Dark English Milds are AMAZING

[jwalk4]

I changed trains in Chester on way to Holyhead to catch the ferry to Dublin. Stopped for pints along the way.

No milds though, that I can remember.

Kind of off topic, but an excuse to reminisce.

Wish I stopped in Wolverhampton instead of Chester had I known. Would rather spend a morning or afternoon touring Wolverhampton on route.

 

[Qhrumphf]

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.

You just described the Pale Mild I brewed. Hah.

 

[JKaranka]

You just described the Pale Mild I brewed. Hah.

You got it right then!

A praising on ratebeer for Golden Best:
"Cask, The Star and Garter, Chelmsford, 1st August 2015. Goldenish appearance.. Dropped bright. White lacing. Excellent fruity yeast esters. Taste is light summer fruit, lemons, moderate clove good session ale. Reminds me of Harvey’s. Super clean and drinkable. "

Somebody less enthusiastic:
"Cask. Clear gold, solid white head. Powdery lemon nose. Light hoppy lemon in the mouth, with a nice warm malt. Solid, quaffers ale without having bags of character - there's enough to make this pleasant and sessionable."

The overall balance seems to be that it makes a good beer to drink a gallon of in the right circumstances.

 

[m00ps]

Alright got this measured out with all my other upcoming batches. Probably brew it early December. Subbed special roast for crystal cause I love the flavor of or but rarely make beers suitable for it.

I used English mild malt instead of MO since I didn't have any on hand. I'm guessing that'll be more than adequate for a sub?

Also I've got wy 1318 and 1968 on hand. I do like 1318 better. But any thoughts on which would work best? Maybe both given my habits...

 

[tgif]

Mild is a style I've been interested in for some time, and I recently brewed a rye mild from another thread on here. I've never had a commercial version, so how can I tell if I've made it properly?

 

[JKaranka]

Mild is a style I've been interested in for some time, and I recently brewed a rye mild from another thread on here. I've never had a commercial version, so how can I tell if I've made it properly?

Gosh, just had a browse through some USA beer delivery websites and you're right: they're really hard to find. I didn't see any Brains, Cains or Banks. I've never had Moorhouses Black Cat but maybe that's worth trying?

 

[ChefRex]

Just moved my latest version of Sandy's Mild Breeze so I can keg it tomorrow and have it ready for the next empty slot in the kegarator, last keg didn't stand a chance.
Good stuff!

 

[biertourist]

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.

But that beer really needs to be decocted and needs a SaaZ descendant lager strain and not a Frohberg descendant to be properly authentic; lots of the supposed "Czech"/"Bohemian" strains aren't traditional SaaZ descendant strains and will dry the beer out too much. I almost think you need to Krausen a Czech dark lager to get that authentic flavor that you get actually in the Czech Republic -they just have this "worty" (but in a good way) characteristic that's so hard to match.


Adam

 

[biertourist]

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.

I find learning other people's taste preferences so interesting. I'm in mad love with that 1968 flavor character; I think it's totally worth it, much like the Dupont strain especially since I find 1968 far easier to deal with than 3724 (several orders of magnitude); plus, if I'm honest, I like a little diacetyl...

Dark English Milds are pretty amazing, have to admit. I totally agree that serving temp and dissolved CO2 levels are important to the flavor profile and mouthfeel.


The post on just brewing a dry irish stout to a lower gravity has me perplexed, though; I think you'd have an insanely watery and boring beer if you did that.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Gosh, just had a browse through some USA beer delivery websites and you're right: they're really hard to find. I didn't see any Brains, Cains or Banks. I've never had Moorhouses Black Cat but maybe that's worth trying?

I don't think I've EVER seen Banks stateside. I haven't seen Brains or Cains in years (Cains being the most recent), and am assuming neither are imported any more. If you haven't had Black Cat, try it. It's my favorite that I've tried.

 

[iijakii]

Fairly certain the only British beers I can regularly get are Samuel Smith stuffs. Sometimes I see a Fullers ESB, but not too often. Maybe east coast has it better.

 

[Qhrumphf]

I find learning other people's taste preferences so interesting. I'm in mad love with that 1968 flavor character; I think it's totally worth it, much like the Dupont strain especially since I find 1968 far easier to deal with than 3724 (several orders of magnitude); plus, if I'm honest, I like a little diacetyl...

