By Nick Anderson, The Beermonger

 Now and then, it’s fun to have my job. Like when I come across vintage bottles of J.W. Lee’s Harvest Ale. This classic English Barleywine is one of those rare treats that demand attention. I will be doing a little beer-food pairing this Friday night at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria featuring five different bottlings of J.W. Lee’s.

 John Lees opened the Manchester brewery in 1828. This was an era when men, women and children (though of course we don’t encourage that sort of thing) were drinking copious amounts of beer due to poor or non-existent water sanitation. The Lees family is now in its sixth generation of brewing, and the brewery still wears with pride its status as “…a northern brewery from Manchester, England”.

 The Harvest Ale is easily the most well known and sought after beer J.W. Lee’s makes. It is a bruiser of a Barleywine, regularly clocking in at or around 11.5% ABV. Common notes found through every vintage include toffee, caramel, raisin, fruit, honey and even coffee. Many compare it, with its very light carbonation and thick mouthfeel, to brandy. This is definitely a sipper rather than a chugger. 

 Two versions of the Harvest Ale that I’m very excited to try are those that are aged in various barrels. J.W. Lee’s ages some of the Harvest Ale in Port, Sherry, Whisky and Calvados (apple brandy) casks which impart different flavors to this already extraordinary and unique beer. I’ll have the 2005 Calvados and 2007 Sherry versions open for tasting this Friday from 5-8 PM along with the 1999, 2001, and 2007 vintages of Harvest Ale.

For this Saturday I’ll have some new beer being brewed under the banner of the Schmaltz Brewery, makers of He’Brew (“The Chosen Beer”). Coney Island Lagers are as unique and wonderful as the place they’re named for. The proceeds also help fund Coney Island USA, a non-profit whose purpose is “to defend the honor of American popular art forms through innovative exhibitions and performances” (more information is available at www.coneyislandusa.com).

 These aren’t your run-of-the-mill everyday Lagers, though; each has a new take on this ubiquitous style. The ‘regular’ Coney Island Lager is smooth but with a bite coming from the extra hops in it that you wouldn’t usually see in a Lager. Sword Swallower takes the hoppy Lager idea further, giving it a bitter, earthy flavor that never comes off as too much or weighs you down. Albino Python (I swear that’s what the beer is called) is maybe the most interesting of them all: a Lager brewed in the style of a Belgian Witbier. Using traditional Witbier ingredients such as orange peel and coriander along with crushed fennel and ginger, Albino Python succeeds in being two very different styles of beer and its own style all at the same time. You can taste the Lager in it as well as the Witbier, but it’s the ginger that jumps out the most. It almost reminds me of the pickled ginger you get with sushi except not as strong (I cannot stand the ‘sushi ginger’).

 As you can see, there’s a lot to try out this week. So swing by Rick’s Friday night from 5-8 PM for the J.W. Lee’s tasting or come by Saturday from 12-5 PM for the Coney Island Lagers. Or do what I (have to) do and come to both. Either way I hope to see you there. Until next week.

Cheers,

Nick Anderson, the Beermonger
Nick Anderson is the Beer Buyer (Beermonger) at Rick’s Wine & Gourmet in Alexandria. When his Internet is working he writes a blog at www.beermonger.net