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You are here: Home --> Forum Home --> Brewing Forum --> Recipe Discussion --> Mild Ale

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destabalise
Antrim
4 Posts


I've been doing a lot of research into milds and so far this is the recipe I have come up with:

og - 1.034
fg -1.010
ABV -3.6%

Malt bill:

Mild Ale malt - 84%
chocolate - 3%
Crystal 120L -3%
Crystal 60L - 10%

Mash  
154f 60 min

Hops
Fuggles - 17 IBUS @ 60 min

Fermentation
68F with s04

I decided to try and keep the recipe as simple as possible, as in the past my beers are always overly complicated and I think this makes the flavors muddled.

Designing Great Beers states that over 50% of UK commercial milds contained sugar and Barclayperkins blog talks about the addition of inverted sugars. Has anyone had any experience with these? If so what impact did they have? Any other comments on the recipe are appreciated.

I also wanted to ask about how common milds are in the US? In the UK they are quite rare, there will usually be 1 or 2 at real ale festivals and rarely one in a pub. I get the feeling they are seen as out of fashion over here.




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


They are pretty uncommon in the US, to my knowledge, but maybe mchrispen will comment - I think he knows a fair amount about this style.



Posted 34 days ago.

Necropaw
Charter Member
Central WI
608 Posts


I havent done much research into them, sorry :(

IIRC, i kinda looked into them (because i LOVE British Ales), but decided that Ordinary Bitters were more my cup of tea, so to speak.

Speaking of tea....looking at your recipe and everything, i wonder how a mild made with some earl grey would be...Mmmm.



Posted 34 days ago.

chino_brews
Charter Member
Eden Prairie, MN
301 Posts


You hit it on the nose.

Mild Ale is pretty uncommon in the U.S., although many craft brewers put one on tap from time to time (that goes for every style I guess). I feel like it's almost more common in the U.S. than in the U.K. That being said, there are more than 5-6 retail-available milds in the U.K. and none in the U.S. Incidentally, Surly makes one of the best Dark Milds I've had, and it's a regular offering for them (but alas not distributed at retail).

In my mind, there are two kinds of Milds, American-Style and English-style. The common thread is that Mild Ale is noted for its lack of hop character, as written by Michael Jackson, so it's dominated by and tilted towards malt-derived flavors and "balanced" by roast character and bitterness. To distinguish the styles (I created):

(1) The American-style Dark Mild follows a very simple formulaic approach: English Pale Ale Malt as the base malt (almost exclusively Maris Otter), equal parts of a medium crystal and a dark crystal (often American crystal malt), and a few points of Chocolate Malt. Mash medium to high (150-156°F) and ferment with a characterful English yeast. If you look at the recipes for the GABF winners (e.g., Dry Dock SS Minnow Mild) and NHC winners, you see they hew to the formula.

(2) The modern versions of English-style Mild (they're not all dark) is noted for the use of brewing sugar, particularly dark sugars. In fact, English brewers generally use sugar in their beer to the extent that would shock Americans. Besides some proportion of various English Pale Malts (MO, Golden Promise, Halcyon, and Pipkin seem popular), the English brewers commonly use ingredients like American 6-row pale malt and American flaked maize in their grist, and round it all out with English crystal malt and chocolate malt or even roasted barley. A significant proportion of color comes from brewer's caramel (a very, very dark brewing sugar that is so black that it's tough to extrapolate SRM even after dilution). The English brewers mash lower (~ 146°F), longer (90+ minutes is not uncommon), and thicker, and try to get a very highly attenuated product.

My sources for this info on the English are various, including Roger Protz's The Real Ale Drinker's Almanac and particularly Les Howarth's outstanding The Homebrewer's Recipe Database.

In terms of making brewing sugar, I've had some luck making invert nos. 1, 2, and 3 using the dilution method pioneered by Kristen England and published by halfacat, but zero luck making brewer's caramel, which is a critical ingredient. The key is to somehow get and hold the sugar at a temperature that is well past its ignition point, without it actually catching on fire or even smoking, a magic trick I have yet to master. Also, you will be exposed to carcinogenic vapors, so that's another sacrifice you make for homebrewing.

The character you get from brewer's dark invert is a key flavor component, in the same sense dark candi is critical to making a Belgian dubbel. If it wasn't then the English brewers would use more flakes maize, white sugar, and colorant as it would be even cheaper. I'm not sure what brewer's caramel adds, but I have to believe it lends a rich flavor in addition to color after reading about the character that Porterine adds (it's used in the nearly defunct Pennsylvania Porter style, by some brewers, and in the baking industry).

