It pours clear, leaving all the sediment in the bottle, and exhibits a vigorous natural carbonation, as with the London Gold, which suggests that the brewery have mastered the issue of getting consistent quality and genuine secondary fermentation from bottle-conditioned ales.
The colour is dark amber – not a pale beer, but fairly pale for a British ale of this strength. It has a full, satisfying mouthfeel, as with all the W&Y beers. The aroma is subdued, mixing fruit with CO2.
There’s an initial surprising hoppy attack, which then slowly metamorphoses through spiciness into a lingering aftertaste of sweet, creamy malt. It is fairly light in body for its strength, although you are aware of some alcohol warmth.
A distinctive, complex, multi-faceted beer that makes a good contrast with the richer, heavier Fullers 1845, which is of similar strength. Definitely one to be savoured.
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7 comments:
The best Youngs beer by far.
Dear Mudgie,all this talk about
fine ale is really putting a strain
on my boycott of pubs and booze
(like most decent people I dont drink at home.
Fortunately I often visit Belgium and Holland** where ,as you know,
there is no shortage of real beer,
in real bars with real men (and women)
** Just amended their ban giving
small bars the choice.
Hope Springs
I love this beer, so interesting to drink if you want it to be, and a great sipper otherwise, definitely [baron rating 5/5]:
http://theormskirkbaron.blogspot.com/2010/04/youngs-special-london-ale.html
Agree- tried this and really enjoyed it- sometimes I enjoy a smoke whilst drinking so I was lucky as the garden was mild and with good craic !
Special London Ale is certainly a very fine beer, and I agree with Ed that it is by far the best beer to come out of the Young's stable.
My only slight gripe is, and here I'm being really nit-picking, shouldn't it now be called Special Bedford Ale??
One of my faves, actually. Wonderful. So bright, so refreshing and zesty.
On the basis of your write up, I must keep an eye out for it.
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