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Youngs Special London Ale 3.52 679

Youngs Special London Ale

Percentile
89
overall
Brewed by Wells & Youngs
Style: English Strong Ale

Bedford, England

bottled
common

on tap
unknown

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
6793.53/5.03.52/5.06.4%92.9English pint, Trappist glass
Commercial Description:
Bottle Conditioned. Occasionally available in the cask.
Production moved from Youngs to Wells & Youngs in 2007.
Ingredients: Maris Otter and Crystal malt; Fuggle and Goldings hops. Dry hopped with Golding and Target hops. Re-pitched with fresh yeast and wort in the bottle.
Young’s Special London Ale is the UK’s No.1 bottle conditioned ale. It is an unpasteurised, living beer, matured in the bottle for a fuller, more complex, multi-dimensional, fresher taste. Without artificial carbonation, the only fizz is the natural effervescence created by fermentation.
“A wonderfully balanced, deep-golden strong bottled ale, brewed from pure malt and a phenomenal amount of hops. A lively, fruity character with suggestions of banana and orange zest.”
CAMRA Champion Bottled Beer of Britain - 1999.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 TheBeerOrg (1589), Kentucky, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/104/513/20
Jan 24, 2007  
Pours golden amber with a thin, fluffy/foamy tan head. Aroma of fruity and musky Fuggle hops, toffee, pears, and apples. Mouthfeel is medium to full bodied with slight stickiness and lush carbonation, which combined give this beer a somewhat heavy mouthfeel. Sweet, toffee, earthy beer.


 altonbrownd (1966), Amsterdam, Netherlands
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/515/20
Jan 24, 2007  
Bottle at home. Golden color. Tangy scent with awesome lacing. A spicy, dark ale. With a really bitter texture and smooth finish. Hoppy, oaty even, and fruity as well. Very enjoyable.


 TheGrandMaster (1877), Auckland, New Zealand
3.9 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/104/516/20
Jan 23, 2007    Updated: Jan 28, 2007
Bottle, pours a clear light amber, quite carbonated, with a large fluffy white head. A beautiful fruity aroma that only leaves the presence of that alcohol at the end. Beautifully malty and fruity in the taste, imparting peachy flavours further through the swallow, and then a good hoppy bitterness in the finish. Special indeed.


 theisti (1693), Leawood, Kansas, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/104/515/20
Jan 22, 2007    Updated: Jan 24, 2007
Bottle - best before 13 APR 07. Clear copper / bronze color. Poured a big off white head. Aroma malt. Initial taste is bitter malt. Hop and grass finish, more bitter. Crisp taste, though initial sharpness to taste surprised me.


 Glouglouburp (2887), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/104/512/20
Jan 22, 2007  
Partly cloudy copper body. Long-lasting large creamy beige head with good lacing. The beer looks great. Tasty mix of citrus and caramel. Overall, kind of like a cream ale attack with a strong citrusy hops bitter finish. Creamy texture, tickling carbonation, bitterness is medium-high, long finish. Tasty beer, unlike most English beers this is not the kind of beer you want drink quickly with big sips. This was London’s last brewery and it is now out of business. So unfair, it’s the restaurants they need to close in London.


 beerinmarch (2829), Washington, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/513/20
Jan 21, 2007  
Light fruity hop nose, slight citrus, kinda sweet candy hop smell. Sweet on the palate, bready caramel up front with a lightly bitter finish. Pours amber/copper, clear, with a soft white head. The hops and malts worked better in this beer then the St. Georges ale, not so herbal. Like the other Youngs beers this was very soft on the palate with a light mineral feel to the finish.


 hayduke (1687), Eureka, California, USA
3.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/57/103/513/20
Jan 19, 2007  
If this is retired, I have to wonder how old this bottle is. I paid $2.79 for it at my local Northcoast Coop here in Eureka, CA. It poured a light copper color with a slightly dingy head and not much lacng. Nose was of hops and citrus. Mouthfeel was medium bodied and and lively carbonation. Flavors were odd. It says bottle conditioned, so maybe it was getting past its prime. I am glad I got to try a bottle of this before it is gone forever.


 JK (2967), Richfield, Minnesota, USA
3.3 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/103/56/104/514/20
Jan 5, 2007  
It didn’t seem very strong. This beer is pale. Very light hops on a malt body; I thought I was drinking a bitter or even a mild. I would have guessed the abv was a few percent lower. Some malt. This was on keg, so I guess that is the third option as far as availability.



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