Critique my mild recipe

Yakima 728
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rexbanner

rexbanner

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Had a Cain's Dark Mild with dinner tonight and I really enjoyed it. I want to make a nice mild that isn't really roasty and goes down smooth. Sort of in between a mild and bitter. Any thoughts?

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Logan's Mild
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Mild
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.52 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.034 SG
Estimated Color: 14.8 SRM
Estimated IBU: 14.8 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
6 lbs Pale Malt (2 Row) UK (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 82.8 %
12.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.3 %
4.0 oz Special Roast (50.0 SRM) Grain 4 3.4 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 3 3.4 %
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.00 %] - Boil 60.0 Hop 5 14.8 IBUs
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124. Yeast 6 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Total Grain Weight: 7 lbs 4.0 oz
 
Recipe looks good. You will most likely see much higher efficiency than on a normal strength beer so you may want to adjust upward a bit (although it wouldn't be a big deal if it ended up in the Bitter range). An important factor with English ales is to make sure your carbonation is low (less than 2 volumes) and your serving temp is closer to 50F. Enjoy!
 
I've never had Cains Dark Mild (or any real, as in from the UK, commercial mild), but your recipe will certainly produce something good. I'd personally replace the special roast with amber malt though, because I don't like special roast.
 
jfr1111 said:
I've never had Cains Dark Mild (or any real, as in from the UK, commercial mild), but your recipe will certainly produce something good. I'd personally replace the special roast with amber malt though, because I don't like special roast.
Click to expand...

What's the difference? I've used both, and I have some amber malt on hand, too.
 
I don't have my "Milds" book handy, but the recipe looks fine.

I took a dark mild to a beer fest once for the homebrewers' booth. Despite samples being limited to 2 oz and one per person, it was gone in two hours.
 
looks good here too, do you really only boil off about a half gallon in 60 minutes?
 
rexbanner said:
What's the difference? I've used both, and I have some amber malt on hand, too.
Click to expand...

Special roast has this tangy, edgy malty quality to it that is hard to describe. It's subtle, but it's still there, even in small amounts. It also tends to be sweeter (altough it's not a caraml type malt). Amber malt lends a drier biscuit and very faint cocoa note when used in larger percentages. I really like biscuit and bread in my bitters, so amber suits my recipes better.
 
jfr1111 said:
Special roast has this tangy, edgy malty quality to it that is hard to describe. It's subtle, but it's still there, even in small amounts. It also tends to be sweeter (altough it's not a caraml type malt). Amber malt lends a drier biscuit and very faint cocoa note when used in larger percentages. I really like biscuit and bread in my bitters, so amber suits my recipes better.
Click to expand...

Yes, I have noticed that tangy taste in a nut brown I used it in, which I wasn't a huge fan of. However, tell me if you agree with this line of reasoning: any chocolate taste from amber malt will be lost in the chocolate malt. Therefore, special roast will add another taste dimension to this beer, and the amount is small anyways. I try to make beers that are complex but have simple malt bills.
 
rexbanner said:
Yes, I have noticed that tangy taste in a nut brown I used it in, which I wasn't a huge fan of. However, tell me if you agree with this line of reasoning: any chocolate taste from amber malt will be lost in the chocolate malt. Therefore, special roast will add another taste dimension to this beer, and the amount is small anyways. I try to make beers that are complex but have simple malt bills.
Click to expand...

Special roast will work, no doubt about it and amber starts getting to "cocoa" levels at more than 5% of the grain bill. It doesn't taste like chocolate per se, more like really toasted bread crust. Special roast still is more bready than anything else. I just dislike the tang and prefer the intense biscuity/bready nature of amber malt better.

Brown malt would also be a nice substitute to special roast. It's more roasty than amber.

But if you keep any of these malts at 4oz or less in your beer, everything will turn out just fine. Just be sure you use a good English crystal malt (Bairds crystal @ 75L is really good) and not an American crystal malt. The later tends to be sweeter. I'd also use English chocolate malt.
 
jfr1111 said:
Special roast will work, no doubt about it and amber starts getting to "cocoa" levels at more than 5% of the grain bill. It doesn't taste like chocolate per se, more like really toasted bread crust. Special roast still is more bready than anything else. I just dislike the tang and prefer the intense biscuity/bready nature of amber malt better.

