Talk to me about English Mild

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Lodovico

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So I brewed Jamil's English Mild from the BCS book and drank one last night. Either I finally found a beer style that I don't really like, or I messed something up.

I've read the specific BJCP descriptions, so I know some of the characterisitics but could others here give me your description of what this beer is supposed to be like.

It just seems SUPER thin to me. Like water with a little bit of malt flavor in it. I nailed my OG and FG, so I know that it was brewed pretty well. No off flavors or anything, just really thin.

I was very careful to not overcarb because I read a lot before about it seeming to thin if you over carbonate. I carbed to 1.4 volumes. I also served it at the 55-60 degrees that Jamil recommends.

Is this because I bottled it and most people put it on draft? I doubt it because I did chat with a few people on HBT that bottle their milds and really love them.

It's only been in the bottle for 14 days. I just didn't expect it to be so watery. Has a nice copper/brown color to it, no real hop aroma or presence which I realize there shouldn't be.

Help?
 
Milds, as well as Scottish ales can be very hard. There is so little malt in them. I mean, how do you make a 1.030 beer with tons of flavor? I still haven't been successful. My Scottish 70/- turned out similar.
 
I've done his dark english mild and it was fantastic not thin and had big flavor.

Pat

Any elaboration here Pat? I'm glad it worked for you but what could I have done wrong here? Did you follow the recipe exactly? I hit the OG and FS within a point, so I should have the flavor, but I don't.

Or maybe it's because I've never had a mild and I don't know what to expect. Maybe I'll send you a bottle and you can tell me:cross:
 
Well I had never had an English Mild either, but I've got Orphy's on tap now. Because its name is "Mild" , I kinda expected it to be a small beer. :) However I think that's why Orphy mashes high so as to retain as much maltiness. I mashed at 157, its a pretty good beer and SWMBO likes it. Next time I'm going to mash a bit higher just to see if there is a big difference.
 
I have done the same recipe. The one I have on tap now was done with S-04 and I think mine is thin also but has a really complex taste. I can pick up some chocolate and a hint of tobacco at the end. I am attributing the thinness to my mash temp. I also have a keg that I fermented with Nottingham that I have not tapped. I really like the beer and will brew it again with a different mash temp.
 
Milds won't be as viscous as some of their bigger cousins in the Porter/Stout family, but they shouldn't taste watery or thin, even bottled.

I'd adjust your mash temperature and maybe add some CaraPils next time to boost the body. You can also up the Crystal malt(s) by a couple of percent.

As for this batch, I'd brew something along the lines of a Brown Porter (mashed fairly warm and fermented with S04 or a similar yeast) and blend the two at serving time.
 
My mild was terrific, using Jami's recipe.

What temp did you mash at? I mashed at 154, I believe. Now, a mild isn't going to be as "thick" as a porter, so I wonder if you just expected something different than a mild?
From the BJCP:
A light-flavored, malt-accented beer that is readily suited to drinking in quantity. Refreshing, yet flavorful. Some versions may seem like lower gravity brown porters. May have evolved as one of the elements of early porters. In modern terms, the name "mild" refers to the relative lack of hop bitterness.
Most are low-gravity session beers in the range 3.1-3.8%, although some versions may be made in the stronger (4%+) range for export, festivals, seasonal and/or special occasions. Generally served on cask; session-strength bottled versions don't often travel well. A wide range of interpretations are possible
Pale English base malts (often fairly dextrinous), crystal and darker malts should comprise the grist. May use sugar adjuncts. English hop varieties would be most suitable, though their character is muted. Characterful English ale yeast.

I used Golden Promise malt in my mild. It was a very good beer! I'd call it a dark colored session beer.
 
Just a suggestion, but you might want to pick up a couple of the commercial examples given in the BJCP guide for that style. Compare them to yours and see if it's your beer, or the entire style, that you're not impressed with.

Also, next time mash higher maybe (as others have noted)?
 
The only one I brewed was the Mild Mannered Ale recipe from this site (don't remember who's it is...is that Orphy's?). Anyways it turned out fantastic. It wasn't thin at all...I would actually have never guessed it was such a small beer if I wasn't the one who brewed it. Tons of flavor as well both from the 15 minute Fuggles addition and the malt.
 
