Searching For the Elusive Dark Mild

Back at GBBF last August, Mild (3.6%) from Penzance Brewing Co. won the lofty accolade of Supreme Champion Beer of Britain. You’d thought by now that the popularity of Dark Mild was increasing, yet unlike other beer styles it remains hard to find in pubs. Although in the past decade it has made a resurgence, in London alone only a dozen or so pubs sell dark mild regularly on tap, these include several Samuel Smiths houses, a couple of Fuller’s pubs (The Harp – Covent Garden, Ye Old Mitre – Holborn); The Wenlock Arms, Hoxton; The Bohemia, Finchley and two Harvey’s Pubs (The Royal Oak – Borough, The Cat’s Back – Wandsworth) for instance. During my extensive travels to pubs around London over the last year I only encountered a Dark Mild on tap only a handful of times. Back in January, during a visit to the Dog & Bell, Deptford; at the far end of its impressive cask line-up was a rather dejected looking Marble Mild (4.1%) – Marble Beer Co., which was missing its pump clip, so the staff had to make do with a makeshift one scrawled in chalk instead; this hardly would attract punters into buying pints of this beer. A few months later during the Mild May month, a scheme set up by CAMRA to encourage more pubs to sell Dark Mild, I encountered Black Swan Mild (3.9%) – Vale at The Mossy Well, Muswell Hill; a sprawling two-storey branch of the Wetherspoon’s empire that is often packed to the rafters. Despite it being a busy Friday evening, I was determined to order a pint of mild. Despite its relative low strength, it had rich roasted flavours with a nutty chocolatey quality seeping through on the backend. Having often been sceptical of this beer style, I was quite surprised by the quality of this brew.

 Later that same month, I tried Flying the Mags (3.4%) – London Brewing Co. following a tour of their brewery based within their headquarters at the Bohemia, Finchley. Originally sold as a May special, it has recently gone onto become a regular along the permanent cask selection. Although it was on the weak side, it made up for this shortfall with its rich and flavoursome roasted malt notes with a whisp of caramel in the background, it is easy to see why this beer has become a popular draw with customers. Towards the end of Summer, during a flying visit to the Plume of Feather’s, Greenwich; I saw by chance some Black Prince (3.9%) – Wantsum; named after Prince Edward of Woodstock (the eldest son of King Edward III) who was supposedly known for his black shield and brutal manner in battle, whichever theory stands. Conversely, this beer was not as fearsome as it’s namesake, it was relatively mild in flavour with only a dash of malt holding up the rear, making hardly anything to rave about. This beer was sold a guest ale, indeed quite a number of free houses, micropubs and craft tap-rooms around London occasionally sell a Dark Mild on guest, though the instances of finding one is relatively scarce. For some time now, I’ve been aware that The Royal Oak in Borough sells Dark Mild (3%) – Harvey’s regularly on cask, though I have seldom tried it during my many visits to this place. On this occasion, feeling a little worse for wear following a hefty luncheon at M. Manze, I sought to placate my jaded appetite with a half of something light. This beer was reassuringly light in body, though oddly creamy in mouthfeel, I could sense some nutty malt flavours coming through, despite its low-strength. It was a worthy brew that could easily hold it own against its stronger contemporaries along Harvey’s eclectic range of beers.

It dawned on me that day why some people are attracted to this beer style; while it may be low in the ABV department, it more than makes up for it with its distinctly malty flavours, which is reflective of the brewer’s craft. It is the ultimate easy drinking beer, yet in a city dominated by session bitters, roasty dark and mysterious stouts and hop-forward citrussy IPA’s, the whereabouts of the Dark Mild remain elusive. It was once described by one commentator as the forgotten beer style, and that label has sadly since stuck. It seems its resurgence among brewers in the past decade has become futile in the sea of intense competition from other beer styles. People may lark on about the likes of Mild May month all they like, yet this initiative has hardly led to revival of popularity for this style. Like the shy and elusive Bittern that occasionally stalks the Norfolk broads, for much of the year the humble Dark Mild only sporadically appears on a tap in any given pub that does cask, and until there is an unexpected uptick it will remain that way.

