full, malty palate with a lingering bitterness and warming spirit content. Elizabethan Ale was originally produced in celebration of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This strong barley wine is reminiscent of the “October Ales” which were brewed in domestic brewhouses during the sixteenth century.
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Ratings by sjccmd:
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Reviewed by sjccmd from Minnesota

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Sweet and rummy aroma. Toffee, brown sugar, stewed apricots. Cinnamon. Lighter fruits. Cooked apples. Now that I think about it, apple pie including the crust. Perhaps even a touch buttery. Caramelized sugar and toast.

Pours clear, pale amber, with a hint of ruby. Very little head, but somewhat sticky.

Wash of fruits and brown sugar upfront leaning more towards bready malts in the finish. Burnt sugar lingers on the palate, but still surprisingly dry. There is no age date, but I am guessing this beer is fairly old, so it's surprising that there is still some balancing hop bitterness. Less apples more pie crust on the palate.

Medium full body with very low carbonation. It almost seems uncarbonated, but the body makes up for it.

Very complex and rich upfront but dry in the finish making it surprisingly drinkable for the style.
Mar 20, 2016
More User Ratings:
Photo of DefenCorps
Reviewed by DefenCorps from Oregon

3.89/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Bottle from Bottle Stop.

A clear ruby red with a thin beige head with good retention and minimal lacing. The nose is soft, nutty with brown sugar, toffee, butterscotch, burnt honey, treacle, molasses, mild umami. This is especially true in the palate, where the mineraly, oily, mushroomy, moderately marmite like yeast character pairs nicely with the treacle, butterscotch and molasses. At sub 8%, this is light in body, but it has a richness of spiced cake and rum. Lovely finish.
Jul 17, 2022
Photo of jlindros
Reviewed by jlindros from Massachusetts

3.53/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a small fizzy head cover with low retention, spotty lacing, crystal clear amber to cranberry to rosy color

Nose sweet biscuity malt, toffee, caramel, a little chewy caramel candy note, but also fair amount of oxidation, a little BBQ sauce note, with some papery, fruity notes with a bit of grape and fig kinda thing, not sure if esters from yeast or something else, mild herbal hops

Taste brings more malts up front, toasted grain, fair sweetness, a little syrupy caramel toffee like, a bit of oxidized winey papery note again, general fruity notes with more fig date like, I think from the yeast, mild herbal earthy hops with mild bitterness, touch of warming alcohol, and a touch of that BBQ saucy character as well, mild sticky sweet but drier finish with more sticky malts

Mouth is med to fuller bod, a bit syrupy, med to lighter carb, touch of warming alcohol

Overall not that great, even for an English barleywine with oxidation, a bit strange in general like it didn't ship well, or it's way too old, or something, not sure but not a huge fan
Jul 01, 2022
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.46/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Harvey & Son Ltd. "Harveys Elizabethan Ale"
9.3 fl. oz. brown glass bottle coded "E.A OCT 19 DLM"
$4.95 @ Bella Vista Beer Distributor, Philadelphia, PA

Notes via consciousness: It's been about 30 years since I've had this beer. I wonder if it will live up to its memory but I doubt it as the world of beer has changed greatly in that time. It's poured a slightly hazy copper colored body beneath a short head of off-white that drops away readily. The aroma is caramelish, mineralish, a touch fruity with orchard fruits, woody, and herbal. On to the taste... it's malty and fruity and almost minty. There's some clear oxidation at play but it's not cardboard-like. It intensifies the caramel notes from the malt and adds some dark fruit character. I'm getting raisin, burnt currant, red berries, and cherry. It's bready, biscuity, and somewhat spicy and woody. It's sherry-like, which is a common descriptor for oxidation, and there's some alcohol to it as well which is odd at just 7.5% ABV but I kind of remember that. It finishes with some residual malt there but also dry, and with some earthy/mineralish and herbal character lingering. In the mouth it's medium bodied and dextrinous, and quite smooth due to its lower carbonation level. Despite its lack of carbonation it has left some nice lacing about the glass. In the end I don't feel that my memory of this beer has changed, and I like it as much as I did all those years ago. Part of the reason for that is that this is a reminder of the way that beer used to be, and I don't see its faults as faults - this is the way it was. I really find it quite charming, and I'm sure my scores will be high but it is what it is.
Review #8,023
May 29, 2022
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Reviewed by SABERG from Massachusetts

