32 oz growler courtesy of Joey as part of a care package from the brewery. Beer pours a very cloudy, chocolate brown color with a very, very modest head. Lace is minimal. In stronger light the beer takes on more orange hues. Does look especially attractive, but having said that a great Mild is seldom a stunning looker, so there is a degree of authenticity about that! Nose is a very nutty affair - noticeably so in fact. Surprising. If this were a blind taste taste I would guess that this was a...
All notes on beers in the style
English Dark Mild Ale
Odd Notion (Summer 08)
12 oz bottle as part of the Magic Hat mixed 12 pack, Harris Teeter, Hilton Head Island, SC, USA. $12.99 for the pack along with #9, Circus Boy and Hocus Pocus. What have we here? An English Dark Mild?? I doubt it, but we'll see. Pour is good revealing a pretty decent head a little lace. Good clarity amongst the light mahoghony body. The aroma gives very little away other than certain maltiness (which is a good thing for the style) but it fails to live up to much. Tastes are relatively...
Twain’s Temperent Temperance Mild Ale
Nice clarity on the 12oz pour with a small head that maintains a ring of lace on the surface and a little on the glass. Good chestnut color. Some real metallic bitterness here, especially in the finish which has a little copper coinage metal in the back. Nice beer, that is a bit edgy, and for me lacks a little sophistication. Also, to me this is simply NOT a mild ale. In my milds (which I think are originals) we would look for more sweetness, a greater malt presence and less bittering from the...
Black Cat
Slightly newer, more up to date label than the one shown on BA. $4.99, O'Reilly's on Hilton Head Island, SC, USA. Dark brown tawny pour with ruby red highlights. Some head and some nice lacing. I am always intrigued by the aroma of beers like this one as the smells are intense, port like and seem to come from a beer maybe three or four times the ABV. I have no idea how the brewers manage to achieve this level of intensity of aroma from a beer that is 3.4% ABV! You could drink this for days on...
Coopers Dark Ale
Without the bottle sediment this pours very much like a decent looking Brown Ale without the red highlights - when the sediment is added it takes on a somewhat unattractive, typical Dubbel appearance. The sediment is very chalky looking. Aroma? Well I get almost nothing (except the obvious "beer" and a little alcohol) Well I'm not sure if this is much like an English Mild, it really drinks more like a low quality Brown Ale, and not a very tasty one at that. Yeasty and dry in the mouth, thin...
Gale’s Festival Mild
I always think of British Milds as being like Porters without the taste or the creaminess. I rarely expect much from Milds, but was pleasantly surprised by this being as drinkable as it was. A nice blackish color with a large, fast receeding head. It was a little too carbonated for my liking but that seemed to fade fast. A nice level of bitterness, but generally unremarkable. Slightly above average on my scale.