Brown malt would also be a nice substitute to special roast. It's more roasty than amber.

But if you keep any of these malts at 4oz or less in your beer, everything will turn out just fine. Just be sure you use a good English crystal malt (Bairds crystal @ 75L is really good) and not an American crystal malt. The later tends to be sweeter. I'd also use English chocolate malt.
Click to expand...

Well this beer is mashing as I type, went with domestic stuff cause that's what I had. I will post how it turns out.
 
Please let us know how it turns out: there's not a lot of discussion about mild going on around these parts ;)
 
jfr1111 said:
Please let us know how it turns out: there's not a lot of discussion about mild going on around these parts ;)
Click to expand...

I will for sure, I've gotten so much from this site, always want to give back. :)

I've brewed other mild recipes before, but they are too roasty for my tastes. I want something flavorful, but smooth. Cain's was a little too roasty but it had this nice, thirst-quenching quality which was very strange for a non-sour brown ale. I think a smooth, flavorful mild just might be the perfect every-day beer for this winter.

If you are interested in other session beers, you might want to check out my abbey single. It is a low ABV Trappist ale that has gotten rave reviews and has been a staple for me for a long time. It is the flagship beer for the nano that I am opening in a few months.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hopsail
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Specialty Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.52 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 92.3 %
4.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.6 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 5.1 %
0.75 oz Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 20.1 IBUs
2.25 oz Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 2.0 min Hop 5 5.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787 Yeast 6 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
 
rexbanner said:
I will for sure, I've gotten so much from this site, always want to give back. :)

I've brewed other mild recipes before, but they are too roasty for my tastes. I want something flavorful, but smooth. Cain's was a little too roasty but it had this nice, thirst-quenching quality which was very strange for a non-sour brown ale. I think a smooth, flavorful mild just might be the perfect every-day beer for this winter.

If you are interested in other session beers, you might want to check out my abbey single. It is a low ABV Trappist ale that has gotten rave reviews and has been a staple for me for a long time. It is the flagship beer for the nano that I am opening in a few months.

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Hopsail
Brewer:
Asst Brewer:
Style: Belgian Specialty Ale
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 6.52 gal
Post Boil Volume: 5.98 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal
Bottling Volume: 5.50 gal
Estimated OG: 1.046 SG
Estimated Color: 4.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 25.2 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 72.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 75.3 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt Name Type # %/IBU
9 lbs Pilsner (2 Row) Bel (2.0 SRM) Grain 1 92.3 %
4.0 oz Aromatic Malt (26.0 SRM) Grain 3 2.6 %
8.0 oz Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 2 5.1 %
0.75 oz Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 4 20.1 IBUs
2.25 oz Sterling [7.50 %] - Boil 2.0 min Hop 5 5.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg Trappist High Gravity (Wyeast Labs #3787 Yeast 6 -


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body, Batch Sparge
Click to expand...

That looks delicious. I'll put in my notes to try your recipe next spring/summer. I'm much more a bitter/porter guy, especially when the weather gets colder: it froze last night up here. It's pretty much all I brew, but I like me some nice belgian beers from time to time.

I get the feeling that a lot of homebrewed milds aren't that thirst quenching because we are afraid that the beer might feel thin and boring because of its low abv and og. So we put in a crapload of crystal/chocolate malt and mash way too high, while commercial brewers are very often using low amounts of crystal and a boatload of sugars plus brewer's caramel for colour.
 
Ok, kegged it and am drinking it right now. Here is the official report: this beer is absolutely delicious. This is everything I wanted this beer to be. It is smooth, caramelly, toasty, and chocolatey, with only the faintest hint of roastyness. This is a real winner. I would not change anything.

Six days after brewing it tastes great. This does not need any more aging. Do not hesitate to brew this. This may be the tastiest beer I have ever had.
 

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