J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados Cask)
J.W. Lees & Co (Brewers) Ltd

 

J. W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados Casks 2016) from J. W. Lees. 9.3 fl oz capped bottle. Picked up from somewhere unknown (Although possibly Shangy’s), date unknown. Reviewed 09/02/25 (Review 3452). Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Brewed in 2016, as boldly stated on the front label. Stored at 39 degrees F at home. Served at 52.7 degrees F in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. The final temperature was 56.8 degrees F.
Appearance – 4
First pour – Medium Amber (SRM 12), clear.
Body – Amber Brown (SRM 18), opaque. Under direct light, orange tan with massive amounts of tiny of precipitate visible. When rear-lite, the body is red orange.
Head: Small (0.5 cm, aggressive center pour). Gone almost instantly, leaving a 0.15 cm ring and no cap.
Lacing – None
Aroma – 4.5 – Sweet figs and leather. No hops, no yeast, no barrels, no ethanol (11.5 % ABV, as marked on label). No disulfide or diacetyl.
Flavor – 3.5 – Sweet, nearly cloying. Does not follow the nose – kind of like a high sugar syrup. No yeast, no hops, no ethanol, no barrel. No disulfides, no diacetyl. Mild gastric warming.
Palate – 4 – Medium; syrupy; soft carbonation.
Style: Follows the style guidelines as condensed by BA.

Final impression and summation: 4 Distinctly lacks the hoppiness of American style Barleywines – smooth, sweet, and easy drinking. The barrels fail to make an appearance. No oxidation despite the age. At the final temperature, a wee bit of bitterness creeps in, possibly some barrel tannin. But I still feel the need for some insulin.

 

 

Picked up a 275 ml 2017 bottle from the Appalachian Vintner in Asheville 12-7-22 for $10.99. Enjoyed 8-29-23.

Beer poured murky brown with an okay off white head.

Nose give notes of brown sugar, dark, and light fruits.

Taste is a large but not heavy malt base in which the cask lends an apple forward flavor along with a heavy oakiness that imparts a bitterness with a hint of almonds. Finishes with a brown sugar and fig flavor and a dose of that oakiness that kind of makes it different in a detrimental way.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and very silky smooth.

Overall the cask oak was detrimental in the finish of the beer. Otherwise, the beer itself was spot on the style.

2017 bottle. Hazy rust color with a thin ring of clear bubbles around the edge of the glass; Warm and boozy on the nose with a little bit of buttery Granny Smith apple pie; sweet and buttery with a decent amount of what tastes like dust; medium body with mild but tight carbonation; overall the fust is a little off putting — I don’t love it.

2012 vintage. Poured from a 275mL bottle into a snifter.

Murky rufous to copper gradient with a faint smattering of bubbles that recedes to naught. Little lacing; poor retention; vague legs.

Glorious gentlemanly aroma suffused with stewed prunes, fig jam, leather, wax, pipe tobacco, and apple spirits.

Intensely malty palate entry - burnt sugar, toffee, treacle, raisin, and a hint of peat. Bruising yet sophisticated. Low bitterness. Smooth, earthy, medium-finish. The barrel notes increase as the ale warms, and mainly in the aftertaste. Fine aged apple spirit on top of the immense base beer.

Medium-full bodied, oily, with low carbonation. ABV adds a bit of flavor/heat, but nothing excessive.

Outstanding traditional example of the style - dignified, singular, and perfectly crafted.

275mL bottle with cap code L0648 and 2008 on the front label poured into a snifter glass at just above fridge temp 11.5% ABV. The beer pours a muddy medium brown color only a hint of head that never fully spanned the glass. After two minutes there are a couple handfuls of bubbles around the edge. The aroma is mild with prune juice, old book leather and a hint of oxidation. There's a hint of sweetness and raisin as well. The taste is sweet up front with caramel, boozey apple, dark fruits before a kiss of oak and old leather show up to dry things up a bit and offer balance. Negligible bitterness. The mouthfeel is medium plus bodied with barely any carbonation and a finish that charges to the point of cloying before stopping dead with drying oak. No trace of the ABV in the aroma or taste. Overall, excellent.

 

2015 vintage

This is the last of the main cask versions of Harvest Ale I have left to review. All the other ones were 2016 vintages so this one is just slightly older. Nothing has topped the Port cask for me yet, but I’m definitely intrigued by this one

Pours a murky brownish orange with a finger of beige head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

This is very fruity and perfumey in the nose, and quite nice. I’m picking up on aromas of baked apple, fresh oak, sweet toffee, red grape, molasses, old stone, leather, and brown bread

It’s a bit less complex in taste, but I still really like it. On the front end of the sip I’m tasting apple skin, tannic red wine, sweet caramel, peppery alcohol, old oak, and brown sugar. The swallow brings notes of apple skin, brown sugar, toffee, red grape, old oak, and light leather

A medium full body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a slick and thin beer. Finishes neutral and fruity

Well this certainly wasn’t my favorite, but it’s still damn good. Hopefully I can find some of the limited release versions now

Harvest Ale with the addition of apple and oak in the nose and up front, but the back end is dominated with cigar box and black pepper. It's like 2 different beers. Caught me by surprise, but the more I drank and it warmed up, the more I couldn't get enough of it. Great nose, great barleywine body, and super complex on the palate.

2015 vintage

Pours a cloudy amber with a medium beige head.

Tastes of a proper barleywine sweetness with some dark fruit and toffee and a bit of fruit skins apple/orange with the alcohol well hidden.

SWEET!

2017 vintage. A substantial amount of sediment was present.

 

 

 

 

2013 vintage. Virtually no head from a vigorous pour. Dark brown from the front, orange-red with a backlight. No carbonation visible. The thin ring of off-white foam will leave some dots and loops of lacing if you tip the glass.

Aroma takes some drawing out (likely due to the complete lack of head), but is very nice. Molasses, raisins, some alcohol.

Taste is exquisite. Leather, raisins, other fruit flavors (perhaps apple), tannin, brandy, sweet malts, and more. Quite complex. Beers with flavors this complex exceed my ability to parse out all the elements without seeming ridiculous or pretentious. Suffice it to say as at the beginning: exquisite. The finish is semi-sweet, moderated by the tannin.

Mouth feel is substantial - viscous and chewy. The alcohol and tannin add some zip to the feel, which keeps things from feeling flat.

Overall, outstanding.