Dark English Milds are AMAZING
- Thread starter iijakii
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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.
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.
KPBrews
Well-Known Member
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
mikeasu
Well-Known Member
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).
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.
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.
![Craft A Brew - Safale BE-256 Yeast - Fermentis - Belgian Ale Dry Yeast - For Belgian & Strong Ales - Ingredients for Home Brewing - Beer Making Supplies - [3 Pack]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51bcKEwQmWL._SL500_.jpg)
shanecb
Well-Known Member
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...
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...
Here is a picture of what I'm used to in commercial milds. Just short of black but definitively darker than brown:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/monoport/7957846188
BGBC
Well-Known Member
My non-traditional mild:
72% Munich I
7% Aromatic
7% Wheat
7% Chocolate
7% C80
20 IBU EKG @ 60, OG: 1.037
72% Munich I
7% Aromatic
7% Wheat
7% Chocolate
7% C80
20 IBU EKG @ 60, OG: 1.037
Like I said, don't remember the last time I had Brain's, but yeah, that's certainly darker than a 25. The ones I've had usually aren't quite that dark (that I can recall at least). Of course you have more access to them than we do.
I just checked the other dark milds I have access to, and they are pretty dark:
Thwaites Nutty Black (this one has national distribution)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oubykh/8016023787/
Rhymney Dark (local)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35633558@N06/3365343328/
Cains Dark Mild (national distribution)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/oubykh/4446417620/
Brains Dark (local but with national distribution, I think)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/35633558@N06/3473688933/
I have to say that the palest dark mild I ever have had is Pig on the Wall by Black Country Ales. I had it on Tuesday and it surprised me I could see through the pint (it was a very dark brown). Picture here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27045884@N05/14311115751/
There's my photographic evidence suggesting BJCP might have their SRM a bit on the low side :fro:
I even have a theory behind it: most US brewers will have copied the grists of the dark milds but ignored the sugar and caramel additions, which probably account for around 10SRM.
OP
OP
iijakii
Well-Known Member
You have a good recipe JK? After seeing those darker versions I'm thinking of next time upping the pale chocolate, maybe lowering the crystal a bit.
As they say, more dark better good.
As they say, more dark better good.
I would consider going the other way around. Mine isn't particularly traditional, however evolved into what it is after years of BJCP judges saying "it's not sweet enough" likely never having had a real Mild which are usually quite dry. Rather than upping the pale chocolate, use some dark invert syrup, like you would in a Belgian.
Also there's this thread where @JKaranka and myself, along with a few others are regular posters. By no means Mild-specific, but there's quite a few recipes for English ales peppered in there, Milds included.
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=472464
https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=472464
Yeah, dark invert sugar syrup but in a small amount (2-8oz). Look at what Thwaites do: pale malt, crystal, patent or chocolate malt, invert sugar syrup and then brewers' caramel for colour. That's fairly much the way to go. They range from dry to slightly sweet but they shouldn't come out sickly / malty.
I think pretty much all of them must have 10SRM of brewers' caramel added in the fermentor, as nothing else can explain the colour in the taste.
I think pretty much all of them must have 10SRM of brewers' caramel added in the fermentor, as nothing else can explain the colour in the taste.
I'll have to defend the BJCP here, and say I would put all of those in that ~25 SRM range, and if they're darker than that it's not significantly. And the guidelines do indicate that paler Milds are rare, and most examples are dark.
You made me cross the road to check what a pint of mild looks like! 
You can see a light through on the narrow end of the glass but not the top. I'd agree on very dark brown to ruby, just short of ruby black. Smooth, dry, hint of bitterness and more of a dark malt fruitiness than roast.
You can see a light through on the narrow end of the glass but not the top. I'd agree on very dark brown to ruby, just short of ruby black. Smooth, dry, hint of bitterness and more of a dark malt fruitiness than roast.
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iijakii
Well-Known Member
I'll pull a pint of mine at lunch time I guess. Just for picture purposes of course.
I love that last picture. Great looking beer and a great way to capture the very pedestrian and relaxed atmosphere in this pub.
Rolling, green Yorkshire hills, the noise of leather on willow in the distance, interspersed with the occasional interjection... "Two pints and a packet of scratchins please luv!
Maybe not.
This is the mild I had previously mentioned. Looks a very similar color to your pictures.
It's definitely a little paler. About 20 SRM. Of course, that's nothing on the Pale Mild I've got now, that's more like 10 SRM.
OP
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iijakii
Well-Known Member
Taking one for the team and came home for lunch to have a mild with my pasta. Too bad it's not bangers eh.
lowtones84
Well-Known Member
What these guys said. They're always super helpful on the English beers thread. You can make your own invert syrup at home pretty easily, I do it all the time. A little bit goes into almost all of my English styles beers now. It helps to dry out and add a little bit of complexity to the flavor. I use both dark malts and something close to invert #2 in my mild.
Beautiful. Pretty much the same color mine came out.
jwalk4
Well-Known Member
Believe it our not, this was a dark mild of my own concoction. First pour from the keg, so that head didn't stay long.
Here is a picture of Bathams dark mild (not my picture)
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27045.../photolist-kp1gCg-629QWn-8pRGUY-pU8QPs-dURgT5
As you can see it's one of the lighter ones - it's essentially their bitter, but liquored back and dark sugar used rather than light. It's the best example of a black country mild you can get. No roasted malts or grains used in that beer
https://www.flickr.com/photos/27045.../photolist-kp1gCg-629QWn-8pRGUY-pU8QPs-dURgT5
As you can see it's one of the lighter ones - it's essentially their bitter, but liquored back and dark sugar used rather than light. It's the best example of a black country mild you can get. No roasted malts or grains used in that beer
jwalk4
Well-Known Member
Go Wolves!
Cool! Never seen it here. The one I've had that actually was pale (dark gold) was Timothy Taylors Golden Best. As you say, it was more like a bitter but maybe more malt than hop focused. I rather stick to either historic or dark mild!
There you go, what is known as a pale mild rather than a dark mild:
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/david-hennessey/5047256988/
When I go down to wales to visit family, I usually have to change train in Wolverhampton and tend to dive into The Great Western which is close to the station where they usually have at least the bathams bitter on. Which is where that picture of their mild was taken from incidentally
I've never made a pale mild and I think I might have had that TT one before, although I can't remember
I've never made a pale mild and I think I might have had that TT one before, although I can't remember
It's the only pale mild I've had. I wouldn't be surprised if you could count with one hand the pale milds brewed worldwide. I wasn't a fan as it seemed to have the bland hops of a mild with the more boring malts of a blander bitter.
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