Beer Review: J.W. Lee's Harvest Limited Edition

This week’s beer is J.W. Lee’s Harvest Limited Edition, ale matured in calvados casks.  It’s an import from the UK, and it comes in at full 11.5% alcohol by volume.  The bottle describes it thusly:

This fully fermented ale can be enjoyed now or laid down like a fine wine for enjoyment to come.

I bought this bottle on a recommendation from our local shop’s best beer guy.  He described it as a fine sipping ale, not something to be chugged but rather to be savored and enjoyed.  The bottle was $10, but then again, at the time the Giants were in the middle of what would turn out to be a successful Super Bowl run, and I splurged.  So now this bottle’s been sitting by for about a month and half, waiting for an excuse to be sampled.

And now, finally, the time has come!

Appearance

The bottle itself bespeaks a confident simplicity.  There’s nothing showy here, but I get the feeling that this is an ale that doesn’t need to worry about talking.  It looks to me like it knows how to deliver.

We pour, and right off, I’m struck by the look of this ale.  It’s golden but murky, very reminiscent of a fine hard cider.  Sally says that it reminds her of harvest, and I can only agree.  This is a very autumn-looking ale with plenty of sediment. 

Despite the fact that I made little effort with the pour, there’s no head to speak of.  I’m not expecting much carbonation here.

Aroma

The ale smells fruity, like a cider.  A very fine cider.  You can really smell the influence of the calvados barrels.  There’s also a strong hint of alcohol, as you might expect in an 11.5% ale.

If you’ve never heard of calvados, it’s an apple brandy from the Normandy region of France.  The smell of this beer reminds me of it strongly, and to be honest, I can’t help but smile.

Taste

J.W. Lee’s Harvest tastes smoked up front, almost like a light brandy.  It’s bitter in the middle, with a hint of apple in the aftertaste.  And very smooth.  The carbonation is a little more present than I might have expected, and indeed, now that I look a little closer, I’m realizing that some of what I initially took for sediment were actually very tiny bubbles.  Still, this drink is very full bodied, as you would expect from an English ale, but it’s also still silky smooth.  Not at all heavy.  It’s manly without being overwhelming.  The quality comes straight through, and a part of me is wondering if I wouldn’t have done better to age it a few more months—say to the start of next football season.  In any event, I like it, but it’s definitely a “savoring”-type beer.  As Sally says, “One is all you need.”  This an ale that’s meant to be sipped and savored.

Final Verdict

It’s good.  But it’s obviously an artisan’s beer.  It’s not a drinking beer, exactly.  More a beer that you drink while you’re in the study, looking over the plans for your expedition to sub-Saharan Africa.  I can imagine cracking  a bottle of this right after my polo team wins the South Hampton Super Hedge Fund Polo League Championships.  I mean, I feel smarter and more sophisticated just for having tried this stuff, though at 11.5% ABV, the reverse is certainly true.

This beer puts me very much in the mind of the trips I took to France with West Point’s European History department.  In one trip that we took over Spring Break my junior (cow) year, we went to Normandy, and that’s where I discovered calvados.  The taste here reminds me of that, and being that this is a very alcoholic ale, I think, basically, that this is a kind of brandy substitute.  For folks who want a fine after-dinner-type drink but don’t really feel like committing to a full snifter of brandy or calvados.  For me, that trip to Normandy was one of the happiest weeks of my life, and sitting here sipping this beer makes me smile for remembering it.

Good beer and good memories.  I can't help
but smile.

Thanks J.W. Lee.  You guys have kind of made my day.