British Mild.

Also, the longer (than 60 minutes) you let the mash sit, even at 158, the drier the beer will finish. The beta will continue to work, albeit slower. I think for this style of beer where you want a rounder, sweeter finish, you should mash high and sparge once you have conversion.

jmiracle said:

Is there a brand of LME you could use in an extract Mild that would help get the Marris Otter-type flavors? I've only used Northern Brewer LME and Munton's up to this point (in other recipes, haven't brewed a mild at all yet). I'm looking to make one soon and I was wondering if a specific LME brand would make a difference versus generic light LME or DME.

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Some places sell Maris Otter extract if I am not mistaken.

You may find a maris otter LME or you can use a speciality malt that you can steep to add the extra something you want.

MO extract is available at www.williamsbrewing.com Made a really great IPA with it a few years ago.

B3's MO LME is on backorder (B3 MO LME BO?), but William's is reporting in-stock for immediate delivery. Then there's the John Bull MO LME in tins; presumably not as fresh, but YMMV.

Next time round, I'm thinking of doing a partial mash with mild ale malt for the base malt, along with a touch of black malt for colour, instead of my recipe as it now stands. We shall see.

I am a huge fan of session beers! Good to see we're not all brewing IIPA, RIS and barleywine.

Cheers,

Bob

Appoligies if this has already been mentioned but this is quite a long thread to read through.

Often people incorrectly think milds should be low in abv, this is just completely wrong . It is true that more recent versions of milds have been fairly low in alcohol but then it wasn't that long ago that some more devious publicans would return the slops back to the mild barrel hoping the punters wouldn't notice until measures were put in place to stop that happening.

Milds are so called because by comparison to pale ales and bitters then are sweeter and low in hop bitterness. Sarah Huges Dark Ruby is a traditional mild with an abv of 6% made with 90% marris otter, 10% crystal (probably 80), mashed warm at 153 deg c with 30 ibus coming from goldings and fuggles. It's not a session beer but it is a cracking beer none the less

In regard to the short, high temp mashing, I haven't done it myself (yet), but I have heard of several brewers practicing this technique, or a variation of it.

Some reading on the topic:

http://probrewer.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=18524

I am thinking a 158 degree, 30 minute mash (properly acidified), plus nottingham yeast, will yield a reasonable extract, and reasonable attenuation. (Assuming over-modified malts, in my case US Domestic 2-row pale)

I will need to give it a try....

Most modern milds tend to be around 3.5%
Like all beers they evolve.

They are becoming rare in the UK pubs and hard to find in some places.

Milds are making a come back Orfy and becoming more popular. Over the coming years I wouldn't be supprised if we don't see more of them being produced by the Micro's and traditional breweries at more traditional abvs, particularly with the current hop shortage.

What might change though is how they are labled with, the term mild being dropped from the pump clips and bottles, this is a trend that is already happening, presumably in an attempt to shake the cloth cap and whippet image and the memories of stale beer being served from the hand pump due to the mild barrels containing a cocktail of slops and low quality beer.

Protz's 300 beers to try before you die contains around 14 milds, all still in production and popular today. Hobsons Mild has been named Champion Beer of Britain at Camra's 2007 Great British Beer Festival.

Nottingham and a bit higher mash temp makes for some mighty fine maltiness.

Little off topic but close to the category, I've been spending the last many months working on getting the session ale down in various forms. Really been digging on Orfy's Single Malt Single Hop pictorial and going in that direction. I've done it with Marris Otter and East Kent Golding and Fuggles, American 2 row and Amarillo, Centennial, Liberty and Cascade.

I suppose a person could specify the era of Mild he/she wanted to achieve -- a pre-war mild, a post-WW2 mild, a Reformation-Era mild from when "mild" meant "young," not "bland."

Still, though, I can't subscribe to the theory that the beer that got North London through the Marshall Plan era isn't "authentic" mild beer ... surely there's room in the category for modern as well as historical versions of the tipple.

