The beer renaissance has spawned an assortment of new beer styles—either seminal in their own right, or redefinitions of classics, often at the expense of some archetypes becoming under-appreciated or ignored. Others, like regional or subtle styles (such as mild ale) are becoming rare or in danger of disappearing altogether. Tabbed “mild” because of its quaffable personality, soft hop impression and minimal punch, the moniker could not be more suggestive of its character. The ultimate session beer, mild is a product of, and vital component to, modest, proletarian regions of the North and Midlands of England, and the quintessential ingredient of that region’s most identifiable social institution, the pub. Perhaps it is not surprising, then, that both nouveau and established brewers eschew mild when the propensity is to shove forward. But even in its homeland, where English brewers are experimenting more than ever, mild is often the forgotten brew. In a way, this may serve the style well, as those seeking the quaint offerings of pub or cask-ale culture in England ferret out the more traditional fare and ambiance. It is unlikely to vanish altogether, and perhaps its paucity and utility will keep it alive.
Mild ales are a bit more disparate bunch and are tougher to pigeonhole than most styles. They can resemble brown ale, porter, bitter, or even old ale. If the brewer calls it a mild—then, by Jove, it is.
Why Mild?
At times it is challenging to tease the various threads of the beer tapestry apart, there is nevertheless plenty of solid documentation regarding British brewing history. Prior to the 18th century, beer was primarily unhopped, brown, and unrefined. Brewing moved from the home to breweries because of the Industrial Revolution and the capitalists that it produced. A whole new class of manual laborers in villages and cities mandated larger facilities. As brewing could only be conducted during certain times of the year, storage became the most important issue confronting brewers. The practice of the day was to blend brews of various strengths and maturity. “Three threads” beer (blended from three casks) was the rule. Each component had its own tag, such as “strong,” “old,” “stock,” “stale,” and of course, “mild,” depending on its condition and age.
Mild was designated as such because of its muted strength and gentle nature, as compared to the mature beers. A method known as “parti-gyle” was employed during brewing. The grain grist is repeatedly saturated with water, mashed to achieve conversion and the wort then drained. Each subsequent wort is weaker than the previous until nothing more can be coaxed from the mash, the last of which might receive the designation “mild.”
This mild wort would ferment quickly and was added to the blend by the publican to reach the desired balance. In contrast, mild brews didn’t have the complex character of the mature beers, due to the fact that the ripened beers had been laid up in wooden casks. They picked up a myriad of sour, vinous, and musty nuances from the porous wood and its microflora. Fresh ale had little of this and, by comparison, was quite mild. To this point (the early 1700s), “mild” defined a condition rather than a style of beer, as all beer was made from the same raw materials, but differed only in age and strength. By today’s standards, though, mild was actually a formidable beer, coming in at around 7% ABV.
About this same time, pale malt was developed and hops were becoming more prevalent as a brewing ingredient. Brews made with this combination of pale malt and high hop rates turned the tide away from darker, sweet beers. Dark beers remained more of a commoners’ drink because pale malt was fairly expensive. Additionally, the original porters were being made from a single mash, rather than a mixture of beers; a blend of malts instead of a single rough, brown grain. As stout and porter defined themselves, stout being a strong version of porter, so is there evidence that milds were considered lower-strength versions of porter. In fact, today’s dark milds are similar to porters and brown ales.
