Young’s Special London Ale
Thursday, June 10th, 2010
I thought it was time to again review a brew from overseas and this time around it comes from the English country town of Bedford.
Here’s a brief history of the now well-known Wells & Young’s Brewing Company. It all began back in 1875 by a Mr Charles Wells who bought a brewery and 32 pubs for a mere £16,700(pounds). What a bargain! The company was originally named Charles Wells and since its conception the company has expanded immensely. In 2006 Charles Wells & Young and Co merged their brewing and brands to become the Wells & Young’s Brewing Company.
Young’s Special London Ale is a bottle conditioned beer. This means it is an unpasteurised living beer that is allowed to mature in the bottle. The idea behind this type of maturation is to create a beer that has a fuller, more complex and fresher taste and that is something this beer certainly has.
It has an earthy, herbal taste, that’s smooth and sweet towards the end. There is also a strong hops taste, which would make perfect sense considering there’s three types of hops added to it. The taste grows on you and at first it didn’t really appeal to me, but, it left me wanting more once my glass was empty. This brew pours a cloudy apricot colour with a nice creamy head. It also leaves a good amount of lacing on the glass. There is a pleasant floral aroma to it along with some sweetness and a distinct smell of hops.
I’d like to thank Purple Palate Maroochydore for giving me this beer to review. It pays to visit your local independent bottle store. I enjoyed drinking this beer but it’s certainly not a session beer. The labelling actually suggests it goes well with cured hams or smoked salmon. Young’s Special London Ale is on the expensive side to buy, at $8 a bottle. So make sure you have read this review closely and decide for your self.
Rating (out of five):
Category : Ale, Beer Reviews