English Northern Brown vs. Southern Brown vs. mild vs......

There seems to be a lot of overlap in the descriptions of English Mild, Northern English Brown and Southern English Mild. Can someone give some distinct differences?

From what I am reading, Southern Browns are a little "sweeter" maybe more carmel used in them (?) while northern Browns are a little drier, more nut or toasted like??? Is this about right? Are the Milds all the same or do they have a wide difference in their original locality?

On a similar note...How does the Scottish Light 60 compare to the English Mild other than the possible smoky trait of the Scottish 60?

Thanks Guys

Tony

I would say the southern english browns are less dry and less hopped than the northern equivalents but I think in the UK if you asked someone the difference between the two you wouldn't get many takers seems almost an american attempt to classify them into two. Southern beers in general seem to be less hopped to me but maybe thats just a personal opinion, always seemed yorkshire bitters were more highly hopped. There is a definite different perception of what is a good pint between the south and north, northerners like a good foam head, southerners tend to think you're being ripped off paying for foam.

Milds whilst they used to be very popular are pretty thin on the ground although there has been a revival in the craft beer scene. The one place where they are still popular is in the West Midlands, Birmingham area which is/was the industrial heartland of UK. Historically it was the sort of beer you went to the pub after work and had a few pints on the way home after a hard days work so tended to be fairly weak. But there is a wide range, one of the most highly regarded milds in the UK is Sarahs dark ruby mild which comes in at 6% so hardly fitting the BJCP guidelines.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/sarah-hughes-dark-ruby-mild/5113/

This should help: http://www.bjcp.org/2008styles/style11.php