London Brewing Co. Tour

It wasn’t until July last year when I became aware of the London Brewing Co. when I saw some of their beers exhibited at the Ealing Beer Festival. Founded in 2011, they initially operated as a small brewpub at the Bull, Highgate before subsequently moving to a larger site at The Bohemia in North Finchley in 2014. Since then, they have expanded their facilities, although their original aesthetic as a brewpub still retains. This brewpub has become a popular focal point for the local community, organising events such as their monthly Brewer’s Social evenings where attendees can have a chat with the brewers while supping a complimentary pint of their latest special; and on the last Saturday of each month, they organise brewery tours, which gives the visitors the unique chance to explore around the site and find out more about their brewing operations. Keen to take up the opportunity, with my friend Graham in tow, we booked our places for the tour.   

 

Unlike other breweries that I have encountered, which tend to be in remote industrial units; this one was situated in a prominent High Street position which made it easier to commute. When we arrived, the bar had just opened for the day, so activity was still light. As we were waited for our tour guide to arrive, I supped a half of Flying the Mags (3.4%) their annual May special, a dark-mild created in honour of Mild May month. Despite its relatively low strength, it was rich and flavoursome, with prominent roasted malt notes and a caramel sweetness on the backend.  Before long, our guide Maciej arrived, and we were surprised to discover that we were the only two people on this tour. He first took us round the mash-tun, hopback and hot liquor tank which can be prominently seen towards the rear of the bar area. Maciej informed us that up to 80% pale malt is utilized in all their beers, and whilst boiling the malt, it is boiled at different temperatures, depending on the beer, in the order to extract the appropriate flavours and aromas. The mixture is then fed into the hopback where a base hop (used for bittering) is boiled for an hour. Upon then, more expensive hops are added to the mixture and boiled for only 15 minutes, then it is rapidly cooled down to stop the mixture from going bitter. Brewing operations are normally done twice a week, and despite only producing 1000l per day, up to two beers are produced during the working day.

 

Maciej then took us into a room at the rear of the building which contained several combi fermentation/ conditioning tanks that had pun-filled names like Audrey Hopburn, Tank Sinatra and Britney Beers for instance. During fermentation, CO2 is pumped into the vessels to drive out the oxygen, to prevent the mixture from spoiling; the beers are fermented at different temperatures, higher for pales/ IPAs and lower for lagers respectively. Two weeks after fermentation, 3kg worth of hops are added to the vats via their Hop Gun, a unique device that resembles a cross between a syringe and a torpedo. I have never encountered such a device on any previous brewery tour, and apparently the brewers double dry hop most of their beers (apart from Dark-Mild and Stouts), using this gadget for an extra coating of flavours and aromas, which help give their beers their characteristically bold flavour profile. Maciej then poured us some samples of London Lush (3.8%) to try straight from the tank, the beer was more vibrant, fresh and hoppy than what we tried from the bar earlier in the tour which seemed rather meek in comparison. A week after dry hopping the vat is dispensed into casks or kegs depending on the product, Maciej guided us into the barrel room where he concluded the tour. It was a large cavernous space filled to the rafters with casks and kegs waiting to be dispensed later at their bar, or sent on to their affiliated pubs who stock their products like The Carlton Tavern, Maida Vale or The Chandos, Brockley for instance. Scores of barrels were lined up against the walls with pipes connected to them, like the innards of an elaborate digestive system. Maciej informed us to give the casks added carbonation they add sugar to them, however their shelf life is only limited to around four days, while the kegs can last several weeks. This process is particularly challenging to manage given to the slew of cask and kegs that are fed into the bar on a daily basis. We then walked towards the bar where we asked Maciej more questions about the beers, I was particularly inquisitive about All Ripe (3.4%) their keg fruited sour, he explained that it’s distinct sour notes come from the special yeast used. We then proceeded to try some cask beers, which were quite flavoursome and distinct in their own right, although due to the hot weather conditions, they were too warm to fully appreciate the complexities of the various aromas and flavours.

