J. W. Lees

Drink it.

 

This is a beer that ages extremely well. I just drank a bottle of the regular 2006 last week. Tons of fig, plum, caramel, and great spices. One of the most unique and complex beers I have had. Report back if/when you do pop it open.

 

There are 239 reviews of the various vintages of J.W. Lees Harvest Ale (Calvados Cask) here in the BA database.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/178/24349/

My recommendation would be to start there in a search for an answer to your question.

 

Plenty of info on this one, but I've found the cask versions of Harvest to be solid up to a decade. Haven't tried any older than that. The base can go longer, I've had a fourteen year old bottle and loved it.

 

From what I've read on this forum it can go longer. If I was lucky enough to have that in my cellar, I'd wait two more years until it's 10 years old and drink it then.

 

The regular version can definitely go longer, I don't have any experience with the 4 variants at that age.

 

My local shop (State Line in Elkton MD) has a shelf of various JW Lee's vintages from 2002 thru 2012, I recently sampled both a 2002 and the 2008 (regular not Calvados), every sip of both was an absolute lip smacking delight, subtle not significant difference between the 6 year vintage difference to these tasting buds.

Either way, hold or quaff you're in for a treat.

 

This 750mL was a treat.

 

That one is good, but needs a lot of time. It was bottled with champagne yeast so it's quite active.

 

Any thoughts on whether this could use more time? Got one in the cellar I was thinking of drinking.

 

Now is better than later, imho.

 

I'd wait. The champagne yeast is still going to be pretty active, and the beer was meant to be rested until it settled down to nearly flat.

 

Had a 2010 calvados last weekend. Taste was great but it did smell funky and a touch "rotten." Still some carb in it. I bought (2), that is to say I bought these 2010 off a high volume WF so it must have been aged at a warehouse of some sort. I'm gonna let the other one sit for a while.

It was worth the purchase, and made me all the more interested in acquiring and saving the standard versions.

 

According to Patrick Dawson in "Vintage Beer" J.W. Lees hits its peak between 12-13 years. My bottle of 2008 is going to sit tight for another 4 years.

 

Just went to a tasting yesterday. 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009, 2008, 2005, 2002, 2001


2012-Three years on this beer starts to have this green bean and bacon taste to it. Very undesirable and it must be an off year when this ages.

2011-Recovered from that taste and develop more of peaty taste to it. 2009 and 2008 show signs of it dying down from the peaty taste and with 2005 develop it's strong caramel taste in the back end.

2002 & 2001- They were by far tasting the best. Huge toffee, caramel and burnt sugar.

This beer is amazing how much of a difference a year makes. If you could hold off four more years from opening it you wont' regret it.