Someone, to whom I owe an enormous debt of gratitude, pointed me the other day to the Jamal Show on milds. I found it extremely helpful. Amongst other things, it caused me to realize that the "mild" I'd cooked up the previous day was probably going to taste insipid and awful, although I'll still drink it and like it because it's my first-ever all-grain batch. Here's a link to the archives, and the "Mild" podcast is about four screens down -- just click on it and it'll start playing.

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/archive.php

cheers!

--Finn

BobNQ3X said:

I am a huge fan of session beers! Good to see we're not all brewing IIPA, RIS and barleywine.

Cheers,

Bob

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You can do both. My last batch was a parti-gyle brew. The first runnings became an 1.104 (with a little help from some molasses) Old Ale/English Barleywine that will be aged until Christmas or so. The batch sparge runnings became 6.5 gallons of very nice 1.039 Mild that should be ready to drink next week. Same grain bill, different hops and yeasts, very different beers.

Chad

orfy said:

Most modern milds tend to be around 3.5%
Like all beers they evolve.

They are becoming rare in the UK pubs and hard to find in some places.

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That stinks, but at least its not like the US where they've gone from nonexistent to rare...

orfy said:

I might of drank a pint or hundred of the stuff.



Mild around here is dark, roasty and at the lower end of the ABV range and with a very slight sweetness.

This is my recipe.
To Convert to Extract and grain use the equivalent DME or LME instead of the MO grain.

Mild Mannered Ale

3.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
0.75 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett)
0.15 kg Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett)
30.00 gm Fuggles [4.50%] (45 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
30.00 gm Fuggles [4.50%] (15 min) Hops 8.2 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

ABV 3.6
IBU 23 (Top end of range)

Mash High.

Notes: ------ A classic northern dark mild like my Granddad used to drink.

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Just made this one today, one of the best smelling mashes I have ever done. It was nice to do a small beer for once, was done in 3 hours start to finish.

Let us know how it turns out Ryanh1801 - I am planning on brewing orfy's mild also (extract version, though) so would love to know your results

I made Orfy's recipe on monday and I agree with Ryanh1801 - that was one great smelling (and tasting!) mash! I was going to bottle this one but I think it will actually be hitting a keg, I want it on tap as I think I'll be going through it fairly quickly.

I'm going to break my SMaSH routine to do this one again.

Took a hydro of mine tonight siting right at 1.012, tasted pretty damn good. Planing on bottling this one up next week.

Well , after quaffing down an IPA and a stout I was in the mood for something....less filling...with taste and allow me to wake up easily at 5:45AM tomorrow. I had nothing. So after reading all of your post I think I will attempt this brew. Since I am only at partial mash stage I will play with the recipe a little to make this happen. It really does sound like an excellent addition to the keezer. Thanks guys, Charlie
PS will report as it ferments

barnettcb said:

Let us know how it turns out Ryanh1801 - I am planning on brewing orfy's mild also (extract version, though) so would love to know your results

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Drinking one right now... Its young and very good. This is gonna become a regularly brewed beer around my house. Thanks orfy!!!

Ryahn, dish the dirt. How long in primary and secondary (if used)? If I like Orfy's Mild as much as I think I'm going to, it may become a house brew of mine.

I just kegged up my batch the other day, that stuff is tasty! It'll be a fairly regular brew in my kegerator I think. I'm also going to have to look more into mild ales, I've ignored them until now for some reason (I'm a stout-aholic is the actual reason ).

Nurmey said:

Ryahn, dish the dirt. How long in primary and secondary (if used)? If I like Orfy's Mild as much as I think I'm going to, it may become a house brew of mine.

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I just did 10 days, in the primary. I think. Its only been in the bottle for a few days. As I said its really young, but with such a low OG. its gonna be ready to drink fast.

Ryanh1801 said:

I just did 10 days, in the primary. I think. Its only been in the bottle for a few days. As I said its really young, but with such a low OG. its gonna be ready to drink fast.

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Sooo... how did it end up tasting after the additional time??

barnettcb said:

Sooo... how did it end up tasting after the additional time??