I love Milds, as you might tell, and usually have a batch in my fridge. Sorry to ramble on.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by chino_brews

ingoogni
nl
314 Posts

destabalise
Antrim
4 Posts


Thanks for all the information, 

Looking at -ingoogni's link I think I will make some #3 invert sugar and use it as about 10% of the recipe and reduce the crystal additions. I'm also considering lowering the mash to 146F, the milds I've really enjoyed, did seem to be quite thin, for lack of a better word. Unfortunately I won't be able to brew it until September.

chino_brews - I have read halfacats guide and will follow it. Have you been able to find a source of brewers caramel?

I wonder if milds will make a return in popularity. There seems to be a push for session beers in the US, a role which milds where pretty much designed for. In the UK, American IPAs are all the rage currently and people seem to have forgotten about our own historical styles. I enjoy an IPA as much as anyone, but it would be nice to see more old ales, milds and brown ales being produced. I always see a lot of hate for CAMRA and much of it for good reason, but the festivals they hold really help bring some of these styles out to the masses. The usual view of these festivals is a bunch of old men with big beer bellies, However I recently attended the CAMRA festival in Glasgow and the majority of people there where in their 20's.

Every new brewery that starts up seems to have the same lineup, an IPA (often American in name but lack any of the hop forwardness), a decent stout and a golden ale/blonde. I've also noticed in Ireland, many of the IPA's being created are dubbed "Irish pale ales", these beers again are unclear in what exactly an irish pale ale is? They often use a mix of English and American Hops and are (in my opinion) boring. I was talking to a brewer recently who didn't know what dry hopping was, even though he produced both a pale ale and an IPA...




Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Don't know what dry hooping is?  Ouch.

I *LOVE* a good English brown ale.  It's one of my favorite styles, and is criminally underappreciated (at least in my book).



Posted 34 days ago.

destabalise
Antrim
4 Posts


Yep, he would also package the same pale ale and IPA, into smaller 330ml bottles and sells them as different beers in tourist shops at an increased price... I don't know why he told me that. I haven't had the chance to try many brown ales other than Newcastle and some American style. I've been meaning to try brewing one of your brown ales. However i'm thinking about focusing on stouts and milds for awhile, currently have a dry stout bottle conditioning, half of which had coffee beans added to it per The Mad Fermentationists blog.



Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by destabalise

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


That reminds me, I need to brew some Thundersmoke again.

Soon.



Posted 34 days ago.

ingoogni
nl
314 Posts


Brown

rest of the Brits




Posted 34 days ago.

chino_brews
Charter Member
Eden Prairie, MN
301 Posts


@destabilise

Glad to read some younger folks are hitting the festivals over there.

I have no idea what an Irish pale ale is. I wonder if there is any style space left between American pale ale and the English pale ales (ordinary, best, and extra strong bitter).

When making invert, I suggest you definitely follow the Kristen England dilution method in halfacat's guide. He is local to me and assured me via e-mail that you get the same result, but with 0% of aggro of making your own.

As far as brewer's caramel, you should have no trouble getting brewer's caramel in the U.K. It is manufactured primarily by UK-based DD Williamson, and the forums seem to indicate it is readily available there. You want one that is labeled either Class III or EU food additive number E150c (don't use E150a, E150b, or E150d). This class of brewer's caramel will range from 16,000 to 50,000 EBC, if you can believe it!

In the U.S.,
I have not been able to find a source -- Mangel, Scheuermann & Oeters in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, USA (near Philadelphia) make it but don't distribute at retail. Gusmer Enterprises distributes here for DD Williamson (which actually manufactures some in the U.S.), but again not to retail customers.

I learned on a forum (also posted by the inimitable Kristen England) that another option is a Jamaican ethic ingredient called "Burnt Sugar (Caramel)", but I'd want to test its color before committing to using it. Also, apparently, you should confirm it's a version that does not contain salt.

Personally, if I want brewer's caramel, I think I am going to have to either become a better candy-maker, or enlist the assistance of a local mead maker who is used to burning sugar for bochet. I did invest in a candy thermometer, so that should help.




Posted 34 days ago.
Edited 34 days ago by chino_brews

destabalise
Antrim
4 Posts


I am planning on brewing a batch of mild this week, without any kind of sugar addition. I'm also planning on brewing a batch with invert using the dilution method and have also found a place to pick up some brewers caramel  for another http://www.the-home-brew-shop.co.uk/acatalog/Brewers_Caramel_250ml.html. they will hopefully make an interesting comparison!






Posted 34 days ago.

homebrewdad
Charter Member
Birmingham, AL
2480 Posts


Ah, nice.  Be sure to report back and let us know how it goes!



Posted 34 days ago.

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