Dark English Milds are pretty amazing, have to admit. I totally agree that serving temp and dissolved CO2 levels are important to the flavor profile and mouthfeel.


The post on just brewing a dry irish stout to a lower gravity has me perplexed, though; I think you'd have an insanely watery and boring beer if you did that.

My Dry Stout is ~4.2%, same as Guinness. Murphy's is only 4%, Beamish 4.1%. Not much difference to drop it down to 3.6-3.8% for a true session strength like that of a Mild. Gravities are going to be in the same ranges, just more roast and more bitterness. My Sweet Stout is 3.2%, and is incredibly full and by no means water (but also only hits ~50% apparent attenuation). I hope you didn't take that as my comparing a Dry Stout to a Mild though. Just suggesting it as an alternative dark session beer.

 

[slym2none]

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.

Those all look delicious! :rockin:

 

[tgif]

My Dry Stout is ~4.2%, same as Guinness. Murphy's is only 4%, Beamish 4.1%. Not much difference to drop it down to 3.6-3.8% for a true session strength like that of a Mild. Gravities are going to be in the same ranges, just more roast and more bitterness. My Sweet Stout is 3.2%, and is incredibly full and by no means water (but also only hits ~50% apparent attenuation). I hope you didn't take that as my comparing a Dry Stout to a Mild though. Just suggesting it as an alternative dark session beer.

What is your sweet stout recipe?

 

[Qhrumphf]

What is your sweet stout recipe?

It's 3.1%, not 3.2%

5 lbs Maris Otter (Crisp) (4.0 SRM) Grain 1 62.0 %
12.0 oz Roasted Barley (Crisp) (515.0 SRM) Grain 2 9.3 %
8.0 oz Biscuit (Dingemans) (22.5 SRM) Grain 3 6.2 %
8.0 oz Caramel/Crystal Malt - 60L (60.0 SRM) Grain 4 6.2 %
8.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 5 6.2 %
1.00 oz Goldings, East Kent [5.20 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 23.9 IBUs
1.0 pkg West Yorkshire Ale (Wyeast Labs #1469) Yeast 7 -
13.0 oz Milk Sugar (Lactose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 8 10.0 %

Measured Original Gravity: 11.2 Plato
Measured Final Gravity: 5.3 Plato
Actual Alcohol by Vol: 3.1 %
Bitterness: 23.9 IBUs
Est Color: 33.0 SRM

That's mashed at 158, and fermented at ~65F.

 

[Qhrumphf]

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.

Well I'll be. Just started Sutula's "Mild Ale" from the Classic Styles series the other day. He lists the average UK dark mild at 43 SRM and some are much darker than that.

I find once you get into dark brown and black it's half lighting anyway, but you are definitely correct on the color.

 

[JKaranka]

Well I'll be. Just started Sutula's "Mild Ale" from the Classic Styles series the other day. He lists the average UK dark mild at 43 SRM and some are much darker than that.

I find once you get into dark brown and black it's half lighting anyway, but you are definitely correct on the color.

Sounds a bit high but not that surprising considering how liberally British brewers used caramel and sugars in the 20th century (when dark mild developed). I think some dark milds must have had a grist of just pale malt and then caramel in the fermentor for colour. Some breweries adjusted the colour of their beer for each outlet or area specifically to customers preference!

 

[JKaranka]

Well I'll be. Just started Sutula's "Mild Ale" from the Classic Styles series the other day. He lists the average UK dark mild at 43 SRM and some are much darker than that.

I find once you get into dark brown and black it's half lighting anyway, but you are definitely correct on the color.

Sounds a bit high but not that surprising considering how liberally British brewers used caramel and sugars in the 20th century (when dark mild developed). I think some dark milds must have had a grist of just pale malt and then caramel in the fermentor for colour. Some breweries adjusted the colour of their beer for each outlet or area specifically to customers preference!

 

[Qhrumphf]

There's one he mentions (Bathams) that is quite literally just their Bitter, darkened to the appropriate color, no other difference (which he does besmirch as cheapening the Mild style and typifying the style's downfall), so I can certainly see that.

