Dark English Milds are AMAZING

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iijakii

iijakii

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Never have had one before this homebrew. A few deep now and wowoweewow.

Did:
70% MO
14% C60
9% Pale Chocolate
7% Biscuit

Fuggles and Wyeast 1318.

1.035 OG, 1.010 FG, 18 IBU or so.

New favorite beer.

Anyways, what other dark session beers am I missing out on? Also first time Ive done pale chocolate... definitely going to experiment with it more. I hate regular chocolate malt with a passion so had stayed away based on name alone for awhile. Wonder what all victory with some pale would be like. Hmms. I need to go to England now and drink some beer.

Not sure what the point of this post is besides that Milds are fantastic. Agreed?
 
Chocolate rye is awesome too.

"Small" stouts and Vienna lagers are darker session beers that I like too
 
Finally someone speaking a language that I understand. That's not unlike my house Mild. A little more and a little darker crystal, and a little less pale chocolate, EKG, but with just a single bittering addition it doesn't matter much which you use. 1318 would be good in style for sure. But I absolutely adore the Thomas Fawcett pale chocolate malt.

Welcome to the club. Milds are easily my favorite style, followed by Bitters.

You might want to try a true low gravity Dry Stout, or a very low gravity/low attenuation Sweet Stout. Or you can do a lot of different things with Milds. Or go more of a dryer, hoppier English Brown (I haven't brewed it but I know I've seen a Hobgoblin clone on here that looked awesome).
 
iijakii said:
Never have had one before this homebrew. A few deep now and wowoweewow.

Did:
70% MO
14% C60
9% Pale Chocolate
7% Biscuit

Fuggles and Wyeast 1318.

1.035 OG, 1.010 FG, 18 IBU or so.

New favorite beer.

Anyways, what other dark session beers am I missing out on? Also first time Ive done pale chocolate... definitely going to experiment with it more. I hate regular chocolate malt with a passion so had stayed away based on name alone for awhile. Wonder what all victory with some pale would be like. Hmms. I need to go to England now and drink some beer.

Not sure what the point of this post is besides that Milds are fantastic. Agreed?
Click to expand...

Only had one dark mild so far. It was @psylocide 's iteration of @Qhrumphf 's "Sandy's mild breeze" and it was fecking great so it was. I assume it is a dark mild as it looked dark and was mild. It or something very similar has been on my to-brew-list for some time but we all know how those lists can grow exponentially.

Definitely need to make some to properly join the mild appreciation sub-group.
 
http://northernbrewer.blogspot.ca/2010/07/mild-ale.html?m=1

A good read to start.

Best part about miles is that they are easy to experiment with if you push them. 1.03-04 doesn't take long to ferment out and they are traditionally drank young. Easy on the cheque-book too!

Pick and brew a recipe, ready to drink in 10 days if you keg.

Don't like it? Pass it off on friends and family and tweak as desired.
 
That's great iijakii, I really like stouts, porters, and brown ales of all kinds, but I haven't had a mild yet. You have peaked my interest. Will have to brew one for sure!

John
 
jwalk4 said:
http://northernbrewer.blogspot.ca/2010/07/mild-ale.html?m=1

A good read to start.

Best part about miles is that they are easy to experiment with if you push them. 1.03-04 doesn't take long to ferment out and they are traditionally drank young. Easy on the cheque-book too!

Pick and brew a recipe, ready to drink in 10 days if you keg.

Don't like it? Pass it off on friends and family and tweak as desired.
Click to expand...

Hell, I've occasionally done 10-12 days cask or bottle. I could even cut it to 9 days if I really wanted to. My Pale Mild I started drinking at 12 days grain to glass, and that's bottle conditioned.
 
I have had only 1 mild on tap and it was fantastic. It is next on my home brew list. Anyone know of a good commercial mild?
 
Qhrumphf said:
Hell, I've occasionally done 10-12 days cask or bottle. I could even cut it to 9 days if I really wanted to. My Pale Mild I started drinking at 12 days grain to glass, and that's bottle conditioned.
Click to expand...

