Let's talk about a lesser known style: the American Mild.

[BrewN00b]

Is such a thing possible? Is the idea of Americanizing the classic English Mild antethesis to everything the English Mild stands for? Maybe, maybe not.

Typically the mild is a sessionable, malt dominated ale with some bitterness but not overly hoppy. Americanized beers have usually been more aggressively hopped with stronger, more aromatic hops. I think there is room in the middle. My idea of an American mild is a malt based sessionable ale, using the same speciality grains used in the English mild with roughly the same starting and finishing gravities, but slightly more hoppy, but more aromatic due to most of the ibu being based off of late hop additions, probably 75% or so within the last 5 to 10 minutes, and perhaps even some dry hopping for additional aroma. I think its not only possible to make a slightly my hoppy mild that still maintains balance, but entirely, deliciously inevitable.

I would aim for having a malt backbone consisting of mostly American 2-row, but some chocolate malt for color and flavor as well as some dark crystal for head retention and flavor, and perhaps a little biscuit for some additional flavor. I would like to keep the SG at less than or equal to 1.040 and a FG of about 1.012-1.014. I would also like to keep the ibu level between 25 and 30 ibus.

My rough recipe would be like this, please critique as needed. Keep in mind with a single sparge and Austin Homebrew grain crush I usually get about 65% efficiency.

6.5lbs 2-row
.5lb caramel 120
.5lb caramel 40
.5lb crisp chocolate
Maybe some carapils
.25oz Chinook@45
.25oz Chinook@15
1oz cascade@10
1oz cascade@5
.5 Chinook@5

I'll pitch wyeast California Ale

OG: 1.040 IBU: 30 SRM: 25 FG: 1.012-1.014

What do y'all think? It seems like this ale would definitely have some subtle spice and pine from the chinook and some nice aggressive citrus aroma from the cascades, yet not so overpowering as to unbalance the malt backbone.

I'd love to hear your input as my name states I am relatively noobish to making my own recipes.

 

[bierhaus15]

I wouldn't call it a mild by any means, but I bet something like that would work for a lower gravity American brown. My only suggestion would be to drop the carapils altogether and maybe add a bit of special roast for a bit more malt complexity if the hops come down a bit. Though in such a small beer with so much hops and caramel malts, chances are the finished product might be a bit muddled in flavor.

 

[rexbanner]

.5 lbs crisp chocolate is a lot for such a citrusy beer. I made Widmer's Black IPA recipe with Carafa II and something went wrong (from now on I'm cold-steeping roasted grains) and it ended up way roastier than it should have. It wasn't very good.

Most people find roasted malt and citrusy hops clash--it's like mixing lemon juice and espresso. You might want to check out Jamil's Stone Levitation clone, I know it's not exactly the same, but it might be helpful.

 

[Beezy]

IDK, Mild as in Brown Ale? Because that has been done by just about everyone. Thinking about trying myself soonish.

 

[bovineblitz]

It's hard to make a beer pleasantly hoppy with that low of an OG. You often wind up with what basically tastes like hop tea. If you work on the recipe for a bit you may be on to something though. I just doubt you'll be able to pull it off on your first try.

 

[BrewN00b]

It's hard to make a beer pleasantly hoppy with that low of an OG. You often wind up with what basically tastes like hop tea. If you work on the recipe for a bit you may be on to something though. I just doubt you'll be able to pull it off on your first try.

I know, and THAT is exactly what I would want to pull off. Another poster had mentioned Stone Levitation, and that is pretty much what I had originally envisioned, but even a little bit lower in gravity. As to the various combinations of roasted and crystal grains, and how much should be used as well as what hops may work best at this is to where I start to wander.

I imagine that this style would need a nice roasty, malty backbone to compliment more aggressive hop character, but I guess I don't exactly what hops would work best with that character; citrusy like cascade, spicy like a saaz, or earthy like an English hop.

Now I see that Jamil's Levitation clone skips the chocolates, and goes straight for a minuscule amount of black patent for color and relies on dark crystal malts for it's more complicated flavors, and I like that.

This is great info folks, I have my mind set on this, and some great info for me to continue my research. Thanks.

 

[EzMak24]

I would use an english yeast because that english yeast favor is a huge part of the mild

 

[skibb]

Americanizing a beer can be a fun thing to do, and it does work for some styles, but I just don't see it with a mild. I've always thought it was called a mild because it was just that: mild (tasting). Adding an aggressive hop flavor just seems counterintuitive to me.

This just sounds like a lower OG American brown ale.
I've never understood American brewers' wanting to always bastardize other countries beer styles (i.e. making them more hop forward)- FFF makes a mild (Pride and Joy) and it tastes just like an American pale ale - I feel like they just call it that to try and sound original.

