Mild ale

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Mild ale is a low-gravity, malty beer that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1600s or earlier. Modern Mild Ales are mainly dark coloured with an ABV of 3% to 3.6%, though there are examples of up to 6% ABV.

The term mild originally meant young beer or ale as opposed to "stale" aged beer or ale. In more recent times it has been interpreted as denoting "mildly hopped".

Light Mild is generally similar, but pale in colour. There is some overlap between the weakest styles of Bitter and Light Mild, with the term AK being used to refer to both. The designation of such beers as "Bitter" or "Mild" has tended to change with fashion. A good example is McMullen's AK, which was rebadged as Bitter after decades as a Light Mild. AK - a very common beer name in the 1800s - was often referred to as a "mild Bitter Beer" interpreting "mild" as "unaged".

Once sold in every pub, Mild has experienced a catastrophic fall in popularity since the 1960´s and has completely disappeared from many parts of the United Kingdom.

When bottled, Mild is usually referred to as Brown Ale.

Contents

[edit] History

"Mild" was originally used to designate any beer which was young or unaged and did not refer to a specific style of beer. Thus there was Mild Ale but also Mild Porter and even Mild Bitter Beer. These young beers were often blended with aged "stale" beer to improve their flavour. As the 19th century progressed and public taste moved away from the aged taste, unblended young beer, mostly in the form of Mild Ale or Light Bitter Beer, began to dominate the market.

In the 19th century a typical brewery produced three or four Mild Ales, usually designated by a number of X´s, the weakest being X, the strongest XXXX. They were considerably stronger than the Milds of today, with the gravity ranging from around 1055° to 1072° (about 5.5% to 7% ABV). Gravities dropped throughout the late 1800´s and by 1914 the weakest Milds were down to about 1045°, still considerably stronger than modern versions.

The draconian measures applied to the brewing industry during WWI had a particularly dramatic effect upon Mild. As the biggest-selling beer, it suffered the largest cut in gravity when breweries had to limit the average OG of their beer to 1030°. In order to be able to produce some stronger beer - which was exempt from price controls and thus more profitable - Mild was reduced to 1025° or lower. At that strength, it could scarcely be considered an intoxicating drink.[1] During the first few decades of the twentieth century, Parliament instituted a number of taxes to finance the British war effort. The tax that damaged Mild Ale, and the brewing industry in general, the most was instituted by Prime Minister Asquith on cereal grains. The tax was accompanied by a rationing of grains for the brewing, malting and baking industries. In order to produce as much product as possible, brewers across the UK gradually though not slowly lowered the gravities of their beers. Mild Ale, already lower in gravity than their more mature cousins, was hardest hit. By 1920, the average gravity for a mild ale was 1.033. [2]

Though restrictions on brewing were removed in 1921, Mild never fully recovered its pre-war strength. It settled at around 1032°-1035° - much the same as it is today. The range of Milds brewed also narrowed, down from three or four in 1914 to one or two in the 1920´s. Stronger Milds, above 1040°, all but disappeared.

Modern dark Mild varies from dark amber to near-black in colour and is very light-bodied. Its flavour is dominated by malt, sometimes with roasty notes derived from the use of black malt, with a subdued hop character, though there are some quite bitter examples. Most are in the range 1030°-1036° (3-3.6% ABV).

Light Mild is generally similar, but paler in colour. Some dark Milds are created by the addition of caramel to a pale beer.

Until the 1950s, Mild was the largest selling ale. It retains some popularity in the West Midlands, Wales and North West England, but has been totally ousted by bitter and lager in the South of England. [3] In 2002 only 1.3% of beer sold in pubs was Mild[4]. Mild's popularity in Wales, in particular, persisted as a relatively low-alcohol, sweet drink for coal miners. Outside the United Kingdom, Mild is virtually unknown, with the exception of Old in New South Wales and some microbrewery recreations in North America and Scandinavia.

[edit] Brewing

Mild ales are generally based on mild malt or pale malt. Light milds contain, in addition, a quantity of crystal malt; dark milds, meanwhile, make use of chocolate malt, black malt or dark brewing sugars. Milds tend to be lightly-hopped compared to pale ale and are usually in low alcohol; strong mild ales used to reach six or seven per cent ABV, but very few such beers are still brewed. Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild, brewed to a pre-WWI recipe, is a rare example of a strong Mild.

[edit] Common mild ales

  • Banks's Original
  • Brain's Dark (very popular in South Wales)
  • Greene King XX Mild
  • Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild
  • Theakston's Mild
  • Timothy Taylor's Golden Best (a light mild)
  • Timothy Taylor's Dark Mild
  • Tolly Mild
  • Thwaites Dark Mild

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Duty changes 1914-1918. European Beer Guide. Retrieved on 2007-03-10.
  2. ^ Mild Ale, by David Sutula, Brewer's Publications, 1999, ISBN-10: 0937381683, ISBN-13: 978-0937381687, pp.12-18
  3. ^ Good Beer Guide 2006, ISBN 1-85249-211-2, p28
  4. ^ Statistical Handbook 2003, British Beer and Pub Association, ISSN 1475-3545, page 21

[edit] External links

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