Overall, we found the tour rather informative and insightful, we learnt intriguing details about the brewing process from boiling at different temperatures to double dry hopping, though some details were lacking, such as getting the chance to learn more about the various hops and malts they use in their core beers, which would have given us a greater understanding about how the beers get their distinctive flavours. This tour was relatively in smaller scale to ones I’ve been to in the past, and I found the admission price a tad overinflated, though it did come with incentive of a complimentary pint at the bar and a 20% off gift-token towards the overall tab. If you’re unfamiliar with the intricacies of the brewing process, I would strongly advise trying this tour out, as this provides a richly informative introduction into brewing, and the unique chance to see the behind-the-scenes workings of a brewpub in action.

Crisps and Beer Pairings

Brewers always lark on about what foods go best with their beers, whether a curry would be a suitable match for an IPA or a hearty stew provide the perfect accompaniment to a Best Bitter. Yet they seldom mention about crisps, which through thick and thin has been a constant companion to the humble pint, since the first flavoured crisps were introduced by Smiths back in the 1920's. Over the past 70 years as manufacturers developed new flavours for crisps, from cheese and onion in 1954 to salt and vinegar in 1967 and so on; the variety of crisps available to punters have vastly increased to hundreds of flavours and styles whether it is made out of potato, corn or wheat. So the idea about crisp and beer pairings should really be a particuarly pertient one at this moment in time as beers increasingly diversify. The old adage goes that crisps were intially introduced to pubs, since their fatiness and saltiness encourages drinkers to buy more pints, and in turn rake in more profits for the landlords, it is little wonder pubs like The Swan in Bushey has a mountain of snacks to choose from, as it has become a good source of encouraging profit. Yet it would be shallow just to dismiss crisps as a salty snack used to drive up drinking rates. There have been ongoing efforts from independent brewers to improve the quality of their beers, crisp manufacturers like Burts, Pipers and Mackies have striven over the years to improve the quality of their product, so aside from encouraging customers to drink more, their products also provide an ideal pairing to beers. But like cheese and wine pairings, different flavours suit different wines, the same should be said about crisps and beers. 

