Despite being parti-gyled with PA, the recipe was a bit different from the other Pale Ales. Specifically, this grist lacked torrefied barley. Not sure why that might be. It’s an ingredient that was usually included to improve head retention. Maybe they thought a bottled beer didn’t need that help.
Otherwise, the recipe is much thew same. Other than that, there are only two types of English hops, rather than three. Not sure what the reasoning behind that was, either.
I think this is one of the beers that is still brewed. I rather liked myself on the half dozen or so times I’ve drunk it. I particularly appreciated the high ABV, pisshead that I am.
| 1990 Youngs Special London Ale | ||
| pale malt | 14.25 lb | 93.94% |
| crystal malt 120 L | 0.25 lb | 1.65% |
| No. 3 invert sugar | 0.67 lb | 4.42% |
| Fuggles 60 min | 4.25 oz | |
| Goldings 10 min | 0.75 oz | |
| OG | 1067 | |
| FG | 1016.5 | |
| ABV | 6.68 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 75.37% | |
| IBU | 48 | |
| SRM | 10.5 | |
| Mash at | 148º F | |
| Sparge at | 165º F | |
| Boil time | 60 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 57º F | |
| Yeast | WLP002 English Ale | |
Listen to brewer John Hatch explain how they brewed at Youngs in the 1990s.
A great beer, but I'm not sure it is still brewed. I could be wrong, but it's not on the Youngs beer website and the few websites that list it show it being out of stock. I suspect it went the along with Light Ale when Eagle Brewery was closed.
ReplyDeleteI seem to rememer Derek Prentice say they dry hopped that one with Target. Lovely beer!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking recipe, it's now in the queue. I looked at Young's website. Yes, this ale is still being brewed, but the alcohol content has been lowered to 4.5%. The 1990 version sounds much better.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youngs.co.uk/london-original
That's London Special, not Special London Ale - a different beer that's been around a long time. It was originally just called Young's Special. Still a little confusing on the names, but less so. (Similarly London Original used to be called simply Young's Bitter - or to many old school visitors to Young's pubs, "a pint of Ordinary".)
DeleteEnzymatic malt essentially sounds like acid malt, or what the Germans term sauermalz.
ReplyDeleteSorry, but that is incorrect. Enzymatic malt is for helping things like say, rice or corn to convert their starches to fermentable sugars. Acid malt is for lowering the pH of a given wort.
DeleteSorry, a brew rat. The 'London' beers on the Youngs website are just their standard range. The 'London Special' is just a rebranding of Special, as is the 'London Original' a rebranding of Ordinary. The bottled Special London Ale was a totally different beast.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous,
ReplyDeletethe name enzymatic malt is confusing. It s basically acid malt. Watch the video and you'll hear John Hatch explain it.