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Very good. It got all of my friends approval, this weekend. It has a ton of flavor for such a small beer. Ill be brewing it again.

orfy said:

I might of drank a pint or hundred of the stuff.



Mild around here is dark, roasty and at the lower end of the ABV range and with a very slight sweetness.

This is my recipe.
To Convert to Extract and grain use the equivalent DME or LME instead of the MO grain.

Mild Mannered Ale

3.00 kg Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM)
0.75 kg Crystal Malt - 60L (Thomas Fawcett)
0.15 kg Chocolate Malt (Thomas Fawcett)
30.00 gm Fuggles [4.50%] (45 min) Hops 15.1 IBU
30.00 gm Fuggles [4.50%] (15 min) Hops 8.2 IBU
1 Pkgs Nottingham (Danstar #-) Yeast-Ale

ABV 3.6
IBU 23 (Top end of range)

Mash High.

Notes: ------ A classic northern dark mild like my Granddad used to drink.

Click to expand...

I might just have to try a variation of this recipe for PM. i need a new tasty to have in the keg...my last bitter was ok, but not as good as i would've liked.
thanks, orfy

DeathBrewer said:

I might just have to try a variation of this recipe for PM. i need a new tasty to have in the keg...my last bitter was ok, but not as good as i would've liked.
thanks, orfy

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Make a double batch if you can. This stuff is REALLY tasty. I only tapped my keg a week ago and it's over half empty already.

thanks for the advice my goal is to make a recipe that i can brew about once every week or two and keg quickly and force carbonate, so i always have a light session brew on hand.

i think i'll have to go with a different hops. i'm short on fuggle and have plans for other recipes. willamette would work, no? i can get plenty of that.

i want to brew this tonight, but i like to put it through promash before i brew anything. let's give my skills a shot...i was thinking something like:

1.5 lbs Muntons Light LME (i have some of this on hand...if not enough, i can make up with Light DME)
3.0 lbs Marris Otter
0.5 lbs Wheat Malt
1.5 lbs Crystal 40L (my usual)
6.0 oz Chocolate Malt

0.75 ounce (5%AA) Willamette at 60 min
0.75 ounce (5%AA) Willamette at 20 min

nottingham yeast, of course...does that sound ok?

thread hijacked :cross:

I'd have to run it through myself to see how the gravity works out, but I'll take your word for it. I'd maybe drop the wheat and go with 3.5lbs of MO if it were me.

Willamette is an American version of Fuggles so it should work great. I think your second addition was supposed to be at 15 minutes though or that's going to be a pretty bitter mild.

lol, oops...i meant 20 minutes.

/fixed

DeathBrewer said:

i was thinking something like:

1.5 lbs Muntons Light LME (i have some of this on hand...if not enough, i can make up with Light DME)
3.0 lbs Marris Otter
0.5 lbs Wheat Malt
1.5 lbs Crystal 40L (my usual)
6.0 oz Chocolate Malt

0.75 ounce (5%AA) Willamette at 60 min
0.75 ounce (5%AA) Willamette at 20 min

nottingham yeast, of course...does that sound ok?

thread hijacked :cross:

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I am also going to make a PM of this. I will stop by the LHBS tonight. I was going with:

2.0lbs Amer. 2 row
1.0 lbs Caramel 60L
0.5 lbs victory
0.25 lbs Choc malt
I also contemplated some carapils but thought it might make the body too thick for this style.
3.0 LBS DME light
1 oz Fug 45min
0.5 oz Fug 10 min
Yeast: I was going w/ Irish ale yeast because I can use some from an ESB that will be going to a secondary tonight. Is this a bad idea as I have some Nottingham packs(but I am cheap).

What do you guys think about the victory malt in this. I like the malty flavor of it but it might not be appropriate for this style.

balto charlie said:

I am also going to make a PM of this. I will stop by the LHBS tonight. I was going with:

2.0lbs Amer. 2 row
1.0 lbs Caramel 60L
0.5 lbs victory
0.25 lbs Choc malt
I also contemplated some carapils but thought it might make the body too thick for this style.
3.0 LBS DME light
1 oz Fug 45min
0.5 oz Fug 10 min
Yeast: I was going w/ Irish ale yeast because I can use some from an ESB that will be going to a secondary tonight. Is this a bad idea as I have some Nottingham packs(but I am cheap).

