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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
6743.53/5.03.52/5.06.4%92.8English 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?  
 OleR (2082), Oslo, Norway
3.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/103/514/20
Oct 2, 2006  
Bottle. Pours clear copper brown. Beige fingerthick head. Aroma of dry malts with some fruity and flowery notes. Dominant hopbitter flavour along with a light sweet malt profile; toffe with a touch of dark rum. Medium-bodied, dry mellow finish.


 Trooper11 (467), Suffolk, Virginia, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20
Sep 29, 2006  
Huge frothy off white head atop a clear amber brew. Little lacing. Very piney aroma. I think I got sap on my fingers. Huge hops undertones. Wow, this smells fabtabulous. Mmm, smooth, medium bodied brew, Warms you slightly from the very instant it hits your tongue with a sweet malty flavor. Very fresh, very bitter. Nice. God I love bitter. I could drink this every day. This is goood stuff here.


 Doppelganger (1353), Dry County, Arkansas, USA
3.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/57/103/515/20
Sep 22, 2006  
Bottle. Shiny copper pour, thick dense layer of fine cream head that leaves some nice lacing as it settles. Herbal hops, cool buttery yeast, mild carmel. When just the right combination of these hit me, it reminds me strangely of the smell of a new car. A peculiarly restrained resiny hop quality that doesn’t completely take over. Light, somewhat single-dimensional carmel flavor that fades abruptly, leaving just a bit of lingering fruitiness. Soft, mouthfilling carbonation. A fine ale, with lots of the qualities that are endearing about British beer. Though disappointingly short in the finish, and a bit unimaginative in it’s malt profile, it has a certain charm. The flavors that seem a bit disconnected at the first impression, begin to blend in a pleasing way after a little time.


 jehoey (766), Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, USA
3.7 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/104/57/103/516/20
Sep 21, 2006  
shared pint bottle with mate: delicious fruity aroma, with rich malt backdrop. pours a nice copper color, with head that quickly dissipates. flavor is much the same as the aroma. citrus fruit abounds, and rich malt makes you go umm. nice palate. medium heavy. Cheers!


derkruk (11), Seattle, Washington, USA
3.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
6/104/56/103/512/20
Sep 19, 2006  
Bottle poured in a snifter. Aroma is malty, beady, estery, with slight English hop aroma. Appearance is golden, clear, with a medium off-white head. Flavor is of malt, slightly bready, with a hop bitterness that lingers into the finish. Body is medium-medium light with high carbonation, finishes very dry, probably due to the water used. Overall, it is a balanced, enjoyable English pale ale.


 bager (2121), Copenhagen N, Denmark
2.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/103/54/103/59/20
Sep 17, 2006  
Bottle. Light amber coloured with a small head. Heavy carbonated. Thin palate. Malty and a bit sweet and fruity.


 elektronikfagtekniker (892), kbh, Denmark
2.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
5/103/56/102/59/20
Sep 15, 2006  
bottle. amber golden color. small creamy head. fruity malts. very carpy. light thin and easy.


 Beaver (598), Fort Collins, Colorado, USA
2.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
3/103/54/104/58/20
Sep 11, 2006    Updated: Oct 13, 2006
500ml bottle, best by 10/4/06. The bottle gushes some when opened. It pours a golden copper with a huge frothy off white head that retains well and leaves a little lacing.

The aroma is grainy and corny with a little spicy alcohol and some DMS.

The flavor is grainy and metallic with some grassy hop bitterness at the finish. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with loads of sharp carbonation that mellows into wateriness towards the end of the bottle.

Overall, this was not very good and was very much like a macro beer with a little extra zing. It’s not offensive, just pretty bland with a few OK aspects and a few off-aspects.



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