IMHO the thing that makes a mild ale comes solely from British ingredients: the bready biscuity character of the grains mixed with the fruity esters of English yeasts. American ingredients aren't nearly as robust as these - our 2-row is much more mellow and neutral, just as our yeasts generally are. What we make up for in this lacking of flavor/character is the copious use of our delicious and aromatic hops. But hops really aren't a big player in the character of a mild, so that's where I just don't see an American version of this style really making it.

 

[Airborneguy]

Basically illustrates that you can call a beer whatever you want, but the BJCP chooses category names for a reason.

 

[iram84mx]

How did your Americanized version turned out?

 

[Braufessor]

Hey -

Thanks for bringing this thread back to life..... Been kind of looking for something different to brew. I brew a LOT of english mild's..... this would be an interesting twist. Gonna have to give this some thought, but I would probably start with taking my American Brown Ale recipe and cutting it in half. Maybe use a yeast like 1272 possibly.

Some off-the-cuff thoughts......

I would use some Munich Malt and Mild Malt (ashburne) to add sweetness. I would not "overhop it." I would go low with maybe Northern Brewer to bitter, and something like willamette or cascade late. I would use some Flaked Barley or Flaked Oats for mouthfeel and texture. I would use pale chocolate and maybe some golden naked oats for some "nuttiness."

I think you could make a pretty nice drinking beer going this direction. just figured what I am brewing on sunday - time to go get my starter going

 

[BreezyBrew]

I've been trying to do this for a long time. I'll be making my 5th rendition soon and haven't gotten really what I wanted from the beer. With each iteration it gets more and more English lol. I'd love to hear how yours turned out. I haven no idea how Stone does it with Levitation ale. My American hops in my dark grist tasted like sh!t. OK it wasn't that bad but it tasted really weird.

Would love to hear how this turned out.

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Braufessor, what kind of malt ratios are you thinking of using? I've been looking to make a flavorful, low to average ABV brew and what you mentioned sounds similar to what I was thinking of. I want a brew that doesn't leave me lazy and not thanking straight but still tastes good. My thought is no more than 4.5—5% ABV.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I've made a version that I mashed at 158 and used Carapils and you would never guess it was 4.2

 

[BreezyBrew]

10 lbs Pale Malt, Maris Otter (3.0 SRM) Grain 1 86.6 %
8.0 oz Amber (Crisp) (27.5 SRM) Grain 2 4.3 %
8.0 oz Crystal, Extra Dark (Simpsons) (160.0 SR Grain 3 4.3 %
4.8 oz Carafa Special II (Weyermann) (415.0 SRM Grain 4 2.6 %
4.0 oz Carapils (Briess) (1.5 SRM) Grain 5 2.2 %
0.70 oz Magnum [14.00 %] - Boil 60.0 min Hop 6 29.9 IBUs
ESB Yeast

This version came out to about 5% abv. It's definitely on the sweet side, with a lot of raisiny notes. My next version is going to have half the Extra Dark Crystal, and maybe some more roastyness. You wouldn't ever think there's that many IBU's in this beer. I do like the way the Magnum fits in. In another version I want to bitter with EKG and use Willy for flavoring.

 

[donovanmaxwell]

Thanks for the recipe. Sounds pretty tasty. Not noticing the "lack" of alcohol is the goal. Eventually I want to work on a sub-3% brew, but one thing at a time. I'm about to brew my second AG (6th overall), so I'm trying not to rush things too much.

 

[Braufessor]

Here is what I am thinking (below) - pretty much patterned after a British Dark Mild I brew a lot, as well as an American Brown I brew a lot:

6.5 gallons after boil, 85% efficiency - so match to your own system/efficiency.

American mild
OG: 1.039
FG: 1.010
ABV: 3.80 %
Calories: 127
IBU's: 22.36
Efficiency: 85 %
Color: 18.7 SRM
Batch Size: 6.50 Gal
Boil Time: 60 minutes

Grains & Adjuncts
Amount Percentage Name
4.00 lbs 43.84 % Rahr 2-Row
2.00 lbs 21.92 % Briess Mild Malt, Ashburne
1.00 lbs 10.96 % Weyermann Munich I
0.50 lbs 5.48 % Fawcett Pale Chocolate
0.50 lbs 5.48 % Brown Malt
0.25 lbs 2.74 % Caramel/Crystal Malt -120L
0.25 lbs 2.74 % Oats, Flaked
0.25 lbs 2.74 % Barley, Flaked
0.25 lbs 2.74 % Weyermann Pale Wheat Malt
2.00 ozs 1.37 % Fawcett Chocolate Malt

Hops
Amount IBU's Name Time AA %
0.75 ozs 19.08 Northern Brewer 60 mins 8.50
1.00 ozs 3.28 Williamette 5 mins 5.50

Yeast
1272 American Ale II

 

[BreezyBrew]

I think this one came together pretty well. I'm going to keep the hops the same to work on the malt body first. That recipe you definitely get the nuttiness from the Maris Otter, the dark fruit from the crystal and the roastyness from the carafa. Next time I'm going to shoot for about 4.5% which will give some leeway if I miss slightly high or low.