Mine was at FG in (under) 2 or 3 days. I let it go over a week before i kegged though because was busy. Next time will keg on day 4 or 5 Im sure.
 
TeamAshBrewing said:
I have had only 1 mild on tap and it was fantastic. It is next on my home brew list. Anyone know of a good commercial mild?
Click to expand...

Good commercial Milds are hard to find. Not sure what's available around you, but the only US-brewed Mild outside of some local tap/cask only places (ie that's available in bottles) that I'm aware of/have seen is Yard's Brawler. I've had a couple others passing themselves off as Milds that haven't been very good ones. If you were to find yourself in this area, Oliver's in Baltimore makes a damned good Mild (Dark Horse, I believe it's called). Mad Fox in Falls Church has Mason's Dark Mild that they may have changed the recipe because it used to be better. I haven't had it, but Brothers in Harrisonburg won a GABF medal with a Mild.

Imports, Hobson's Postman's Knock isn't bad, it's the only one I can get easily. Moorehouse Black Cat is to die for (my favorite, I've only see it one place on this side of the ocean, a bottle shop almost 3 hours away from me, but there's probably others that have it). Cain's Dark Mild is pretty tasty too but I haven't seen it in years. I don't remember the last time I had Brain's, but that was VERY good too.
 
iijakii said:
Mine was at FG in (under) 2 or 3 days. I let it go over a week before i kegged though because was busy. Next time will keg on day 4 or 5 Im sure.
Click to expand...

That's my usual experience. Usually at FG by day 3. I usually cask/bottle at about a week, and then 5 days conditioning prior to drinking. My normal yeast (1469) sometimes takes a little longer than other English strains to drop bright, and even at a week I'm usually racking bright beer out from underneath the kräusen, so I'm not in a hurry to go faster, but I could.
 
Talk about serving temps.

Super important in my opinion. Personally, I'd rather it closer to 60 than 40. 55 is ideal when I can get it.
 
I aim for 55°F, especially with cask. Too cold, and it's too carbonated and watery and bland. Too warm, and all the CO2 is gone immediately. 55°F at zero PSI/one ATM should be just a hair over 1 volume CO2, which is perfect. Thus is the beauty of real ale. I usually prime my casks (polypins) to 1.3-1.4 volumes and then vent them down with the spigot before placing in serving position to settle.
 
jwalk4 said:
Talk about serving temps.

Super important in my opinion. Personally, I'd rather it closer to 60 than 40. 55 is ideal when I can get it.
Click to expand...

Ill have to try that out. I have my keezer at about 44 right now. Perhaps Ill pour two pints and see how the second, warmer, one tastes :ban:
 
Wish I had a cask to try from. Dont think Ive ever even had a good cask ale. Most I see around town are just typical American IPAs but served via cask. Not sure if youve tried it, but warmer, flatter west coast IPAs arent that great.
 
Qhrumphf said:
Good commercial Milds are hard to find. Not sure what's available around you, but the only US-brewed Mild outside of some local tap/cask only places (ie that's available in bottles) that I'm aware of/have seen is Yard's Brawler. I've had a couple others passing themselves off as Milds that haven't been very good ones. If you were to find yourself in this area, Oliver's in Baltimore makes a damned good Mild (Dark Horse, I believe it's called). Mad Fox in Falls Church has Mason's Dark Mild that they may have changed the recipe because it used to be better. I haven't had it, but Brothers in Harrisonburg won a GABF medal with a Mild.

Imports, Hobson's Postman's Knock isn't bad, it's the only one I can get easily. Moorehouse Black Cat is to die for (my favorite, I've only see it one place on this side of the ocean, a bottle shop almost 3 hours away from me, but there's probably others that have it). Cain's Dark Mild is pretty tasty too but I haven't seen it in years. I don't remember the last time I had Brain's, but that was VERY good too.
Click to expand...

I honestly think it's because of yeast choice. S-04 and 002 just don't give the character of 013, 1318, or one of my faves 1028.
 
