Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2024)

It's solid, seems to have a little spice in it. There also is a old fashioned version. I have tried it, but it was only about a 7 oz pour. It was different but I like the standard version better.

 

Very nice, I don't have a source for J.W. Lees anymore sadly.

 

Nice write up Tim, that one was a gem. Thanks again!

 

The pour is ugly and the taste is kinda muddled unfortunately. Some nice caramel and honey at work here at least.

 

you forgot Band Aids

 

Don't need any, it's not so bad I'm going to hurt myself.

 

I can tell you right now that Harvest Ale is one of my favorite beers. I won’t be opening the 2001, but I have a 2009 that I’ll probably be adding to this group and I’ll probably drink them all soon.

 

Something to keep in mind if it ever proves useful - the importer (B United) does home shipping to NY State. I know folks who live outside of NY who have boxes shipped to family in NY.

 

Enjoying a 2022 collaboration "American" BW courtesy of @BMBCLT. I cannot recall having anything from either Orpheus or Prolyfk, but have to say this one is nice. Definitely has aged well and am getting notes of baked dark bread, dark fruits, and some toffee. The 20% BA of this brew is definitely under the radar and with the hopping almost balances the brew. Glad i had the opportunity to try!
Cheers!
Tom

 

I know once in a while theres a 10+ year old Bigfoot that tastes amazing, but it seems to be the exception, not the rule. 2-5 years seems to be the golden age from the many posts I've seen

 

That hasn't been my experience. 6 to 8 years is the sweet spot for me and I've had some older that I've enjoyed immensely. 2015 is a batch that just doesn't seem to be holding up as well. I'll post some more vintages soon.

 

Whoops

 

Sweet spot for me is as fresh as possible

 

Not a damn thing wrong with fresh Bigfoot, love that too. Gone through a 6 pack so far this year.

 

I've been looking for barleywines in my area lately. Anything really, but preferably Pillar of Beasts, Straight Jacket or Rye Way. Barleywine dry around here. Saw on 3F's page they still had Pillar so I swung by the kiosk and stocked up. Then I ran into Whole Foods for something, and they had Straight Jacket.
Pretty, pretty, pretty good.

 

Ha. Thanks for having a sense of humor.
Keep in mind that buying a beer type I normally don't like is also a vote of confidence in the brewing company.

 

Drinking a custom 6 pack of JW Lees Harvest Ale in a day isn't a great idea. The first 4 went down great. The 5th not as much. The 6th was a chore. But heck, it's still one of my favorite beers.

I like Harvest Ale w/o the cask aging, and I purposely put the Sherry one in this mix because I find that the Sherry one doesn't taste all that different from the regular beer.

The bottle order in the pic matches the production year.

Some thoughts on the labels:
The '05 label is a clinical bore. The '09 label is tacky. ( @MarloweAles - See, I don't even spare my favorites ) The burgundy/brown labels are the handsomest but not the easiest to read. The white '21 label is good looking and very legible.

Notes on ABV:
Most of these were the usual 11.5%.
JW Lees has claimed in a sales sheet that the 2021 version that was refermented with yeast from a 1986 bottle had "increased gravity." The bottle label in that document stated an ABV of 12.5%. My actual bottle label states 10.5% - a drop from the norm rather than an increase. Maybe (secondary?) fermentation didn't go as expected. The 2022 bottle claims 11% - halfway back to the normal ABV.

Thoughts on drinking the beers:
The ABV differences were never apparent with the beers being this big.

2018 was best in show for taste. This is the Harvest Ale flavor I adore. Herbal. Everything in the proper place.

2022 might be best overall. It tasted almost as great as the '18 but since it was younger, it actually had a head and it didn't have the sediment issue that can make old bottles of this beer tough to drink fully. I love barley wines "fresh" and the '22 is as fresh as this beer gets over here.

2005 Sherry, and 2009 were both great. I enjoyed the '05 Sherry more than the '09.

2021 with the 1986 yeast was a bit different from "normal" Harvest Ale. It had more of a fruity character and less of the idiosyncratic character normally in Harvest Ale. This was a step down for my tastes. I've had this beer before, but the differences only presented themselves when had in the company of other versions.

2019 was a shocker. Harvest Ale is a little different each year, but this beer was a different animal - for the worse. I never had this vintage before. This vintage seemed to have drastically less residual sugar than normal. Harvest Ale is normally a syrupy beer but huge herbal character provides a lot of balance. By Harvest Ale standards, the 2019 was watery and thin (comparatively)... and very bitter as a result. This was totally surprising. I disliked it... but I really wonder what I would have thought of this beer if I didn't know the brand and I had it on its own. Maybe I would love it in that context... but in the context I actually had it, it's divergence from typical Harvest Ale wasn't going to do this beer any favors. I'd like to try another bottle at some point.

 

Daaaaaamn