Monday, December 22, 2003  
WXPort
Feedback
 Clubs TonightHot TixBand GuideMP3sBest Music PollSki GuideThe Best '03 
 By Restaurant | By Location | By Cuisine | On the Cheap | Noshing | Uncorked | Hot Links | Review Archive |  
Home
Listings
Editors' Picks
New This Week
News and Features

Art
Astrology
Books
Dance
Food & Drink
Movies
Music
Television
Theater

Archives
Letters

Classifieds
Personals
Adult
Stuff at Night
The Providence Phoenix
The Portland Phoenix
FNX Radio Network

   
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999
Stop winin'
BY MIKE MILIARD
Previous Columns

Everyone knows that whiskeys and wines improve with age. Not everyone knows that beers do, too.

Actually, J.W. Lees’s Harvest Ale is a wine, if only in name — it’s a barley wine. Crafted with consummate skill by the fine lads at John Willie Lees in Manchester, England, this particular vintage was brewed in 1999 with East Kent Goldings hops and Maris Otter malted barley, then left in sherry-seasoned casks to slumber toward sublimity.

Once the bottle is opened, the genie comes out with a vengeance. The first thing you notice is the nose: a ribald and robust bouquet of sweet floral notes. That scarcely prepares you for the first sip — a mighty riot of explosive, nuanced flavor: raisins, caramel, licorice, and sultry-sweet malt.

After a few more draughts, you remember that it’s 11.5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). So that’s why they call it a wine.

As the label says, it can be "enjoyed now or laid down like a vintage wine for enjoyment in years to come." We enjoyed it now. Instant gratification is its own reward.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale 1999 is available for $6.50 for a 12-ounce bottle (the 2000 vintage is $5.50) at Downtown Wine & Spirits, 225 Elm Street, in Somerville. Call (617) 625-7777.


Issue Date: August 8 - 14, 2003
Back to the Food table of contents
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend







about the phoenix |  find the phoenix |  advertising info |  privacy policy |  the masthead |  feedback |  work for us

 © 2000 - 2003 Phoenix Media Communications Group