Funny you just posted this recipe I just started searching for info on a dark mild. Did you just do a bittering addition for the hops? I am going to try this with some hazelnut extract.
 
d3track said:
I honestly think it's because of yeast choice. S-04 and 002 just don't give the character of 013, 1318, or one of my faves 1028.
Click to expand...

Eh. I've done a Mild with 1968 (the Wyeast "equivalent" of 04/002 as I'm sure you're aware, with 002/1968 being pretty close and SO4 not as much), and it works, but it's not my favorite yeast for sure. I'm not particularly wild about Fullers beers or their ester character, plus that strain is obnoxious to work with sometimes since it drops so hard so fast. I've had more problems with that than the Dupont yeast.

Believe it or not, I've never actually brewed with 1318. My friend/former head brewer boss uses it as his house yeast for English and American beers, so I was about to start using it a lot if we both weren't tossed out before production started, but that's another story. I need to play more with 013/1028. But I adore 1469, so I'm not in a hurry to switch without a specific purpose.
 
Another dark session beer is a Bohemian dunkel. Black, sweet, malty and the one I had was 3.8% ABV.

Very roughly:
45% pilsner
45% munich
5% caramunich
5% carafa

Closest you`ll get to a lager mild.

My inauthentic mild was:
4kg Vienna (like it as a flavorful but less sweet alternative to English malts that aren`t sold in Korea)
90g Caramunich
100g Dark chocolate
130g Cara aroma

Added top off water to drive gravity down to 1.040

Fermented dry with US05 in the low 70`s to get a bit of tangy peach esters. English esters are nails on chalkboard for me for some reason.

Low percentage of crystal malt and high attentuation but cara aroma is damn potent so had some nice dark fruit and caramel taste with just a hint of roast without being mkre than a touch sweet.
 
Qhrumphf said:
Eh. I've done a Mild with 1968 (the Wyeast "equivalent" of 04/002 as I'm sure you're aware, with 002/1968 being pretty close and SO4 not as much), and it works, but it's not my favorite yeast for sure. I'm not particularly wild about Fullers beers or their ester character, plus that strain is obnoxious to work with sometimes since it drops so hard so fast. I've had more problems with that than the Dupont yeast.

Believe it or not, I've never actually brewed with 1318. My friend/former head brewer boss uses it as his house yeast for English and American beers, so I was about to start using it a lot if we both weren't tossed out before production started, but that's another story. I need to play more with 013/1028. But I adore 1469, so I'm not in a hurry to switch without a specific purpose.
Click to expand...

I think we are on the same page. Haven't used 1469, but the slight mineral hint in 1028 is something I really like. My current dark mild is with 013, which is almost an earthy/oak hint, and I was really surprised how much people enjoyed it, I think I converted some to being open about low ABV beers.
 
Was that a dark mild? I agree with Gavin's logic here, it was somewhat dark, it was mild. Dark mild?

Was really good. But the next time I do it, I'll have a keg of 13% RIS next to it so I don't kill it in a week or so.
 
beernut70 said:
Funny you just posted this recipe I just started searching for info on a dark mild. Did you just do a bittering addition for the hops? I am going to try this with some hazelnut extract.
Click to expand...

Yknow, I think I did a flameout too just because I had fuggles I was using up. Not too sure if that's to style or not. Perhaps it was a good idea because the aroma is awesome. Get the typical toasty/slightly chocolatey aromas from the grain with the earthiness of Fuggles in there.
 
Qhrumphf said:
Good commercial Milds are hard to find. Not sure what's available around you, but the only US-brewed Mild outside of some local tap/cask only places (ie that's available in bottles) that I'm aware of/have seen is Yard's Brawler. I've had a couple others passing themselves off as Milds that haven't been very good ones. If you were to find yourself in this area, Oliver's in Baltimore makes a damned good Mild (Dark Horse, I believe it's called). Mad Fox in Falls Church has Mason's Dark Mild that they may have changed the recipe because it used to be better. I haven't had it, but Brothers in Harrisonburg won a GABF medal with a Mild.

