RateBeer
Score
9497
OVERALLStyle
Brewed by Wells & Youngs
Style: English Strong Ale
Bedford, England

bottled
common

on tap
available

Broad Distribution

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RATINGS: 827   WEIGHTED AVG: 3.53   EST. CALORIES: 192   ABV: 6.4%
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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 ratings

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
fletchfighters (837) - AUSTRALIA - AUG 7, 2012
A-- Poured a near opaque light orange color, half a finger of egg white head that went away to just being film. Made sure to let sediment settle as it is bottle conditioned. No lacing at all. S-- Malty and biscuit like. Has a floral nose to go along with it. Nice balance of hops, malt and sweetness. T-- Fairly hop forward at first and then the malt kicked in. Thought it be a bit sweeter to offset the hops but still pretty good. The warmer this became the more the beer opened up and the hops toned down. M-- Maybe could be a tad less carbonated and a little dryer in the mouth. Wish it had more sweetness as the fruit quality is very soft at the end. Still very nice feel in the mouth and very creamy and has a good floral touch in the mouth. O-- really grew on me. Good stuff

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 16/20
Leighton (7179) - London, ENGLAND - AUG 2, 2012
Bottle at home in London. Pours clear, honey-red with a light, white foam head. Aroma holds some sugar, lightly ripened fruits. Medium sweet flavor with more semi-ripe fruits, berries, golden raisins, lightly toasted sugar. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Lightly sticky sweet finish, with lightly toasted sugars, faint bread, cherries, pears, plums, golden raisins. It’s a pretty straight-ahead English Strong Ale. Not too much alcohol, which is pretty alright. Decent depth. As a readily available beer, it’s pretty good.

3.6
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 1/5   OVERALL 16/20
Nisse666 (3217) - Göteborg, SWEDEN - JUL 18, 2012
Draught at BAJT cons 2012-07-18 AR: caramel fudge, wee citric AP: hazy copper, creme stouthy bone white head, foamy lacings F: creme caramel, butter fudgy, wee citric, wee alcoholic, rich sharp wee bubbly carbonation, medium high bitterness, fresh and nice!

3.6
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 14/20
Marduk (1326) - Tallinn, ESTONIA - JUL 13, 2012
0,5l bottle. Cloudy golden color. Medium, thick, off-white head appears. Hops, citrus, mild spicy aroma. Sweet, alcohol, malty, mild bitter taste.

4
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 17/20
ttoadee (383) - Austin, Texas, USA - JUL 9, 2012
Slightly burnt amber pour, decent head, somewhat off white. Nose is Hops,Hops, Hops, with some sweet malt and faint marmalade in there too. Nice sweetness through the middle, more of that citric fruit thing, and dry hops take over the finish. The hops and the malt always seem to be pulling in the same direction. Good Beer.

3.1
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 6/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 13/20
thirstyrabbit (740) - Tallinn, ESTONIA - JUL 5, 2012
Bottle. Cloudy golden amber body, small to medium head. Hoppy aroma with some orange. Dry hoppy taste (mostly orange peel type) dominates the malts. Too thin and dry for the style, I like more caramelly and maltier strong ales.

3.8
   AROMA 8/10   APPEARANCE 5/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 15/20
fdomig (221) - Feldkirch, AUSTRIA - JUL 5, 2012
500ml bottle. What an amazing aroma. Great hops and fruity aroma. Beautiful amber with a fine white head. Taste is slightly sweet and bitter. Has a light body with a hopy and dry finish. Overall a very good and refreshing Ale.

3.6
   AROMA 6/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 8/10   PALATE 4/5   OVERALL 15/20
suurjuust (618) - ESTONIA - JUL 5, 2012
Orange-tinted amber, white soapy head. Nose is floral hops, biscuity malt, some sweetness, orange zest. Taste has a nice, slightly sweet malty blend, some fairly bitter hops near the end of the taste. Alcohol is detectable in the finish. A nice, simple, but balanced bitter.

3.5
   AROMA 4/10   APPEARANCE 4/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 5/5   OVERALL 15/20
Holmen1 (1187) - NORWAY - JUN 27, 2012
0,5 l flaske fra Polet. Overrsakende lite aroma for et så komplekst øl hvor de ikke har spart på ingrediensene. Som ventet smaksrikt og velbalansert og fin ettersmak. Riktig noe å nyte til britiske kvalitetsfilmer. High drinkability.

3.4
   AROMA 7/10   APPEARANCE 3/5   TASTE 7/10   PALATE 3/5   OVERALL 14/20
ElDesmadre (999) - Mikołów, POLAND - JUN 25, 2012
Bottle. Amber with a medium head. Aroma is bready malt, toffee, slightly subdued resiny-earthy hops, ripe red apples and even some hints of old coffee. Full body, medium carbonation, toasted malty-fruity taste with a medium bitterness and a warming finish. Very good, not complex but with that ABV an easy drink.


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