Mild-Mannered Ale Question

Howdy folks,

Just had a quick couple questions. I'm trying to put together a mild to brew this weekend. I've seen many members here raving about the mild mannered ale, but I noticed the grain bill is almost 20% crystal. In other threads I've read a lot of people were saying 15% is about the max for crystal, with anything beyond that making the brew super sweet. The consensus seems to be, though, that the mild mannered ale is delicious. Any thoughts on using this much crystal?

Also, today is May 1 and one of the reasons I'm choosing to brew a mild is because I've seen many people say they can reach drinkability earlier than other styles. I'm having my brother and his wife at our house for the weekend of May 24. Is it reasonable to expect to be able to drink a mild three weeks from brew day? I realize it won't be completely mature at that point, but I've seen a lot of references to milds having a short grain-to-glass period.

Thanks for your input!

Can't comment on the level of crystal as haven't made that recipe, my last mild had 15% crystal and seemed pretty nice.

If you're going to try for a short turn around I'd definitely recommend using WLP002 it will ferment quickly and flocculate out and leave a clear beer in that time frame.

There are pretty much no hard and fast rules about anything with brewing. It's like the Enlglish language; there are always exceptions, even if they're few.

The reason it works with the MMA is that the gravity is so low to begin with. You need something to build some kind of body in such a small beer, and a large amount of darkish crystal, along with the high mash temp, is the way to do it.

Thanks for the input. That makes a lot of sense. I did end up scaling back the crystal in my recipe to about 7% (at least I think that's what it was). you think that's too low for a mild? My expected FG is 1.006. I don't want it to be uber-thin, but I've already got my grains and I'm brewing tomorrow.

Would mashing at, say, 158 help me round out the body?

Any input on this 4-gallon BIAB recipe?

5 lb two-row
4 oz crystal 60
3 oz chocolate
2 oz special B

.5 oz Fuggles (5.1%) at 60
.5 oz Fuggles (5.1%) at 20

IBU 20
SRM 10

I'd mash around 156-158, depending upon yeast choice. Give it a try, and you know what you'll want to change for next time.

Generally speaking, crystal percentages are often suggested to be kept low-ish due to residual sweetness they may impart. As with everything in brewing, it's a balancing act for the type of beer you intend on making. A Mild ale uses so little malt in the grist that you are bound to get a dry, crisp, low body end product. A lot of the sweetness of a beer comes from the base malt (like in IPAs) but since a Mild uses so little you need to, in essence, "make up for it". To counteract these attributes, as was mentioned above, a higher-than-typical amount of crystal is used as well as a higher mash temperature. If you don't have enough body and sweetness in a beer then you're simply drinking lightly-flavored, carbonated water

I would not aim for less than about 12% crystal but using the full amount the recipe calls for is perfectly acceptable in this beer. You still won't get a sweet, full-bodied beer - you simply don't have the amount of grain needed for that.

You also need to take into consideration your yeast choice. If you go with Notty then using the full amount of crystal and mash temp is advantageous, but if you go with a low attenuator like 1968, 1469, S04 then you might reconsider the high mash temp by a few degrees.

BTW, you have basically 3 weeks to have a beer ready to drink. If you're doing bottles then you'll be lucky to have it ready by then. If you're kegging then you have plenty of time for MANY styles of beer (ESB, APA, IPA, cream, blonde, browns, amber, wheat, wit, etc) - even some higher gravity if you wanted.

I make a lot of milds because they are wonderfully simple, refreshing and easy to drink.
You can definitely be drinking beer in less than 3 weeks if you keg and force carb (not that you want a lot of carbonation)

I usually do add a little crystal but, take a look at my recipe for Marley's Mild. My own recipe that ended up winning in the English ale catergory at my local competition. The interesting point is there is no crystal at all. It has a nice, nutty flavor instead. Milds run a surprisingly large range in flavor profiles if you research it. Enjoy.

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f67/marleys-mild-1st-place-english-ale-fermentationland-homebrew-competition-aha-464920/

I brew lots of mild, I rarely go past 10%. Just preference. So broad a style. Some like to mash high, add heaps of crystal for lots of body. I actually don't mind if it's not thick and chewy, and mash right in the middle , not hot, not cool. Highly drinkable beer, with lots of flavour. I've done heaps of crystal, right down to no crystal, just a little black and pale choc. All nice beers.

Had some yesterday on a beer engine at our brew club get together. Mild ale and a hand pump work so well together.

Oh, 10% biscuit or wey abbey malt adds a nice toasty/nutty flavour.

Looking forward to brewing this. One question - does all that grist go in the boil, or is some supposed to be steeped separately? Cheers