Imports, Hobson's Postman's Knock isn't bad, it's the only one I can get easily. Moorehouse Black Cat is to die for (my favorite, I've only see it one place on this side of the ocean, a bottle shop almost 3 hours away from me, but there's probably others that have it). Cain's Dark Mild is pretty tasty too but I haven't seen it in years. I don't remember the last time I had Brain's, but that was VERY good too.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the list. I have 2 bottle shops near by that may carry them.
 
I drink Brains Dark very regularly and it's an excellent session pint. The cask is 3.5% but the bottle is almost a different beer at a whopping 4.1%!

A different dark beer you might want to make is a small porter (like a 1940s style porter). Same gravity 1.030-1.038, but with roast flavours (e.g., black and brown malt) and higher bitterness (20-40 IBU). Dark mild often has no roast malts but uses dark sugars and caramel instead. More like a session dubbel than a weak porter.
 
Thwaites and Cains also make decent milds you might find around there. Banks mild could be good but I've not found it here.
 
You must have seen this list of grists. Some are more reliable than others but gives you an idea of how much caramel is needed to bring them to an opaque pint (all I've had, bar one, are around 25-35 SRM).

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56335
PS: just noticed BJCP lists them being 12-25SRM, which I think is very low. Brains Dark is the same colour as Fullers London Porter.
 
iijakii said:
I havent been able to find one anywhere on the best coast.
Click to expand...

If you ever make it down to L.A., be sure to hit MacLeod's. Amazing cask conditioned ales, specializing in old British brews. My favorite local bar! (Even though it's technically just a "tasting room") They sell bottles of some, but I'm not sure where... I think most is brewed and consumed on premises.

http://www.macleodale.com
 
jwalk4 said:
http://northernbrewer.blogspot.ca/2010/07/mild-ale.html?m=1

A good read to start.

Best part about miles is that they are easy to experiment with if you push them. 1.03-04 doesn't take long to ferment out and they are traditionally drank young. Easy on the cheque-book too!

Pick and brew a recipe, ready to drink in 10 days if you keg.

Don't like it? Pass it off on friends and family and tweak as desired.
Click to expand...

Jwalk, I used this very same recipe - did the red version first, then the brown. My wife and I love them both, the red was my first house beer...something to brew frequently and have dialed in to my equipment. Love the flavor from the Maris Otter, and being a 3.7-3.8% beer, my wife loves it (on the petite side - she'll enjoy a 7% beer, just not a whole pint of one).
 
KPBrews said:
If you ever make it down to L.A., be sure to hit MacLeod's. Amazing cask conditioned ales, specializing in old British brews. My favorite local bar! (Even though it's technically just a "tasting room") They sell bottles of some, but I'm not sure where... I think most is brewed and consumed on premises.

http://www.macleodale.com
Click to expand...

It's been on my list of places to hit, and definitely if I ever find myself in the LA area.

Definitely a lot of different ways to go with the style.
 
JKaranka said:
You must have seen this list of grists. Some are more reliable than others but gives you an idea of how much caramel is needed to bring them to an opaque pint (all I've had, bar one, are around 25-35 SRM).

http://www.jimsbeerkit.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=56335
PS: just noticed BJCP lists them being 12-25SRM, which I think is very low. Brains Dark is the same colour as Fullers London Porter.
Click to expand...

I don't know if I'd go 25-35. The ones I've had have been in that 20-25 range, solidly brown to dark brown but short of black. Same general range as Porters though, yes.
 
Jumping on the dark mild bandwagon. I love them and love brewing them. I have one in a fermenter right now that I brewed just this past Sunday. It fermented like a champ, pretty much finishing in 48hrs. Can't wait to drink it!
 
god damnit. add this to my list of crap I need to brew after the holidays.
I could literally start making this in the 25min it would take me to leave from work

now I just need to figure out how to cram +1lb of hops into it...
 
My non-traditional mild:
72% Munich I
7% Aromatic
7% Wheat
7% Chocolate
7% C80

20 IBU EKG @ 60, OG: 1.037
 

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