Dark Mild Sandy's Mild Breeze (English Mild)

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Qhrumphf

Stay Rude, Stay Rebel, Stay SHARP
HBT Supporter
Joined
Apr 2, 2011
Messages
16,947
Reaction score
6,950
Location
Arlington (DC)
Recipe Type
All Grain
Yeast
Wyeast 1968 London ESB
Yeast Starter
N/A
Batch Size (Gallons)
5
Original Gravity
1.038
Final Gravity
1.010
Boiling Time (Minutes)
60
IBU
20.5
Color
17.6
Primary Fermentation (# of Days & Temp)
21 days 66*F
Tasting Notes
Dark, chocolatey, toasty, smooth, a little roasty astringency on the back.
Had originally planned a different name, but considering that this was brewed during Hurricane Sandy, I had to name it appropriately (and sarcastically).

Single infusion mash at 156 for 60 mins. Brewed BIAB, partial boil, and sparged up to preboil volume of 4.9 gallons. With my equipment boils down to just over 4 gallons over 60 minutes, then topped off to reach correct OG (targeted volume of 5 gallons). Adjust hopping accordingly if you're doing a full boil.

4 lbs 8.0 oz Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 72.0 %
10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.0 %
8.0 oz Biscuit Malt (23.0 SRM) Grain 3 8.0 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.0 %
4.0 oz Chocolate Malt (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.0 %
1.00 oz Fuggles [4.80 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 20.5 IBUs
1.0 pkg London ESB Ale (Wyeast Labs #1968) [124.21 ml] Yeast 7 -

Beer Profile

Measured Original Gravity: 1.038 SG
Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.7 %
Bitterness: 20.5 IBUs
Est Color: 17.6 SRM
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A very slightly tweaked version, and adjusted to full boil on different equipment with higher efficiency. Mash temp upped to 157. The differences are subtle, the most noticeable being the yeast character, but I prefer version number two.

4 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.6 %
10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.9 %
8.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 3 8.7 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.5 %
4.0 oz Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.3 %
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 18.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast 7 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.036 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.036 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.0 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.4 %
Bitterness: 18.1 IBUs Calories: 118.1 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 17.7 SRM
 
The first recipe came out fantastic, one of the best beers I've done. Malty, lots of bready and toasty between the Maris Otter and Biscuit, some fruity notes from the 120L. Fairly chocolaty, a little bit of roast on the back end. Pretty standard English yeast character. Medium light body, balanced malty but pretty dry, the roasty endnote probably helps with that.

The second is still conditioning and needs another week or two in the bottles to finish carbonating, but from the sampling I've done, it's a touch maltier, with the malt flavors essentially the same. The hop character is pretty much identical, but the yeast character is noticeably different. I don't know how to describe the 1469 esters, but I love 'em, and am using it as a house strain for every English styled beer I do.

Photo number one is batch number one. Worth noting that with my cell phone in my apartment, beer always looks darker than it is. A clear dark brown, not so much black. It looks darker than 17-18 SRM, but that's what it was calculated at. Photo two is the current batch, more indicative of actual color and clarity.

tumblr_mgni3m9g1H1rw113ho1_500.jpg


20130823_154937[1].jpg
 
Excellent, thanks for all the information & tasting notes! I may give one of these a shot as I start brewing up some Mild's soon.
 
You're welcome. If you end up brewing one of them, let me know what you think.

FYI if you haven't used 1469 before, despite what Wyeast says it takes forever to flocc and works slower than other English yeasts, although it does drop bright eventually. It also tends to leave a krausen layer sticking up top for a while even after the beer beneath has pretty much dropped clear. At least it does it with me every time, and others have reported similar experiences.
 
Most recent version. Some US ingredients swapped for UK ingredients, mash upped to 158, and hopping adjusted for some abnormally high %AA hops.


4 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 7 68.1 %
10.0 oz Crystal Light - 45L (Crisp) (45.0 SRM) Grain 8 10.6 %
8.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 9 8.5 %
6.0 oz Crystal, Dark - 150L (Muntons) (150.0 SRM) Grain 10 6.4 %
6.0 oz Pale Chocolate (Thomas Fawcett) (215.0 SRM) Grain 11 6.4 %
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 12 16.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast 13 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.034 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 2.8 %
Bitterness: 16.9 IBUs
Est Color: 18.2 SRM

And target mash water profile:
Ca 65
Mg 11
Na 31
SO4 43
Cl 89
HCO3 107
 
Brewed this one up yesterday, wort taste and smell is fantastic. Chocolate, bread, roast coffee. I only had the Dingemans regular chocolate available, so I scaled that back by 2 oz... good brew day, hit 1.035, stuck to the side in the pic. Just wanted to show the color.