What do you guys think about the victory malt in this. I like the malty flavor of it but it might not be appropriate for this style.

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Since you're not using an english pale ale malt the victory will help you get back some of the toasty/biscuity flavour you'll be missing - though I would cut back from a half pound a bit. I wouldn't use an irish ale yeast on this though, I think you'll find it will leave far too much residual sweetness (it will have all the sweetness it needs with the crystal malt). Save the irish ale yeast cake and pitch a stout or something on it.

bradsul said:

Since you're not using an english pale ale malt the victory will help you get back some of the toasty/biscuity flavour you'll be missing - though I would cut back from a half pound a bit. I wouldn't use an irish ale yeast on this though, I think you'll find it will leave far too much residual sweetness (it will have all the sweetness it needs with the crystal malt). Save the irish ale yeast cake and pitch a stout or something on it.

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So if I get MO malt I should drop the Victory malt? Going to LBS after work. Funny you should mention the stout as that was also in the plans for this wknd. I think you gave me info on flaked barley last week. Okay on the yeast. I'll use the Nott.

balto charlie said:

So if I get MO malt I should drop the Victory malt? Going to LBS after work. Funny you should mention the stout as that was also in the plans for this wknd. I think you gave me info on flaked barley last week. Okay on the yeast. I'll use the Nott.

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If you can get a maris otter extract I would drop the victory, but if you're only replacing the 2-row with it I would still keep the victory, you won't get a ton of flavour from such a small amount (it's a base malt after all).

bradsul said:

If you can get a maris otter extract I would drop the victory, but if you're only replacing the 2-row with it I would still keep the victory, you won't get a ton of flavour from such a small amount (it's a base malt after all).

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Thanks I was going to replace the 2 row with it. I'll look for the extract tho' I don't think my LBS has it. I already have some victory. 2 Brews coming up this weekend and an Easter egg hunt:rockin: I'll let you know how they turn out. (the brews not the hunt..uless you want to know Charlie

Well I made mine. I had to change the recipe a bit(OK a lot:cross. So may not be true to style but it's damn close. Did smell great while mashing.

The recipe:
2lbs dark LME
3lbs MO barley(mashed 1 hr. @ 70C/158F)
1lb Biscuit malt(too much??)
.75oz UK Whitbread Goldings leaf, 6.0AA(45 min)
.50 oz Fuggles leaf 5.4AA(15Min)
1 pack Nottingham ale yeast

I used the dark extract instead of lite extract. The dark was made w/ caramel and black patent not caramel and chocolate . This will make a bit of a difference. I used it because it had to be used since it was recently opened and partially used in another batch(stout on Friday). I didn't have enough Fuggles so went with the WG. I have never used this type of hops before but figured it was time. My OG was good for the style but lower than I expected at 1.033. I was thinking 1.39(or so). Maybe a better crush or longer mash time. Anyway I can't wait to try it, especially if it is ready in 3 weeks. This sucker had krausen formed w/in 5 hrs!! Impressive yeast, to say the least. Thanks for all of your help, next time I'll stay truer to form. Charlie

Booth S04 and windsor would be good for this style and they have the added convience of coming dried.
I'll have to try a batch of sarah hughes ruby mild, had it at a beer festival and it is sublime.

This has been a real winner at my house.. Everyone that has tried it has really liked it. I think BMC people like it cause its a dark beer that is easy drinking. Im going to get another one going again, it goes fast. Would I be out of style if I added a little flaked wheat?

In addition to the reading Orfy links above, I highly recommend Mild Ale: History, Brewing, Techniques, Recipes by Dave Sutula. It only has a few recipes (including historical ones) but the overall book is excellent if you're interested in Mild as a style.

If you want to brew a mild for a BJCP competition definitely do not follow a number of the recipes in this book as they are not along current guidelines.