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Mind the Gap

Dark English Mild | 3.7%

In August 2022, two of our owners (Paul & Dawn Skinner) went on a beer-centric trip to London with Brewtopia Tours, hosted by Owen Ogletree (https://www.classiccitybrew.com/brewtopiatrips.html), which included a couple days at the Great British Beer Festival and numerous pub crawls throughout historic London neighborhoods.

In London England, tradition is everywhere from the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace to the dark wood, brass fittings and intricate architecture found in the old pubs (also referred to as public houses). The experience transports you to another time to be haunted by ghosts of the past. 

Even the beer is steeped in tradition and one of their favorite styles was the Dark English Mild. This style was served fresh from the cask at nearly all the pubs we visited. Refreshing with a complexity of malty flavors and low alcohol made the consumption easy. 

Part of daily routine was to start each day with a traditional English breakfast then head out by bus, tube and train to the neighborhood for which we would be exploring. The term “Mind the Gap” was announced and written everywhere to heed as a precaution to the wary traveler to step carefully when entering and exiting these various modes of transportation or pay the consequence. 

Inspired by the memories of our trip, Owen and the Athentic Brew Crew collaborated to create our version of a Dark English Mild, appropriately called Mind the Gap.

Dark Mild

Overall Impression

A dark, low-gravity, malt-focused British session ale readily suited to drinking in quantity. Refreshing, yet flavorful, with a wide range of dark malt or dark sugar expression.

Appearance

 

Copper to dark brown or mahogany color. A few paler examples (medium amber to light brown) exist. Generally clear, although is traditionally unfiltered. Low to moderate off-white to tan head; retention may be poor.

 

Aroma

 

Low to moderate malt aroma, and may have some fruitiness. The malt expression can take on a wide range of character, which can include caramel, toffee, grainy, toasted, nutty, chocolate, or lightly roasted. Little to no hop aroma, earthy or floral if present. Very low to no diacetyl.

 

Flavor

 

Generally a malty beer, although may have a very wide range of malt- and yeast-based flavors (e.g., malty, sweet, caramel, toffee, toast, nutty, chocolate, coffee, roast, fruit, licorice, plum, raisin). Can finish sweet to dry. Versions with darker malts may have a dry, roasted finish. Low to moderate bitterness, enough to provide some balance but not enough to overpower the malt. Fruity esters moderate to none. Diacetyl and hop flavor low to none.

 

Mouthfeel

 

Light to medium body. Generally low to medium-low carbonation. Roast-based versions may have a light astringency. Sweeter versions may seem to have a rather full mouthfeel for the gravity.

 

Comments

Most are low-gravity session beers around 3.2%, although some versions may be made in the stronger (4%+) range for export, festivals, seasonal and/or special occasions. Generally served on cask; session-strength bottled versions don’t often travel well. A wide range of interpretations are possible. Pale versions exist, but these are even more rare than dark milds; these guidelines only describe the modern dark version.

History

Historically, ‘mild’ was simply an unaged beer, and could be used as an adjective to distinguish between aged or more highly hopped keeping beers. Modern milds trace their roots to the weaker X-type ales of the 1800s, although dark milds did not appear until the 20th century. In current usage, the term implies a lower-strength beer with less hop bitterness than bitters. The guidelines describe the modern British version. The term ‘mild’ is currently somewhat out of favor with consumers, and many breweries no longer use it. Increasingly rare. There is no historic connection or relationship between Mild and Porter.