Originally published in What’s Brewing April 2004.
Origin: Wandsworth, London, England (now transferred to Wells and Youngs, Bedford, Bedfordshire, England)
ABV: 6.4 per cent
Buy from most supermarkets
Youngs Special London Ale
Youngs’ historic brewery site in the heart of Wandsworth, currently slated for possible redevelopment, produces some highly distinctive bottled beers. Most of these — for example luscious Double Chocolate Stout or barley wine Old Nick — are brewery conditioned, but there’s also a regular “real ale in a bottle” with numerous awards to its credit including Champion Bottle Conditioned Beer of Britain.
The beer began life in the late 1950s as Strong Export Bitter, a filtered strong pale ale inspired by Worthington White Shield, initially targeted at Belgium and brewed under license there for a while. It was renamed Special London Ale when the brewery started exporting to the US market in the late 1980s.
Interestingly, the switch to bottle conditioning in 1998 came about partly as a means of extending the beer’s shelf life in the export market, but the success of 1845 from arch-rival Fullers might also have been a factor. Now it’s the brewery’s second biggest selling bottle, after Waggle Dance, and stocked by numerous supermarkets. For a while the non-BCA version remained available from the brewery’s pubs, but all Special London is now live.
A very traditional ingredients list includes Maris Otter pale malt, crystal malt, and what the label describes as “a phenomenal amount” of Fuggles and Goldings hops. The beer spends several weeks conditioning on a bed of whole Goldings before being sterile-filtered and reseeded with yeast, but no primings, relying on residual sugars to re-start fermentation.
The result is notably easy to pour, emerging a coppery mid-brown, with a fine, lively bead, a loose but persistent off-white head and a minimum of sticky sediment. The malty and slightly meaty aroma is fairly restrained, with a touch of talcum powder and spice.
The big assertive palate begins with a pale malt accent, subdued fig and orange fruitiness and a slightly rough-edged chewiness I find typical of Youngs’ pales. Hops are evident from the start, beginning with a dry, sacky character and turning peppery and estery, with almond notes.
That generous hopping soon shows in a dryish finsih with a tonic water bitterness emerging in the back of the throat and powdery dryness on the tongue, always balanced by generous malt and tannic fruit.
It’s especially gratifying to see a well-established line enjoying such a vigorous new lease of life. But then, Youngs’ ability to balance innovation alongside a conscientious approach to tradition is one of the reasons why they are so appreciated, and why uncertainty about their future is viewed with such concern.
Try also Butts Barbus Barbus, Freeminer Speculation Ale, Museum Worthington White Shield, Woodforde’s Headcracker
Read more about this beer on ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/youngs-special-london-ale/140/
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