Beer Review: JW Lees Harvest Ale 1999 Vintage

12 years have done you odd

To me J.W. Lees Harvest Ale is the gold standard for English barley wines. Between my buddy Greg and I we've got several vintages in our collections. Up to this point my favorite has been the 2002 vintage. For this special occasion Greg brought over his oldest bottle, 1999. Hell yeah. Nothing like drinking a fine beverage that was brewed before I was of legal drinking age. Let's see what a 12 year nap has done. By the way, I need to say that I hate that American brewers have to label their versions as "barley-wine style ales". Dumb laws.


It pours deep ruby red and very murky. It's got a light tan head and thin lacing that hangs around for a while. It smells of peppermint. Wait, what? Yeah, peppermint. I was certainly not expecting that. In addition to the mint it smells mildly earthy with a menthol/alcohol black licorice aura.


Tastes of rooty mint, anise and mild chewy fruity juicy goodness. Some malty fruit and black licorice through the finish. It's feels medium in body and lacks the warmth that usually accompanies a brew of more than 11% alcohol content


The '99 Lees is a very enjoyable and unique beer. This vintage is quite different than the others I've had. The peppermint and menthol notes set it apart from the rest. This experience makes me want to try barley wines of older vintages and from other makers. 


I had the pleasure of attending a vintage barley wine dinner back in February for my birthday. Tasting over 20 fine brews, but I did not take notes. Some of the brews I apparently sampled that day included a '98 & '99 Thomas Hardy and '93 & '96 Lees. That was a fine evening. 


So, cheers to a cellar filled with some choice old brews!

Beer Review: Weyerbacher Harvest Ale. Fresh is best for IPAs!

You don't look a day over 3 months.

I picked up this as a single about three weeks ago at the Perfect Pour in Columbia, MD. Weyerbacher's Harvest Ale is completely new to me. I've enjoyed many beers from Weyerbacher and I'm a big fan of American India Pale Ales.

Printed on the neck is:

09.08.10
12.08.10

I'm assuming that the top is a bottle date and the bottom is a "best by" date. So, I'm more than four months past prime. Damn. I should have checked that one out before purchasing. Shrug.

Poured a 12 oz. bottle in to a Hop*Ruiter glass. Comes out bright cloudy copper orange with a decent sized white head and sticky lacing that stays through the tasting. No hop notes in the aroma, mostly bready sweetness and a hint of citrus sweetness. I'm pretty sure it's underwhelming due to age. The flavor profile is similar to the aroma but with lightly bitter fruity hops up front. The middle is creamy and finishes sour with a long aftertaste. Feels medium in body. Pretty easy to drink, but the long muddled aftertaste makes me want something else.

It's my own dumb fault to have bought an old bottle, so I'm not passing too much judgement on this tasting. The mildly malty middle has me thinking that when this is fresh that it's very well balance with a full floral aroma. So, I'll look for this one in September and experience it fresh.


So, the moral of this story is to only drink fresh IPAs. This is something that my friends and I discuss a lot and I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't follow it. In my opinion there are few greater beer tasting experiences than enjoying a super fresh American IPA. But, I do believe that the beer isn't terrible after it's prime date. It's like a faded picture, you get the general idea but you've lost it's color and depth.


I plan to continue to purchase and enjoy Weyerbacher's brews. Quad and Blithering Idiot English barleywine are regulars in my house. We've got a few different vintages of each in the cellar collection. I very much have enjoyed Double Simcoe IPA in the past as well. It's always nice to support local(ish) brewers!