A Tale of Two Milds
British beers are not the most in-vogue styles right now, but some small American brewers are doing their best to bring back their simple mild-mannered pleasures. Recently two very different Portland breweries released two distinctly different English-style Mild Ales in 16oz cans and this makes for a great excuse to compare and contrast.
Mild Ale is a style invented in Britain that dates back to the 1700’s, and it just may be the quintessential English pub beer in that it comes in clear gold or dark amber colors and prizes malt over hops. The Pale Mild Ale at it’s lightest appears like a radiant sunrise and the Dark Mild can go as deep and red as maple syrup. Neither has more than a light hop character or perceived bitterness, just enough to balance a biscuity, only slightly sweet honey nut malt flavor with some floral spice qualities. A Dark Mild picks up more molasses, licorice, caramel and toasted nut flavors from specialty malts and English ale yeast. But both interpretations top out at only around 4.5% abv on the high end of the spectrum! These are the perfect beers to enjoy more than a few pints with and not find yourself in need of an uber ride or a nap after, and are sometimes referred to as the original “session” ales.
Milner’s Mild
Away Days Brewing Co. is the more obvious choice to dive into this very British-style of beer. With Away Days Brewing being an off-shoot of the late and lamented Toffee Club soccer pub that was opened by British expats. Brewer Marshall Kunz has been brewing up European ales and lagers since Away Days opened in mid 2019 and Milner’s Mild Ale has been a favorite.
”As brewers have pushed further and further into crazy, experimental, new ingredients and styles there seems to be a renewed demand for basic, clean, traditional styles,” says Away Days brewer Marshall Kunz.
Milner’s Mild has been brewed three times since the start of the pandemic, and despite the lack of indoor (or even much outdoor) seating it’s proved a resilient staple for Away Days, much like the style itself. It’s brewed fairly traditionally with all English ingredients: Maris Otter base malt with malted oats for body and a few specialty weaved in for complexity. The hopping runs both new and old school with the classic East Kent Golding variety providing the expected floral and herbal notes for a light bitterness. Godiva Hops also make their way into the recipe, this is a newer British variety cultivated from Jester hops by Charles Faram Hop Development Programme. Good for bittering and excels when used in late hopping.
“The Godiva hops have a nice red fruit character, think red grapes, currants, plum etc. They play off the malts really well,” says Kunz. Who notes the use of the West Yorkshire yeast (Away Days house strain) that is said to have originated from the Timothy Taylor brewery founded in 1858.
Milner’s Mild ABV: 3.7% IBU: 15 SRM: 28, available in 16oz cans by online order, delivery in PDX, or best of all from a hand pump cask engine at the Away Days pub at 1516 SE 10th Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Where The Mild Things Are
Ex Novo Brewing is a company better known for their IPA’s and fruited sours than traditional European-styles. Nonetheless the brewers have been fortunate enough to be able to make one of their own favorite and more quaffable styles off and on for the past 5 years. Where The Mild Things Are, is Ex Novo’s take on a Dark English Mild Ale, a maltier, richer, but still just as drinkable iteration of the classic that the brewery recently been put into cans for the first time.
“I think the pandemic has created an interesting opportunity to package small volumes of beers you might not otherwise think of putting into package,” says head brewer Ryan Buxton.
Where The Mild Things Are is build on a base of Thomas Fawcett English Maris Otter, torrefied wheat for body, and uses English pale chocolate malt and dark and medium lovibond Crystal malts that add color, and fire roasted coffee flavors that take it in a richer Dark Mild direction. But there is a secret ingredient to this mild rumpus as well.
“Perhaps the most interesting ingredient we use in this beer is invert sugar,” says Buxton. Rather than using a stable product like candi syrup or molasses, they make their own syrup in house at Ex Novo. By hydrating demerara sugar, then adding lactic acid and boiling it for a few hours to hit very specific target temperatures they create an intense caramel-to-molasses flavor that ferments with the beer and leaves a signature flavor behind. “Varying levels of caramelized invert sugar were commonly used historically by brewers through the 19th century and beyond but is not a commonly used ingredient anymore, which is a bit of a shame as I feel it adds a lot to these styles,” says Buxton.
Where The Mild Things Are is just 4.1% ABV and 16 IBUs, hopped with traditional Fuggles and East Kent Goldings and fermented with English Ale yeast with a purposefully low carbonation. Pour from a can into a proper Imperial Pint glass and enjoy at temperatures ranging 50-55°F.
It’s unclear if Mild Ales have any chance at a comeback in the world of over-fruited puree beers and pastry stouts, but a few breweries in Oregon and Washington are doing their best to keep them alive. The two Portland brewers behind Ex Novo and Away Days have subtly different opinions on a Mild future, but could certainly find some common ground over a few pints.
“It is definitely a style I would love to see more of but I just don't think there is a very large market for them in the sea of IPA's,” opines Ryan Buxton of Ex Novo.
“It definitely seems like milds are coming back in style. More and more keep popping up around town which is awesome! I don't know that they'll ever be the next big trend but it's great to see people appreciating beer flavored beer,” added Away Days Marshall Kunz.
Either way both beers are available now in 16oz cans in the Portland area and worth seeking out.