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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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
674	3.53/5.0	3.52/5.0	6.4%	92.8	English 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.

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sinkas (182), Perth/Fremantle, Australia

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	5/10	4/5	6/10	4/5	16/20

Aug 10, 2008

Pours a hazy amber, aroma of muted malts and dusty hops. palate is spicy hop heavy with a robust malt backbone, bitter and slightly agricultural finish, very pleasant.

imawayforapint (17), , Alberta, Canada

3.5	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.5	6/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	14/20

Aug 9, 2008

Decent special bitter. A little too much residual sweetness for my liking. Not hoppy enough to balance out the sweet edge either. The hop nose was there, but it didn’t carry through to the mouth. An enjoyable pint nontheless, but not, in my opinion in the Fullers ESB class.

austone (1039), Turku; Pori, Finland

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	8/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	14/20

Aug 7, 2008

Hazy amber, nice lasting white head. Biscuit malty nose, nice strong grapefruity hops, very smooth and balanced. Similar flavor, mostly grapefruit, just not as fresh as the aroma. Strong seedy bitterness. Medium bodied, smoothly carbonated palate. Maybe a bit simple, but pleasing as hell. If you happen to like that sort of stuff.

Cruzan59 (197), Lititz, Pennsylvania, USA

3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3	6/10	3/5	5/10	3/5	13/20

Jul 29, 2008

1pt 0.9oz bottle from Bayville Package Store, Fenwick Island, DE...amber pour, white head...aroma of malts, hops, floral...taste is hops, citrus, grass, bit metallic...really good, but the aftertaste was like wet sponge...I think I got too much sediment off the bottom.

dm9831 (1167), Monee, Illinois, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	4/5	6/10	3/5	14/20

Jul 27, 2008

dark amber color, fluffy, subsiding head, nice lacing. aroma of airy hops, malt, grain. flavor is mildly dry with creamy notes. medium bodied, dry creamy finish. possibly a nice session beer.

AleDrinker (1090), Sunnyvale, California, USA

2.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.6	5/10	3/5	5/10	3/5	10/20

Jul 18, 2008

I didn’t really get this beer. Just had a very dry earthy aroma. Flavor was dry and earthy as well. Both were very mild. Just wasn’t a whole lot there, was looking for more.

polomagnifico (534), Saginaw, Michigan, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	6/10	4/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Jul 17, 2008

Bottle. Aroma of caramel malt, fruit and mineral hops. Dark murky brown amber hue with an average sized off-white head that mostly diminished and left some lace. Flavor is of caramel malt, orange zest, mineral hops. Palate is medium-full bodied and oily soft. A good strong ale with some nice hops but the mineral presence once again detracts from the overall impression.

DarkStar22769 (100), Ontario, Canada

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	8/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	14/20

Jul 14, 2008

500ml bottle Bought from Tesco in NI; poured with a clear gold hue accompanied by very little head presence. Aroma is all hop...the Fuggle is definitely there and the dry-hopping is evident. It has a rich flavour that begins with the hop bitterness then makes a transition to alcoholic maltiness (reminding me of some of the stronger festive lagers in Germany). I don’t get much of the fruity flavour but this is a splendid ale.

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