 

[BreezyBrew]

I've thought about putting some oats in there for some mouthfeel and body rather than the carapils. Something else I want to try is fermenting with Notty instead.

I always go back and fourth... Smooth vs full flavored lol.

 

[bwible]

Sorry for awakening such an old thread, but I came upon this idea myself. I've long said we usually can't think of something someone else hasn't thought of. I tend to brew British styes fairly often and Mild has been one of my "pet" styles since I first started brewing.

Long Story - Our club is planning a Christmas beer exchange similar to the ones on here. With Anchor's demise this year, I am actually wanting to take a stab at an Our Special Ale type beer for the exchange. From what I know of Anchor, Wyeast 1272 should be a good yeast for this. So I have a 1272. The OSA Clone should be around 7 - 7.5%. So I am wanting to do a weaker "starter" beer first to get that yeast cake for the OSA Clone. I have plenty of Bitter and Mild already so looking for something different, I thought why not an "American Mild?" The idea being a beer in the mild style but with all American ingredients?

So this is what I came up with. I'm going even lower than the 1.040 in the recipe above.

American Mild
13-A Dark Mild

Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 81.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%

Original Gravity: 1.036 (1.030 - 1.038)
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.008 - 1.013)
Color: 17.84 SRM (12.0 - 25.0)
Alcohol: 3.47% (3.0% - 3.8%)
Bitterness: 21.1 (10.0 - 25.0)

Ingredients:

5.75 lb (82.1%) 2-Row Brewers Malt (Breiss)
.5 lb (7.1%) Crystal Malt 80°L
6 oz (5.4%) Chocolate Malt
6 oz (5.4%) Victory® Malt

1.1 oz Cascade (6.2%) - boiled 60 min

1.0 ea Wyeast 1272 American Ale II™

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 2.0.24

 

[marc1]

Sorry for awakening such an old thread, but I came upon this idea myself. I've long said we usually can't think of something someone else hasn't thought of. I tend to brew British styes fairly often and Mild has been one of my "pet" styles since I first started brewing.

Long Story - Our club is planning a Christmas beer exchange similar to the ones on here. With Anchor's demise this year, I am actually wanting to take a stab at an Our Special Ale type beer for the exchange. From what I know of Anchor, Wyeast 1272 should be a good yeast for this. So I have a 1272. The OSA Clone should be around 7 - 7.5%. So I am wanting to do a weaker "starter" beer first to get that yeast cake for the OSA Clone. I have plenty of Bitter and Mild already so looking for something different, I thought why not an "American Mild?" The idea being a beer in the mild style but with all American ingredients?

So this is what I came up with. I'm going even lower than the 1.040 in the recipe above.

American Mild
13-A Dark Mild

Size: 5.5 gal
Efficiency: 81.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%

Original Gravity: 1.036 (1.030 - 1.038)
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.008 - 1.013)
Color: 17.84 SRM (12.0 - 25.0)
Alcohol: 3.47% (3.0% - 3.8%)
Bitterness: 21.1 (10.0 - 25.0)

Ingredients:

5.75 lb (82.1%) 2-Row Brewers Malt (Breiss)
.5 lb (7.1%) Crystal Malt 80°L
6 oz (5.4%) Chocolate Malt
6 oz (5.4%) Victory® Malt

1.1 oz Cascade (6.2%) - boiled 60 min

1.0 ea Wyeast 1272 American Ale II™

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 2.0.24

Willamette might be better than cascade with the dark malts while keeping the hops American.

 

[Miraculix]

I'd go with one of the suggested grain bills, little bit of crystal, little bit of chocolate or black malt, and then get 15 ibus entirely from the whirlpool from American hops.

Og 1.04 because America likes things always bigger.

Should be great!

 

[rhys333]

I'd go with one of the suggested grain bills, little bit of crystal, little bit of chocolate or black malt, and then get 15 ibus entirely from the whirlpool from American hops.

Og 1.04 because America likes things always bigger.

Should be great!

What about Canadians?