J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale (Lagavulin Casks)

Well it was a bit of a cold and dreary morning, so I thought I would have something good for breakfast. Didn't really feel like cooking, how about J.W. Lee's Harvest Ale aged in Lagavulin Casks? If you're not familiar, Lagavulin 16 is one of the quintessential Islay single malt scotches - smokey, sweet, complex. I tasted this beer at Brouwer's in Seattle and was very happy to find it at John's Marketplace here in Portland. If you haven't been to John's Marketplace, you should. Hands down the biggest beer selection in Portland and an extensive wine selection was well.

Why yes, that does mean I was sitting in my front yard drinking a English style barleywine at 8 in the morning. Kids walked by excited for their first few days of school, but little did they know about the tasty ale I was about to swill.

This 2005 beer pours a cloudy amber with pinkish highlights when held up to the light. Lots of suspended yeast floating about. No foam, but the beer sticks to the glass like a full bodied chardonnay. An extremely sweet, malty nose, mainly molasses and honey. The flavor is similar, sweet, almost buttery, warming alcohol (at 11.5% ABV) and finally notes of wood and peat smoke on the finish.