J W Lees...what are your thoughts?

Yeah no doubt. I had a 1999 a few months ago and it was seriously sublime. Aged so beautifully.

 

I have had a 2003 Calvados and a 2004 Lagavulin.

The lagavulin was world class and one of the best beers I have had (I do love Islay Scotch though).
The Calvados was also absolutely delicious, but there was a little oxidization in the nose.

 

Harvest is a good beer everything else is shite. Quite a few willy pubs in my area and none of them carry harvest annoyingly.

 

I've seen the barrel ones but never the plain old Harvest Ale.

 

This pretty much sums up my feelings. The half-dozen or so I've tried, ranging from 5-10 years in age, and including a couple of the barrel-aged variety, have not been good beers. Very little complexity, with older ones showing oxidation. Little to no barrel character in the barrel-aged ones due to their age. I love a good, old English barleywine, but this one misses the mark. Maybe it needs 15 or more years on it to really shine, and I intend to try one which is that old when I get the chance, but so far I have been very disappointed.

 

My thoughts are that I should've grabbed a bunch of bottles when it was everywhere, but I didn't and now I have a sad.

 

Very good for aging.

 

I love them all. I've had the pleasure of having the base beer from 06, 08, 10, and the Sherry from 05, Lagavulin from 03, 05, 07, Port 05, and Calvados 06 and 08. Every single one was delicious. We stock several of them and I always grab a few every month to sit on. I easily see these going 25 years and doing fine.

 

This beer stands as a testament to how far behind most American brewers still are when it comes to barleywines. The English still do them best. It stands head and shoulders above nearly every other barleywine/old ale and it is readily available in much of the US. No waiting in line, no truck chasing, no Nantucket whaling ships required. All you need is money and 10 years of patience.

 

These are still on the shelf in my area. However, I've bought two and really dislike them. I really wanted to like them but they both tasted like boiled green beans or something. Definitely not like any kind of Barleywine or Old Ale I've ever tried.

 

English Barleywines are nothing like their big hopped American versions. You may have had a bottle that sat out in the heat/light and was ruined. Typically you should get nothing but boozy, sweet malt with some stone fruit.

 

That's what I was hoping for. But at $8 a bottle I'm afraid to try again.

 

had a 10 year old bottle that blew my mind, 2000 vintage

 

There are a few 1991 bottles in my area...maybe I should grab them!

 

1991? Yes, you should. And if you don't, then goandpickitupformebro!

 

I've seen the 08s for$15 in my area... afraid to buy

 

I'd be cautious. I've had 97s & 98s recently that were sublime, but both 87s have been flat, watery, oxidized disasters. The packaging changed between 89 and 97, the earlier is the foiled wrapped and the latter has a black cap. Maybe that's the difference and I'd be more inclined to take the gamble if the 91 has the newer style.

 

Ive had back to 2002 and they were all amazing.

 

Just had a 2011 Lagavulin and I loved it. I have a 2006 Lagavulin and I'm thinking about storing it for as long as I can.