Mild

[Sandimas]

In my early 20s, me and my mate were in the pub and a guy came in and said "pint of mild, please". We laughed our socks off, we had no idea what he was on about. Later on I've come to appreciate what a great drink Mild is, and I'm keen to brew some at some point, but in my 48 years on this planet I can honestly say I've never seen it in any pubs round here (Gloucestershire).

 

[chrig]

I had a good session on mild for my wedding aniversary as it was on tap, hydes black I think?, a couple of my friends questioned me drinking weak 2-3% stuff rather than my usual 5%+ habits but it soon spoke to itself after what felt like the 12th pint of the night shoved under my nose :lol:.

If my wood/coal stove will boil my 15L pot a mild may be my first all grain beer soon!

 

[Dr Mike]

My next brew (hopefully this weekend) will be a 1915 mild (aka X ale) from Ron Pattinsons blog, although the overall profile (1049 OG, 35ish IBU, reddish colour) looks more like a best bitter to modern eyes!

 

[dennisking]

Mild is one of my favourite beer styles-but down see it darn sarf much.

Know what you mean Jim can't remember the last time I saw mild around these parts.

 

[rpt]

Don't see them much round here either. Will make a point of looking for it next time I go t'pub. Think it might be my next brew though - need a quick maturing session beer for the new polypins and beer engine.

 

[BIGJIM72]

Mild is one of my favourite beer styles-but down see it darn sarf much.

Know what you mean Jim can't remember the last time I saw mild around these parts.

Last seen in a social club in Ditton,near Maidstone. LOng way to go for a pint,mind

 

[blackcountry pie]

Adu!
doe`s anyone in the midlands remember hansons mild? that was my favorite beer,sadly no more.Just to let you all know camra encorage pubs to sell mild in the month of may! and some towns have mild trails.Mild is the beer i brew most has im not into hoppy beers,my next brew will be from the design a brew range 2 cans of malt and the desired malt an hop t-bags. cheers.

 

[Good Ed]

another top mild, although I don't remember ever having a pint, even though my sister lived in Lower Gornal for a bit

Nice bit of history here Hansons Brewery

Along with Julia Hanson, there were quite a lot of lady brewers in the Black Country, such as Sarah Hughes

There is a recipe in GW's book for Hanson's Mild as brewed at Bank's, not sure how it compares with the original

 

[gl0ckage]

I try order a mild in the pub every 2 weeks, I love mild, apart from stouts I brew mostly miles.

 

[Hoppy]

Hi All

Good Ed, that's pretty close to the mild recipes from the Midlands.
They would have about 7% Crystal (140 col) in their grist. 10% invert sugar number 3 (Highgate and M&B definitely used this) as does Sarah Hughes to this day!
All used Caramel to darken (upto 50-65 col), with Banks' perhaps the exception (pretty much same as bitter at 26-28 colour units).
No wheat would really be used, only if the protein levels were low in the malt, for head retention. Fuggles and Golding, spot on. Goldings usually early, then Fuggles late, not going above 19-22BUs and a final PG of around the 10-11 mark for low ABV brews and 12-13 for OGs of 1055 and above.

Regards

Hoppy

 

[NickW]

Would love it if someone posted a reliable low ABV (3.5%ish) Mild recipe. Does anyone have one they use?

 

[Hoppy]

Hi again.
Enough pale malt for and OG of 38 and a pg of 11, containing 7% crystal. (this will give about 28 colour)
enough Golding for 22BUs then add the same amount of fuggle at 'flame out' (the end of boil)
Stir in a little gravy browning, to taste (of colour that is).

DONT use sulphate, only chloride in your liquor treatment.

I know you Guys don't like using sugar, but some light cane sugar, about 10% of grist and remove the same amount of pale malt, will really give you that Highgate/Hansons taste, or if you take it up to 1058, Sarah Hughes (take the hops up to 25BUS though).

Fermentation. You will need to watch this with your hydrometers, especially if you use the sugar for the authentic taste, it will want to go down to 6-7, you need to stop it by crash cooling at 1 over final grav.

I'm sure someone knows how to stick this in one of your calculators and
There you go. Secret's out!

Regards

 

[beerhunter]

lots of mild still to be had in most pubs around here, but not in town. we used to have some cracking breweries around here but sadly all gone now. Kimberly, Home ales, Mansfield and Shipstones. I remember doing the Shippo`s shuffle on many a sunday morning.

 

[Good Ed]

Hi All

Good Ed, that's pretty close to the mild recipes from the Midlands.
They would have about 7% Crystal (140 col) in their grist. 10% invert sugar number 3 (Highgate and M&B definitely used this) as does Sarah Hughes to this day!
All used Caramel to darken (upto 50-65 col), with Banks' perhaps the exception (pretty much same as bitter at 26-28 colour units).
No wheat would really be used, only if the protein levels were low in the malt, for head retention. Fuggles and Golding, spot on. Goldings usually early, then Fuggles late, not going above 19-22BUs and a final PG of around the 10-11 mark for low ABV brews and 12-13 for OGs of 1055 and above.

Regards

Hoppy

Some used crystal, some caramel, some both, also black and sometimes amber.

Highgate used Halcyon Pale, black, crystal, maltose syrup and caramel, hopped with fuggles and goldings. Not being able to get maltose syrup, you could sub flaked maize, or go with an invert sugar, and brewers caramel is available from Brupaks through your usual suppliers.

Now an interesting mild is Bathams, which is a parti gyle from their bitter which uses 100% pale, they then add caramel for colour and flavour and then, unusually, it dry hopped with goldings, not sure if the copper hops are fuggles and northdown as per the bitter (which is excellent btw, and has bit of a cult following for those that can get it )

 

[clibit]

There are quite a few milds out there that don't have mild in the name, for obvious reasons. Brewers cottoned on ages ago to the fact that mild was not cool - it had the flat cap/whippet image - and dropped the word mild. An example, I think, is Black Cat from Moorhouses. It's won a gold medal at the international thingamejig, and it's a mild. Hydes Black is another.

I read recently about a landlord covering up the word mild on a pump clip and selling out in two hours or something like that. Probably an apocryphal story. You get the picture.

 

[Good Ed]

Well a good example is Bank's calling their mild "original", well of course you would just ask for a pint of mild, you'd be embarrassed otherwise. I think they are trying to drop the name now.

 

[foxy]

I brewed it a few years ago (my favourite drink was Brown & Mild) but it didn't taste right out of a bottle, I brewed a mild last week to serve out of a beer engine.
I would be interested to know what most other people in this post would be serving it from.