IMG_3424.jpg
 
This is done and tastes afarkingmazing.

Might keg it up tomorrow, this just needs cold and carb. Roasty, smooth, coffee and toffee... but nice and light. Awesome.

I mashed at 159° to try and land it at 1.013 and nailed it.



IMG_3440.jpg
 
Yep. And you can drink it all day long. Do yourself a favor if you're kegging it, and carb it nice and low. I wouldn't go higher than 2 volumes. If you have the ability, prime in the cask to 1.4 volumes, and hook it up to a beer engine on the beer out and cask breather on gas in and use your keg as a pin. If I could, that's what I would do, but I have to settle for polypins. I do 2 volumes in bottles and 1.4-1.5 volumes in polypins for cask. Cask is the best for it by a wide margin.

And yeah, it's usually done fast. For me, it usually wraps up fermentation in about 72 hours, and is often ready to cask by 5 days. I usually give it 10-14 days for good measure, but it ferments and conditions super quick.
 
Yeah... I experienced almost no krausen and it was dropping clear by day 3.

I can tell that this doesn't need much carb, so I'll just hook it up at like 4-5 psi and see how it comes out. Really my only option. Was good warm and flat though.
 
Thought I'd post an update since I've been drinking the bejeezus out of this.

Awesome flavor and nice mouthfeel for such a light beer. Subtly sweet, chocolate, biscuit, bready notes, roasty finish. Just awesome. I'll be brewing this somewhat regularly, I have a feeling.

I've served it to 5 other people and all feed back has been extremely positive, great beer. Thanks for the recipe.


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Thanks for sharing this one... Just racked to a keg after 8 days (only cuz I need the fermenter tomorrow), and it is tasting great already... This will be the perfect easy drinking beer after a long day at a craft beer festival on the 26th.
 
Hah. Glad to see this is starting to make the rounds. And yes, it goes down fast. When I put it on cask I can literally kill it in 5 nights, a gallon a night. I could easily put it in a proper sized pin instead of polypins and kill it all in one or two nights, but the wife would get mad :mug:
 
Hah. Glad to see this is starting to make the rounds. And yes, it goes down fast. When I put it on cask I can literally kill it in 5 nights, a gallon a night. I could easily put it in a proper sized pin instead of polypins and kill it all in one or two nights, but the wife would get mad :mug:

Great Recipe Great Beer. Had the pleasure of sampling some of @Psylocide 's

Gotta make some myself. Added to the list. Thanks for the recipe @Qhrumphf

thumb_DSC04026_1024.jpg


thumb_DSC04027_1024.jpg
 
A very slightly tweaked version, and adjusted to full boil on different equipment with higher efficiency. Mash temp upped to 157. The differences are subtle, the most noticeable being the yeast character, but I prefer version number two.

4 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 1 69.6 %
10.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 40L (40.0 SRM) Grain 2 10.9 %
8.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 3 8.7 %
6.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L (120.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.5 %
4.0 oz Chocolate (Briess) (350.0 SRM) Grain 5 4.3 %
0.75 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 18.1 IBUs
1.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast 7 -

Beer Profile

Est Original Gravity: 1.036 SG Measured Original Gravity: 1.036 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG Measured Final Gravity: 1.010 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 3.0 % Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.4 %
Bitterness: 18.1 IBUs Calories: 118.1 kcal/12oz
Est Color: 17.7 SRM

Brewing this soon. Is this the recipe I should use?
 
Brewing this soon. Is this the recipe I should use?






Most recent version. Some US ingredients swapped for UK ingredients, mash upped to 158, and hopping adjusted for some abnormally high %AA hops.