4.02/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from an undated 9.3 oz bottle into the test glass.
A - Absolutely beautiful beer, red cedar/cinammon color, with excellent clarity, The gentle carbonation moves methodically topside. A thin ring assembles on the perimeter during the experience.
S - A bit of fig, toffee, apricot marmalade. There is a faded hop element. As the bottle is undated par for the course. There is a fruity ester element from the yeast.
T - Fruit cake, in a good way, caramel, raisin, some light brown sugar. A bit of apricot again. Some blonde tobacco, and eral grey tea. A good malty thread is omnipresent.
M - Slick on the palate, medium in weight, sweet start stays the duration. Finish is less sweet. Linger is candied apricot.
O - Listed as barleywine, i do get that for sure. Very smooth, nice malty expression. The candied apricot is lovely. A full bodied offering for the 7.5% ABV listing. I like this offering quite a bit
Mar 13, 2022
Photo of officerbill
Reviewed by officerbill from New York

4.06/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a clear amber, about the color of light maple syrup, with a thin very short lived head

Aroma of caramel, toffee, fresh sticky buns

flavors follow the aroma with caramel, toffee, strong tea w/sugar, the cake part of fruitcake, some burnt sugar bitterness

no noticeable carbonation, light bodied and easy drinking with a slick bittersweet finish

A very, very nice ale that falls short of excellent due to a limited flavor profile
Jan 15, 2022
 
Rated: 3.93 by AElfwine_Nerevar from Connecticut

Dec 27, 2020
 
Rated: 3.89 by smi69 from New York

Jul 09, 2020
 
Rated: 3.93 by cozmo from New York

Jan 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.81 by smithj4 from New York

Jan 01, 2020
 
Rated: 4.11 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Nov 02, 2019
 
Rated: 3.7 by nodder from New York

Oct 03, 2019
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Reviewed by vinicole from England

4.19/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bottle. Clear amber with a thin head.
Unusual aroma of mixed phenols. Scrumpy apple cider. Overdone mixed fruit crumble. Wholemeal bread is somewhere in there.
Rich flavour reflecting the smell. Quite sweet.
Full bodied with a gentle carbonation.
A very complex and satisfying brew.
Sep 15, 2019
 
Rated: 4.49 by JamieDuncan from Maryland

Sep 08, 2019
 
Rated: 4.57 by bubseymour from Maryland

Sep 08, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by dpgoblejr from New Hampshire

May 13, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by paulish from New York

May 10, 2018
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.7/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
i am generally a fan of these old european strong ales, but this one didnt quite get me there. on tap at bull and bush, it immediately smells kind of tired to me, a little oxidized and perhaps faded from a hop standpoint. its hot right away too, oddly boozy and intense and sort of concentrated and fusel for its modest listed abv, not sure why it is that way but it is. the aroma and flavor have notes of baked dark bread, port wine, and breakfast cereals, some english tea too, very morning complexion to me, some dried fruits and spice cake too. dusty old english malts, a bready yeast strain, and some spicy bittering hops, oxidation and dried cherry and cranberry, and finally a cool earthy mineral element, really pretty complex, just not all the way agreeable to me for whatever reason. sort of has old ale or baby barleywine energy, but isnt that sweet when i drink on it. it has a pretty classic english complexion overall, but is also unique in some ways to my palate. i need to revisit this one, it wasnt what i was expecting and kind of threw me off. it didnt wow me like i expected it to...
Apr 20, 2018
Photo of bret717
Reviewed by bret717 from Pennsylvania

4.69/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Look- pours a crystal clear deep gold with soapy white head

Aroma- bready malt, leather, tea, mild floral hops

Flavor- rich bread, pipe tobacco, leather, tea, hop bitterness in the finish.

Feel- medium/full bodied, low carb and creamy

Overall- a delicious beer that presents incredibly deep and complex malt flavor.
Mar 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.28 by _nickg_ from New Jersey

Feb 28, 2018
Elizabethan Ale from Harvey's Brewery
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 180 ratings