Milds can be difficult to do well and the biggest problem is mashing too low. Since you hit the gravities, I'd say that didn't happen. So, it's probably a matter of adjusting your expectations to the style. A Mild is definitely a different beast from the other beers you have in your inventory. And they do better on tap or even with a beer engine.
 
I think I used notty and I couldnt get the pale chocolate so I used half as much dark chocolate malt..But I have heard the pale chocolate is the key to making this beer what it is.
I had a judge at a party at my house and he thought the beer was spot on.
I think it is an easy drinking beer with lots of flavor one that macro beer drinker seemed to like even if it was a DARK BEER.

Send me all the beer you want I'll do my best to drink it !!!

Pat
 
What brand of base malt did you use?

I used Marris Otter and S-04. I did mash at 154 which is what Jamil called for. Not sure how I went wrong here. Maybe I'll give it awhile in the bottle and it will magically become more flavorful and complex:)

It may still be a really good "last beer of the night" if we've been drinking higher gravity beers.

I like the suggestion of trying a commercial mild but I've read they are pretty hard to come by.

What's the easiest commercial one to get a hold of? I looked around here and couldn't find one. Thanks!
 
If you don't have a brewpub around that does a Mild, chances are you are not going to find one in your favorite bottle shop. :(

When I do a mild, based off of Orfy's, I use 158°F as my mash temp. Gives me a tiny ABV of around 2.8% but nobody comments on it being thin.
 
I used Marris Otter and S-04. I did mash at 154 which is what Jamil called for. Not sure how I went wrong here.

Is your thermometer calibrated? 154 is reasonable, but you definitely wouldn't want to go any lower than that. If, say, your thermometer was off by 3 degrees and you really mashed at 151, that might explain the thinness.
 
I'm brewing my first mild on Saturday. Decided to go with Munton's Mild as the base malt; otherwise, I've leaned heavily on Orfy's recipe. I'll definitely mash @ 158 to keep the body substantial. For some reason, I'm really excited about trying my hand at this style. January is going to be a good month for me.:tank:
 
My mild was terrific,

Mine too. Easily the best beer I brewed. Although I created my own recipe, I agree with everyone here saying mash high. I think I did 156-157. For a 2.9% beer you could hardly tell as all of the flavor was still there.

I wouldn't give up on milds just yet. The only one I have ever had is the one I brewed, and there is certainly a lot of room to experiment.
 
I did Jamils Mild and mine finished at 1.014 instead of his recommended FG. It had the right body for my tastes. I had some Milds on cask in London about 4 years back, and this is in line with my memories.

There are commercial examples to be had in the states if you know where to look. Yards Brewing Company in Philly makes a pretty tasty one called Brawler.
 
Mine too. Easily the best beer I brewed. Although I created my own recipe, I agree with everyone here saying mash high. I think I did 156-157. For a 2.9% beer you could hardly tell as all of the flavor was still there.

I wouldn't give up on milds just. The only one I have ever had is the one I brewed, and there is certainly a lot of room to experiment.

Oh, I'm not giving up:) I'm looking for tips for the re-brew because I'm going to try my hand at it again soon. Mashing higher sounds like the ticket for sure and maybe a very slight grain bill bump.
 
Just an update. This beer seems to have changed a lot now that I let it sit the full 3-4 weeks in the bottle. Definitely a really nice malt flavor and real easy drinker.

Not sure how it could get "thicker" by bottle conditioning, but it isn't as thin as it was before. The warmer I serve it, the more I like it.

Big fan of this style now and I'll be brewing it again soon.

It's also a really good "shutter down" beer at the end of a big night of drinking.:D
 
I noticed a similar trend with a light Irish Red. OG 1.036 FG 1.012. A week of bottling the beer was deinfately watery and lacked the roasted barley components that I was shooting for. But three weeks later it has definately rounded out, the mouthfeel is dramatically improved and the roasted barley is showing through. The flavor hops (0.5 oz fuggles at flameout) are finally making a noticeable presence.

Could this be similar to the longer conditioning times for stouts and porters, or any beer with darker malts?
 
I noticed the same thing when I brewed Orfy's Mild Mannered Ale. Both the body and flavors became fuller after a couple weeks of bottle conditioning. I also noticed this with a pale mild I brewed.
 
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