MARCH 1998

VOL.3 NO.3

Taste of the Month -- Some Foods and Drinks Make Bigger Impressions Than Others

Having served this month as a judge at the Toronado Barley Wine Festival, I certainly had many contenders from which to choose the March Taste of the Month. In the end, however, there was really only one logical choice to receive this month's honour, and it wasn't even in the barley wine competition.

J.W. Lees Harvest Ale is an English old ale imported into the United States by B. United of New York. According to the beer's publicity material, it is brewed from a mash made with only the famed Marris Otter barley malt and hopped exclusively with East Kent Goldings hops. And if all of that means nothing to you, then this should: It is a fabulous ale!

The vintage I was able to try was from 1988 and had a complexity of aroma and taste that I can only begin to describe here. The nose, in particular, held a glorious complexity of fruit, fresh tobacco leaf, wood and other notes, while the body continued with a diversity of fruity elements (apple, plum, apricot) and a balancing woody, leafy hop. In the finish, the Lees warmed with its 11.5% alcohol by volume and satisfied with a lingering, off-dry malt.

B. United reports that a new selection of all vintages is expected in late April and after they are gone, that's it for the older versions! So get yours while the getting is good and watch these pages for a future vertical tasting of this truly fine ale.

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