Indeed flavours like salt and vinegar particuarly go well with golden ales, as the acidity from the vinegar helps dovetail with the potent hopiness that is commonly found with this style. For instance I once tried a packet of salt and vinegar Squares with Bure Gold (4.3%) - Woodfordes and I found that the vinegar actually enhanced the flavour profile of the beer, and brought the hop forward flavours out. The same could be said for Smith's Scampi Fries, which I also find a good match with any blonde or Golden Ale; although in reality it's actually lemon flavoured, the flavour profile makes for a good pairing with this particular style of beer as it helps blend with the refreshing hoppy flavours from the beer rather than overtake it, which is little wonder why the British public voted it the 6th most popular crisp variety. Moreover, when it comes to the likes of Best Bitter which often known for its maltiness, dry mouthfeel and pronounced bitter backtaste, gamier/ meaty flavours should be considered. The smokiness from bacon flavoured crisps like Frazzles would make an ideal pairing for any pint of best, as the smokey tang helps undercut the bitter excesses from the beer, making it easier to drink. The same could be said for beef flavour crisps, when recently sampling some Pipers Longhorn Beef flavoured crisps with Orkney Best (3.6%) - Swannay, the gamey flavours from the crisps help exentuate the malty properties from the beer, thus improving its flavour, rather than detract from it. Now when it comes to darker beers like Stout, Porters and Dark Mild, careful consideration should be put into pairing crisps with this beer style, as quite often this style is known for its pronouced roasted malt flavour profile with notes of coffee, chocolate, caramel and even charcoal are often are detected. This can make it particuarly difficult to match up with any crisp flavour, especially when there are many substyles of stout for instance to choose from, such as Oyster, Milk, Dry Irish, Imperial, Oatmeal and Fruit to take in consideration, which further mudies the waters. Yet most stouts and porters are known for their medium to heavy bodies, especially when lactose and oats are thrown into the mix. Incidentally enough cheese has always been seen as a good flavour pairing with darker beers, as the creaminess from the cheese helps dovetail with the mouthfeel from the beer, and also help counteract the bitterness without overtaking it. Certain types of cheeses like red leicester and cheddar are especially common in crisps, as their relative mildness makes fir a suitable pairing with darker ales. Indeed a packet of Mini Cheddars would be an ideal pairing to the likes of Mena Dhu (4.5%) - St. Austell, as it helps exentuate the complex malt profile of the beer, which features up to six different malts (Pale, Crystal, Chocolate, Smoked, Malted Oats and Roasted Barley) in the mix. The flavourings from the cheddar flavoured crisps actually improve the overall drinking experience. Moreover the marmite style flavourings from crisps like Twiglets would also make a good pairing with darker coloured beers, which staringly obvious since these crisps were originally made from excess brewers yeast, as the strong, salty, earthy and unami rich flavours make an ideal pairing with the astrigent excesses of any Stout, Porter or Dark Mild. Moreover, on the other end of the ABV scale, beer styles like IPA and Strong Ale tend to have deeper and more pronounced flavours, for instance a traditional English IPA is known for their dinstinctly hoppy and aromatic flavour profile, with notes of citrus, spice, caramel and herbs thrown into the mix, along with a bready and biscuity malty mouthfeel to contend with. Indeed other styles like East Coast IPA's and NEIPA have even more hop forward flavours, particuarly when hops like Citra are utilized. Brewers often suggest spicy flavours are the ideal way to temper the beast, and none come more better than a curry, as the spiciness helps counteract the strong flavours that come through with IPA. Most crisps manufacturers usually go for milder types of curries when utilzing them for inspiration, as something like Vindaloo would be perhaps a step to far, unless you happen to be Dave Lister. I have frequently come across flavours like Chicken Tikka, Madras, Katsu Curry and even Currywurst on my travels, not only do curry flavoured crisps have aromatic qualities, they sometimes have a trace of lactose to help cut through the excesses of the spices, much like a real curry made with yoghurt would. So whether you sample a strong IPA like Green Devil IPA (6%) - Oakham, or Star of Eastbourne (6.5%) - Harvey's, the flavours from something like Chip Shop Curry flavoured McCoys is an ideal pairing with this beer style, as it helps pacify the strong flavours coming through from the IPA, yet at the same time it helps bring out the rich and varied flavour profile that is commonly associtated with this beer style. 

At the end of the day when it comes to crisp and beer pairings it really comes down to personal taste. Indeed it would be a pretty obvious choice just go for ready salted as drinkers have done for over a century, but this particular flavour adds nothing to the beer. Today, we are spoilt for choice when it comes to the wide array of flavours out there to choose from, and this allows for more oppertunity to expand our horizons and try out different flavours of crisps with various beer styles.  After all, it is well known that the fatiness from crisps coats your tongue, making you drink more, so choosing the appropriate flavour pairing is imperitive for improving the overall drinking experience whether it would be a sessionable and malty Best Bitter or a dry hopped and citrussy Double IPA. Indeed, there may be plenty of trial and error involved, but hopefully this brief exploration into flavour town will help educate your tastebuds and encourage you to open up a pack of crisps when you next have a pint down the pub or at home. 