Never seen Highgate Mild, but he lists it at 100 SRM. And then on the other spectrum, McMullen's Original AK, Pale Mild, at 3 SRM. But he does reference Dark Milds going as low as 11 SRM, without an example given. Also says that Boddington's Pub Ale is a Pale Mild not branded as such, which I'm not quite sure I agree with, but I suppose it does fit the "boring malt, boring hop" description. I would have put it in the "smooth bitter" camp with half the other UK megabrewery nitro canned pale ales though.

 

[JKaranka]

Never heard of Boddingtons pub ale, is it only cask or something?

 

[Hanglow]

I think its the canned version of boddingtons they get in export markets - it's stronger than what we get here. I imagine it's still gash

 

[Qhrumphf]

Never heard of Boddingtons pub ale, is it only cask or something?

I think its the canned version of boddingtons they get in export markets - it's stronger than what we get here. I imagine it's still gash

Yep. Nitro canned. It's bland and boring, but I do enjoy it every now and then.

 

[rmyurick]

Well I'll be. Just started Sutula's "Mild Ale" from the Classic Styles series the other day. He lists the average UK dark mild at 43 SRM and some are much darker than that.

I spoke with Dave Sutula last Friday--he's brewing at a brewpub that just opened up this year--"Royal Docks" in Canton Ohio. Many good beers on tap there, but no milds, yet.

I made Jamil's recipe this summer & it came out well. Could probably have used a little more caramel/crystal malt. Already forgot which yeast I used, maybe 1318?

 

[KPBrews]

Yep. Nitro canned. It's bland and boring, but I do enjoy it every now and then.

I rather enjoy it. It's like Guinness Light. LOL

 

[m00ps]

@iijakii
brewing this next weekend, but swapping the c60 with english special roast. Ive got WY1968 and WY1318 on hand. Any thoughts on one vs the other? I saw you used 1318 in yours but was still wondering

 

[iijakii]

@iijakii
brewing this next weekend, but swapping the c60 with english special roast. Ive got WY1968 and WY1318 on hand. Any thoughts on one vs the other? I saw you used 1318 in yours but was still wondering

I have no thoughts as I've never used those ingredients. Isn't special roast more of a toasted flavor though? Might wanna sub that for the biscuit instead of crystal? Maybe someone else here can comment.

I think any of the ESB yeasts would work great. I went with 1318 as I can get it for free from a local brewpub.

Sounds great either way though. You'll dig it.

 

[JKaranka]

Never heard of English Special Roast. Who is the maltster? Amber malt is the closest I can think of!

 

[iijakii]

Just picked up a couple pints of 1318 from HUB again, so about time to brew up some more mild. Might even do a 10gal batch this time, but I know it's meant to be drank young so maybe not. I've never actually witnessed a beer getting too long in the tooth besides IPAs losing hop pungency, whats a few month Mild like? Kegged, not casked.

Anyways, really loved it this last time around. Tempted to redo exact or try making and adding some inverted sugar. Convince me, friends.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Keg it at 5 days, and drink a gallon a night. Plenty fresh

Finishing up the last of my Continental run this month, but next month I've got two different Milds on the plate. I'll do another Pale Mild (this time super pale, basically using a Bitter grain bill, ie mostly Maris Otter and a touch of Crystal with some #3 invert, aiming for 8 SRM or so) that is basically a yeast prop batch, top crop into a Bramling Cross Bitter and I think I'll do an Oat Dark Mild. 42% Mild Malt, 28% Maris Otter, 11% flaked oats, 7% crystal, 7% #3 invert, and 5% chocolate malt. I'll see how it goes. I may opt to up the oats a little bit. Also going to aim a bit stronger, and go for 4.5% ABV or so. Between top and bottom cropping, I'll probably pull maybe 15-20 batches out of that initial Pale Mild (a few more Dark Milds among them, my house one already mentioned, and I'll do a wheat-heavy one too, and probably do one of Pattinson's recipes, haven't decided which) over the next few months.

 

[Gavin C]

Might brew one next weekend. Rapid kegging for an Xmas/New Year's mild. Got some EKG, Wyeat 1469 and all the grains I need.

7 days grain to glass is probably not practical, 14 days sounds easy with these though. I don't want to rush it unnecessarily.