Elizabethan Ale
Harvey's Brewery in Lewes, East Sussex, England 🏴
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
7.30
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Originally brewed to mark the Queen's Coronation in 1953, this prize winning golden barley wine proved so popular that it has been brewed ever since. It is comparable in strength to the beer produced by Tudor brewers during the reign of Elizabeth I. Regular drinkers simply asked for a 'Lizzie'.
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7.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Mine had no year or bottle # A.C.D. on the cap. 9.7 oz bottle. A straight into the glass pour produced a small diminishing head on this deep brown, ruby highlighted beer. Strong sweet aroma that carries some notes of chocolate covered cherries, caramel and a hint of smoke. The flavor picks right up with the chocolate covered cherries and has a lemony finish to it. Some licorice in there too. Very thick and syrupy body make this a definite sipper.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Nov 2004
at 21:01
7.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
1998 bottling - murky, dark amber color, with nearly no carbonation - bracing, complex aroma of plums, dates, brown sugar, tartness, belgian-like mustiness, and earth - striking balance of slight sweet and bitter qualities (don't be mistaken, the bitterness is very low, but present) - smokey/roasty, dark fruit, grape skins - high level of vinous notes and hints of...bourbon? - I detect a tiny bit of hops in the finish, or is that some kind of roasted malt? - hard to tell - this very much reminds me of the barleywines George Gale makes - equally as complex, but much less tart and, in my opinion, has a bit more balance.
Tried
on 04 Apr 2004
at 20:33
7.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
1996 Bottle (#1207) from Kahn's: Pours a murky dark brownish amber color with a minimal beige head. Very quick and thin lacing. Fruit, caramel and malt in the nose. Medium body with an earthy character and flavors of fruit, malt, alcohol and caramel. The finish is kind of soft and fruity, maybe the age has softened the hops bite somewhat. Overall this was an interesting Barley Wine.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Mar 2004
at 09:21
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
A red beer with a small beige head. The aroma is sweet caramel with notes of hops, oil, and grass. The flavor is of grass and hops and the end is very bitter. A lovely beer.
Tried
on 28 Feb 2004
at 05:52
8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2023-08-29, bb Feb 2009, assumed 15 years old, 7-4-7-3-15=36
It has no carbonation, and there is some oxidized smell, but, since it was a maltier than average brew, it still has some body and flavour, traces of orange peel and spice; no alcohol, and the low bitterness doesn't disturb much.
2010-03-01, about 1½ years old, 7-5-8-4-15=39
Dark amber color with a ruby reflex; sparse head. Mild aroma, caramel, light cheese, very light fruity touch (raisins). Good body strength; it has a good malt and caramel flavor, quite sweet but lean, not very long, with traces of nuts; very low bitterness. Average alcohol warmth.
It may be interesting in a couple of years to see the effects of oxidisation (but the bottle is filtered).
2008-11-24, bottle at The Wharf, Aalborg, 7-5-8-4-15=16
Dark amber color; big head. Some caramel aroma, quite mature. Medium body strength, it has an excellent sweet caramel flavor, complemented by a light woody fruitness (10% of what you find in Gale), all well mixed and dynamic, yet solid. In the final there is a bit more of chocolate. Excellent.
2003-01-07, 7-4-7-4-14=36
Ruby amber color; poor head. Strange aroma: malt, cork, raisins, spices, vegetables. Thick, oily; carrots and celery, malt, herbs, caramel; quite sweet. Bitter ending, but it could stand a heavier hopping.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jan 2004
at 04:02
8.5/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
1997 bottle (9/5/8/5/19), sampled in 2003. Pours a muddy caramel brown, with layers of dark chestnut and some black, some beige. Good solid creamy beige head. Aroma is wonderful, sharp aromatic apricots with some sugary spice as well. Started out at about 54 degrees, the beer begins with a truly unique flavor of. . .dirt? It is like when you fall in the dirt and get a mouthfeel, like that dirty soil taste. Surprisingly it wasnt bad, this transitions into a tremendous amount of warm malt flavor with some butterscotch appeal. Has a medium-full body, tending towards full. Finish begins with some alcohol and apricot flavors mixed together, along with some barley malt lingering. Ends with an exquisite caramel malt. As the beer warmed, towards 57-59 degrees, this dirty taste turned out to be the maturing alcohol flavor that was so poignant and concentrated it tasted almost mineralesque. As it softened and warmed, and the beer could breath, to my great delight, this turned into the most authentic caramel taste. Like fresh caramel that is not too sweet, and just perfect, i dont know how else to say it. Growing warm and fuzzy and then mixing with some more barley and slight scotch notes. Wow. This has aged gracefully to say the least. Make sure to let this one breath when you open it. The 97 is wonderful, and has got plenty more years of aging to do. Gotta get me some more to cellar. The best aged barley I have tried thus far, though the 97 Hardys needs far more aging than this one, so it is a bit unfair. 1996 bottle (7/5/7/3/15). Sampled 3/3/04. Same pour and color, but much weaker aroma than the 1997. Uh oh. As I guessed from the aroma, this one was thin and oxidized. Strange with the one year difference, but obviously the sitting in a warm, lit store for 8 years didnt do much for this bottle, whereas the 97 I tried had been refrigerated for quite a few years. Much thinner, not as much good caramel malt, nor am I able to distinguish the clean fruit flavors. Not that bad though, just too oxidized. 1996 again. Amazing. This bottle was still great, no traces of the heavily oxidized, watery palate that the last bottle had. Big, warm, sweet, lightly fruity with those lovely mineralesque flavors I love in this beer. Glad that the last bottle being bad was just a fluke.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Sep 2003
at 20:11
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
1997 Vintage: Copper colour, off-white head. Aroma of raisins, figs and pit fruit. Flavours of roasted malt and musty tastes. A nice complex beer, with a great start-to-finish taste. I had this one out of the same bottle with DougShoemaker given to us by Lyle Ostrow at Premier Gourmet in Buffalo, New York.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Jul 2003
at 07:12
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Elizabethan Ale looks like an apple cider and has the aroma of a good doppelbock, with a heavy prune scent. The flavor reflects an interesting mix of doppelbock and barleywine characteristics: prune and raisins dominate at first, followed by sugary malts. The body is syrupy and rich, thicker than the typical doppelbock but right in line with barleywines (unintentional rhyme). A very nice beverage, but I do recommend moderation: this is too syrupy sweet for session consumption.
Tried
on 03 Jun 2003
at 17:38
8.8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Fairly light and low alc for a barleywine, but still a pleasant malty strong ale. Beautiful deep red-amber color with thin long-lasting head. Rich, complex fruity aroma: pear, peach, squash, vanilla. Flavor is strong and warming with a solid hop bitterness, and fruity malts. Smooth tobacco finish. Smooth light carbonation, full, mouth-filling flavor. Complex and filling, a real winter warmer.
Tried
on 25 Mar 2002
at 13:12
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 8
Red-brown. Very fruity, big maltiness, smokey. Complex. ...................
Tried
on 26 Jan 2002
at 12:54