Harvest Ale (Limited Edition)
J.W. Lees & Co (Brewers) Ltd

Appearance: Murky brown, no head despite a hard pour.

Smell: Oxidized caramel, tootsie rolls, leather.

Taste: Nice sweetness followed by mildly oxidized caramel or toffee with almost a bit of coffee/mocha. Medium-light body, especially for 11.5%. Finishes with sweetness and leather.

Overall: Reviewing a 2015 in 2026, still very tasty. As sweet as this is after 11 years it must be crazily sweet fresh. Great to finally try this one!

 

2013 version drank in 2023;

A: opaque; watered down cola in color; no head while pouring; settled to a very thin collar; no lacing;

S: pipe tobacco, apple cider, prunes, port wine;

T: mostly prunes up front; mostly pipe tobacco in the middle; all port wine on the finish; sweet throughout;

M: full bodied; very light carbonation; dry finish; remarkably soft and smooth; ABV is warming, but not remotely hot;

O: dangerously smooth; a really great sipper;

Drinking out a small goblet.
Pours a clear, almost black mahogany with almost no head.
Smells of strong alcohol, maybe cherry.
Smooth, luscious mouth feel.
Sweet taste, somewhat like cherry cough syrup.
Nice. Very complex.
Wife says it’s like liquid molasses.

1/30/25, on our way to Golden Age Brewing, stopped in at Independent Brewing Company in Pittsburgh and happened upon this beautiful find!

Aroma is sweeter than expected, apple cidery, brown sugar.

But oh the taste! So good! Really smooth in the mouth, not overly sweet, nice bitter finish. Starts with nice toffee notes,a little brown sugar, great bitter finish.

Autumn limited edition 2015 purchased at Fort Point market & liquor in the Boston seaport area

Chilled 8.4 oz can , poured into a pretentious beer glass, orange brownish liquid with a pencil thick taupe layer

Brewers notes: Our limited edition vintage barley wine is made but once a year. It's brewed with the first hops to be harvested, and then we add the very finest British malt. Each vintage brings different flavours, which then evolve as they age, so it's no wonder it's gained a cult following among ale enthusiasts. Pop the date in your calendar.

The name "British-style Barleywine" [more commonly referred to as "English"] represents a group of strong ales that rival the strength and complexity of some of the world’s most celebrated beverages. This brawny, malt-forward beer style is often one of the strongest beer styles on any given beer menu, and showcases a complex melange of toffee and fruit flavors counterbalanced by warming alcohol and sturdy hop bitterness. The Barleywine beer style is a sipper, enjoyed responsibly, stylishly—preferably in front of a fire in a comfy chair amongst a plethora of leather-bound books.

Aroma is bourbon, molasses, toffee

Taste is bourbon, molasses, raisins, figs, umami, toffee, tangerine peel

Medium sudsing , boozy, feel the alcohol but not the heat

Good beer, definitely a sipper. Should be enjoyed in front of a blazing wood fueled fire with a pipe of tobacco. The butler , Jeeves, should also have your slippers and smoking jacket nearby. Cheerio mate!

Brewed in 2016.... Definitely went bad; I don't think it should taste like BBQ sauce.

Why does it taste like barbecue sauce

 

 

2001 Vintage

Taste: Molasses, Brown Sugar, Old Oak, Green Vegetation, Earthy grass

Feel: Thick and viscous

I would recommend some time sitting before consumption.

 

 

Vintage 2001 purchased 17 years ago and refrigerated all along.
Poured to a white wine glass, clear deep amber, no foam, very light carbonation.
Starting out shy, bouquet and flavor evolving slowly, ripe fig, molasses, honeyed raisin, mixed nuts, hint of licorice nose.
Taste similar to the nose, rich, oily thick but not cloying, balanced by excellent acidity, alcohol well concealed, no sign of oxidation.
Chewy, layered, refreshingly sweet dried fruited finish, feeling closer to a dessert wine.
A delight to drink, this is holding up exceptionally well.

 

Turbid amber pour and partially cloudy in the glass; yeast sediment; thin, patch head, white foam. heavy caramel nose; figs; raw white oak; leather. The taste faithfully mirrors the aroma; richer and fuller. Heavy, sludgy mouthfeel; big residual sugar stickiness; a modicum of alcohol dryness balances the sweetness.

A fine, robust and sticky sucker, this barley wine style ale packs a delicious punch.

Pouring temperature: 51.3 ℉; bottling info: n/a
Source: local purchase

12oz bottle into a teku. 2002 vintage, so 21 years old. Mouth is watering already.

Black body, deep red wine when held up to the light. Loose bubbly head doesn't last long.

Aroma beyond enticing. Molasses, brown sugar, dark fruit.

On tasting, just, wow. Sweet, with raisin, plum, molasses, brown sugar, but this is not cloying at all. Incredibly smooth.

Mouth just about medium. It seems a little thinner than you would like, but I swear it gets thicker as it rolls around the tongue.

Finish is warming, not a trace of alcohol harshness. Sweet, but again, not cloying. The abv is there of course, but you really dont notice it among the flavors.

A magnificent beer, one of the best I've ever had.

This is based off a bottle I had in 2023 which was brewed in 2005.
L - Looks like typical dark ale, muddy and can't see light through.
S - Smells richly of brown sugar and caramel. Complex, not excessively sweet.
T - Tastes sweet and caramely in a familiar way, but complex to a point which makes it hard to describe.
F - no carbonation. Flat, substance seems to be drawn from the sweetness and the alcohol content.
- in general, when I popped this beer I didn't quite know what to expect, the flavor is amazing. This is a great aged ale and I know I will be consuming plenty of jw lee's harvest limited. What a cool concept.

2011 Vintage
9.6oz bottle

A- pours deep amber in color with a ruby hue, razor thin off-white head disappears almost immediately

S- a bit of oxidation up front is followed by aromas of sherry, caramel, leather, peppery tobacco, raisins & figs, brown sugar and a hint of an almost peat-like smoke

T- caramel malty sweetness up front, complimented by notes of sweet sherry, red cherries, brown sugar & rye bread. The finish gives more malty sweetness and lingers of cherry and faded stale hops

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a slick mouthfeel that turns slightly creamy into the finish