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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Ratings	Average	Score	ABV	Style Pctl	Serve in
679	3.53/5.0	3.52/5.0	6.4%	92.9	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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bark (255), Linköping, Sweden

3.4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.4	5/10	3/5	6/10	4/5	16/20

Jan 22, 2005

On-tap The colour is cloudy copper red; the thin lid of foam is pale beige.

The smell is sweet with notes of yeast, nuts and fruits (apricots? Peaches?).

The carbonation is fresh with lots of large bubbles.

The taste is fruity, sweet with some bitter almonds, diacetyl and yeast. The aftertaste is medium bitter, short and rather anonymous.

An average bitter, nothing special at all.

CampbellWilson (533), Scotland

4	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
4	8/10	4/5	8/10	4/5	16/20

Jan 22, 2005

Bottle conditioned from Sainsbury’s. Orangey hop aroma with a bit of malt (toffeish). Slightly syrupy mouthfeel, bit of sweetness in the taste. Good bitterfinish.

mdi (573), Nebraska, USA

3.6	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.6	7/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	15/20

Jan 11, 2005

500ml bottle BB Jul/05 Brillantly clear, no head. Stoney aroma. Wet stones or damp wood chips thread runs into the flavor along with biscuits and malt. Stones and pepper add spice to the somewhat thin beer with a metallic underpin to the finish. Fairly bitter finish. I really started this one too cold. A brighter fruity character emerges to replace the metallic quality as the glass is emptied. Pretty nice.

scotty (838), Scotland

3.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.7	7/10	3/5	7/10	4/5	16/20

Jan 7, 2005

Big fruity/hoppy aroma. Dark golden colour, no head tho, big rounded palate. Wonderful balance of malt & hops, a very complex mouthful, long lasting finish. Just as well I’ve got two bottles.

Sammy (4070), Toronto, Ontario, Canada

3.8	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.8	8/10	3/5	7/10	3/5	17/20

Jan 6, 2005

refreshing ale. Not that bitter. Seems to be offset by substantial malt, as noticed in aroma of head along with fragrant forest of hops, although less so in the drink itself. Features of a nutbrown in an amber colour. Bitterness and nuttiness and malt in aftertaste.

Cornfield (4981), Oak Forest, Illinois, USA

3.3	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.3	6/10	4/5	6/10	4/5	13/20

Jan 6, 2005

Pouring a rich amber color with a creamy white head, this has a pleasant sweet malt aroma with a touch of herbal hoppiness. The mouthfeel is very smooth. It tastes like caramel with a touch of butter, some yeasty fruitiness, and some mild hop bitterness. Nice snappy bitter finish.

kook (2034), Perth, Western Australia, Australia

2.7	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
2.7	5/10	4/5	5/10	3/5	10/20

Dec 14, 2004

Aroma slightly stale, mild toffee like malt. Pours a mild amber in colour with a lasting beige head. Starts almost cloying sweet with a stale slightly fruity finish. Maybe I got a bad bottle, or maybe its just crap? :)

allphoto (36), Oakland, California, USA

3.1	Aroma	Appearance	Flavor	Palate	Overall
3.1	5/10	4/5	7/10	3/5	12/20

Dec 12, 2004

very strong malt presence, like burnt butterscotch. the back of the tongue flavor is like ginseng and toffee. The beer leaves a stickiness on the lips, maybe brown sugar or molasses in the mix.

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