JW Lees Harvest Ale

[ray m]

Has anyone ever tried JW Lees Harvest Ale? I went to my local beer store today and picked up some individual bottles of obscure ales that I have never tried yet. I saw a bottle of JW Lees 1998 vintage and picked it up. No price could be found anywhere for it. At the register, it rung up at $8.49 for 1 bottle (I believe the abv was @ 11.5%). The cashier did a price check & it was correct, so I opted to not purchase the brew---today. If any of you guys out there has tried it, is it worth $8.49/bottle?!

[sallad]

how big was the bottle? i spend that much rather frequently for a 750ml (or there abouts) bottle of something. for 12 oz, sounds maybe a little steep. any clues how its been stored since 1998??

[ray m]

Bottle size was 12 oz. (or thereabouts) size. It was in the refrigerated section that the store has. Whether or not it's been refrigerated for the majority of that time, I don't know. $8.49 is a bit more than I can justify spending for 1 standard bottle of brew. Maybe when I win the lottery...........

[fretlessman71]

I think I responded to you in another thread about this. I saw J W Lee's Harvest ale 1997 for $5 in Nashville. The 1989 variety I had was indeed wonderful, but not so wonderful that I would have spent $8.50 on it. Call me a cheapskate; if it was a bomber size I might have justified the purchase. Actually, the bottles are 9.5 oz., and that makes it even LESS of a deal.

[Richard English]

J W Lees is an old-established family brewer from Manchester. Their beers are excellent but hard to find outside of Manchester.

The Oxford Bottle Beer Guide http://www.bottledbeer.co.uk/ gives their Harvest Ale a staggering 9.9 out of 10 (Fuller's 1845 only scores 7.5) Even allowing for personal preference this would indicate a beer of considerable merit. It is expensive, of course, but then it's 11.5% abv, which is wine strength and you should realistically expect to pay wine prices.

Sadly I've not yet been able to try a bottle as it's not sold in any of my local beer stores.

[ray m]

I guess I'm kind of a cheapskate, too, Fretless...when I see beers getting up into the $5+ range for one bottle (ESPECIALLY if they're smaller than 12 oz.), I have a hard time justifying such a purchase...and an even harder time justifying it to my wife!!

Richard...have not heard from you in awhile! Did you go on a little sabbatical? I was able to pick up a larger sized bottle of Fuller's 1845 as well as Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout. Have not tried them yet, though---will probably wait until cooler weather sets in---what are your opinions of these beers? Should I expect wonderful things?

[Richard English]

I've been here - possibly on different threads. This is, after all, quite a large forum.

Sam Smith's Imperial Stout I haven't drunk in bottle but Sam's draught beers are excellent (and not to be confused with John Smith's, which are poor).

Fuller's 1845 is excellent and in my opinion probably the best bottled beer there is. Although strong it is beautifully-balanced and I find it drinkable at all times of the year (unlike some barley wines that are just too full-bodied for summer consumption).

I always have some in my fridge and would have drunk a few pints tonight (and it's in the 70's right now) were it not for the fact that I fancied some Young's SLA instead.

Incidentally, most UK bottles are half a litre (although there are still a few Imperial pints). Half a litre less than an Imperial (UK) pint but more than a US one. A 12 ounce (US) bottle is well less than a pint and, as we say in England, would hardly touch the sides as you drank it!

[chazwicke]

I can vouch for Richards recommendations of specific beers on two counts. First was the Fuller's 1845 that we finished that session of the GBBF with and the second is a was the Lion Stout from Sri Lanka that he recommended earlier in the day. Both Excellent. I discovered a bottle of Lion Stout in my fridge today as I was trying to organize all the bottles. I had bought it about six months ago and had forgotten about it. Richard asked me if I had ever had it and I had not. (He was fortunate enough to have it at the brewery.) I did not remember buying the bottle when we were sampling it at GBBF. What a pleasant suprise to find one in my fridge! Even though it has been in my possesion for a while, It was always kept in the fridge and is still in fairly good shape. I let it warm a bit and found it to have a sweetish nose and a rich chocolatey flavor. A bit winey, or maybe raisony and fruitish at first. With a very nice chocolate finish. Yummy! I wish I had another. Actually, I wish I was still at the GBBF as I have been sorely disappointed in even some of my regular favorites lately. I was spoiled by the wealth of great beers. I am never disappointed when I am in England. Well at least I know that the Lion is imported. The back label has a recommendation from Michael Jackson as well. Anyway, suffice it to say, When Richard recommends a beer, It is guaranteed to be good!