Young's Special London Ale

This was the other beer I picked up during my Tesco run, and I must admit that it is one of my favourites. It is quite a strong beer at 6.4% abv, and has a distinctly hoppy taste. The label claims that the beer is bottle conditioned, however I have yet to find any evidence of yeast deposited in the bottom of one of the bottles! It is claimed that fuggles and goldings hops are used which is interesting as the beer does not taste like your typical London ale and actually is a lot fruitier with some banana and citrus flavours coming through not unlike an APA. I have noticed on occasion that the level of aroma and flavour hops is not very consistent and lower levels lead to a strong alcohol kick on the tongue. The more hoppy batches tend to be balanced better – this bottle was of the less hoppy which is a trend I hope hasn’t started due to the recent price increases on the world hop markets! Young’s describe the beer are:

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.