Youngs Dirty Dicks Ale

Formerly brewed at Youngs
Style: Bitter
Wandsworth, England

bottle. carbonated, light... color of sparkling butterscotch with similar butterscotch notes in both aroma and flavor... the smug Dickensian guy on the label (Nathaniel Bentley?) is almost as cool as the Moretti pimp... he knows he’s on the label of a good beer. Definitely a "cheeky ale"... If all dick tasted this refreshingly sweet, i’d always be down on my knees.

bottle. pours a light amber with a pocked fluffy tan head. nice bitter aroma. watery mouthfeel, flavors of bitter not quite sour hop flavors. a very light malt presence. finishes very crisp grass flavor. a nice middle of the road session bitter.

Bottled (BB 03/2005)
Nut brown, small but steady and creamy tanned head. Mild floral and sweet nose, a bit smokey. Mouthfeel has dry, roasted dunkel-like character. Long dry aftertaste.

A decent session bitter, but nothing really more than that. Kind of tastes like something that came out of a dirty dick. Bitter, and a little too crisp at times. Finishes like someone blew cigarette smoke in your face.

It’s not too often that I come across a beer that I don’t care for, but this was definately one of those beers. I bought a six pack of it a year ago for a dinner party I was hosting and I still have a bottle of it in the fridge. I don’t remember a lot about this beer (blocked a lot of it out), but I do remember having to choke it down. Some may appreciate its flavor, but it definately was not for me.

Smells sweet and hoppy. Clear brown with frothy light brown head. It tastes like beer, nothing much more to it. It is bitter at the end. It also has a smokey taste to it. Nice and smooth, a pretty good beer.

Copper liquid with a thick head. Minimal aroma. A touch watery. Light smoked caramel malt flavour. Just not my style...for this style.

I’m drawn to these kinds of things in a return-to-my-roots kind of way, and this is very drinkable, even enjoyable. But it remains a very basic beer. Nice reddish-brown color with a generous off-white head. Caramel and fuggles flavors, a little bit woody, a little bit metallic. Moderate palate, slightly oily/rich, staying adequately carbonated to keep it pleasant. Not a bad beer, not a great beer, just a regular old English beer.