4 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 7 68.1 %
10.0 oz Crystal Light - 45L (Crisp) (45.0 SRM) Grain 8 10.6 %
8.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 9 8.5 %
6.0 oz Crystal, Dark - 150L (Muntons) (150.0 SRM) Grain 10 6.4 %
6.0 oz Pale Chocolate (Thomas Fawcett) (215.0 SRM) Grain 11 6.4 %
0.50 oz Goldings, East Kent [7.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 12 16.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast 13 -

Est Original Gravity: 1.034 SG
Est Final Gravity: 1.013 SG
Estimated Alcohol by Vol: 2.8 %
Bitterness: 16.9 IBUs
Est Color: 18.2 SRM

And target mash water profile:
Ca 65
Mg 11
Na 31
SO4 43
Cl 89
HCO3 107

This is the final version. The differences between all three are pretty subtle though.
 
This is the final version. The differences between all three are pretty subtle though.


Awesome I'm heading to the LHBS today to get the stuff. Any other acceptable yeast if he doesn't have 1469 or 1968 in stock?
 
Awesome I'm heading to the LHBS today to get the stuff. Any other acceptable yeast if he doesn't have 1469 or 1968 in stock?

I'd be surprised if they didn't have 1968/002 in stock. Definitely go for the 1469 if they have it though.

Failing either, I could see WLP023 Burton/1275 Thames working, or 1318 London Ale III.
 
I'd be surprised if they didn't have 1968/002 in stock. Definitely go for the 1469 if they have it though.



Failing either, I could see WLP023 Burton/1275 Thames working, or 1318 London Ale III.


Well be surprised. He's out of both. Would S04 work?
 
Hah. Wow. SO4 is close enough to 1968 that I'd say go for it. There really isn't another yeast like 1469 that I've ever found, so it won't be the same beer, but it should still be tasty.
 
Hah. Wow. SO4 is close enough to 1968 that I'd say go for it. There really isn't another yeast like 1469 that I've ever found, so it won't be the same beer, but it should still be tasty.


So my options are S04 or 1335. I'm going with whatever you recommend.
 
I've still never had a mild, think I'll add this one to the to-brew list. Looks great and I've really come around to ~4% beers. Too refreshing. Only downside is you can kick a keg in a week or two...
 
I've still never had a mild, think I'll add this one to the to-brew list. Looks great and I've really come around to ~4% beers. Too refreshing. Only downside is you can kick a keg in a day or two...


Ftfy
 
Never used 1335, but some searching suggests Adnams yeast, and I like their beers, so I say give it a shot.


I'll do it. I always like working with new yeast. Thanks for all the help. I'm brewing this for when a bunch of family gets here in about a month for my son's baptism. I figure we should be able to put a pretty good dent in the keg, if not just finish it all together.
 
I'll do it. I always like working with new yeast. Thanks for all the help. I'm brewing this for when a bunch of family gets here in about a month for my son's baptism. I figure we should be able to put a pretty good dent in the keg, if not just finish it all together.

See previous comments. I can easily, EASILY kill a 5th of a keg's worth on my own casually drinking over an afternoon or evening.
 
See previous comments. I can easily, EASILY kill a 5th of a keg's worth on my own casually drinking over an afternoon or evening.


K one last thought here then I'll quit messing up the thread.....in your opinion how would this beer work as a base for something with Brett/lacto?
 
K one last thought here then I'll quit messing up the thread.....in your opinion how would this beer work as a base for something with Brett/lacto?

I've never done Brett w/ a Mild, and historically Mild was what you had BEFORE the bugs got to it (while still young and fresh). I have done Brett w/ a Bitter, and it came out very well. However the character is completely different. I've thought about trying it myself.
 
I've never done Brett w/ a Mild, and historically Mild was what you had BEFORE the bugs got to it (while still young and fresh). I have done Brett w/ a Bitter, and it came out very well. However the character is completely different. I've thought about trying it myself.


I'll have to do it down the road. But I did get the stuff to brew this on Monday.
 
So I brewed this up yesterday and totally missed my mash temp (152 instead of 158) since I forgot to pre heat my mash tun. And I was shooting for 1.035 and got 1.039. Got it fermenting at 64 with Wyeast 1335 right now. I'll post a pic and some feedback once it's kegged.
 
So I brewed this up yesterday and totally missed my mash temp (152 instead of 158) since I forgot to pre heat my mash tun. And I was shooting for 1.035 and got 1.039. Got it fermenting at 64 with Wyeast 1335 right now. I'll post a pic and some feedback once it's kegged.

If you're not used to small beers, you'll get an unexpected jump in efficiency. You actually have to be careful about oversparging.

You'll end up stronger and drier, which is more akin to the commercial Milds exported into the US. Nothing wrong with that.
 
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