A Drink to Ol' Rabbie

Last Saturday was Burns Night, that annual celebration where people around the world celebrate the poems and songs of Robert Burns, one of Scotland’s best-known poets. To mark the occasion a number of pubs were organising their own events from special meals to poetry readings, yet the most unusual event I discovered locally was a Scottish Mini Beer Festival at Two Trees Micro in Watford. The relatively diminutive pub has been operating in the area since 2022, it offers a frequently rotating selection of four cask ales and keg beers/lagers from independent breweries, along with a good selection of ciders and perries, and for the discerning traveller there are a good selection of bottles and cans to take-away. Due to the size of the place, unlike most pubs it doesn’t offer food, yet snacks are available, although you can bring in food from outside. Since opening the pub has gained a following in the local community, winning a slew of awards including Pub of the Year 2023 (Watford & District CAMRA) and Pub of Year Competition 2022 (Watford Observer) for instance. Their Burns Night event was effectively a (partial) tap takeover with beers appropriately from Scottish breweries available on tap, which the landlord had installed on stillage fresh that very day. 

 

Accompanied by my friend Graham, as we entered we were met with a display of bunting that bared the Scottish flag, and on the tables, there were informative leaflets that gave information on the six Scotland based breweries along with tasting notes for the beers that were available that day, and music from Scottish bands and artists were blaring from the loudspeakers. At the handpumps, there were three Scots ales available on cask, and several further on keg as well Whiskies and Scottish themed snacks, although the latter was a bit misleading as there were only Tunnocks Tea-cakes available, complementary with every drink. There were beers of varying strengths and styles available, so appropriately I went for a lighter ale to start off with Orkney Best (3.6%) from Swannay Brewery based in Birsay, Orkney. A light sessionable bitter, the brewers describe it as a lunchtime beer due to its relatively modest strength. The beer is made with traditional British malts and an unusual hop combination of British, German and Polish hops, and over the years it has become one of their most successful products, winning a slew of awards including Champion Beer of Scotland (2012) for instance. To cut to the chase, it was refreshingly light, and rather malty with a slight nutty bitterness rumbling in the background, along with a dash of hops that helped extenuate its lack of strength, but nonetheless the flavour profile was evenly balanced, meanwhile the mouthfeel was biscuity and dry, though the relative lack of a head did it no favours. Overall, I found it decent for a session level ale, nothing too remarkable on the flavour front, but a decent enough drink to help start off the proceedings. For my next beer, I decided to take it up a notch, and went for Jarl (3.7%) from Fyne Ales, which operate from a converted farmhouse in Argyll. One of the best known beers to come out of Scotland in recent years, markedly it was one of the first Scottish beers to use Citra hops when it came on the scene in 2010 and since its launch it has become of the most successful Scottish beers, winning Champion Beer of Scotland no less than three times (in 2013, 2021 and 2022) and other accolades including Bronze (CBOB 2013), Gold – Golden Ales (CBOB 2013), Gold – Cask Standard Bitters and Pale Ales (SIBA Scotland 2017). It’s hardly any surprise it has become the brewer’s flagship product, and can be regularly seen on handpumps in pubs across the UK. The beer had a fluffy off-white head, which helped energize it luscious and creamy mouthfeel. Despite its low strengths, a circus of flavours was immediately apparent, with notes of citrus fruits and grassiness coming through from the Citra hops, whilst the malt bill of Pale and Torrified Wheat helped ground the flavours, giving off hints of caramel and breadiness.  The mouthfeel was verging on the dry, yet it was evidently refreshing, the thick head helped offset some of the dryness and helped bring the flavours to the fore. Understandably I found the beer quite enjoyable, and despite its relatively low strength, it is evident that the brewers have put in the effort to make it flavourful; and as a beer/ food pairing it particularly went well with the Curried Mutton which I purchased from the Caribbean take-away across the road.  

By this time, there was only one cask beer left on tap that I hadn’t sampled yet. I went for Henok’s Mild (5.3%), a recent collaboration between Edinburgh based Newbarns Brewery and Omnipollo from Sweden. A strong dark mild, I was frankly mystified by its range of favours, on the foreground it was filled to the brim with mulled fruits, with notes of coffee and chocolate coming through from the malt, with just a hint of lactose rumbling away in the background. It had a noteworthy roasted bitterness, without it being too overbearing, and it was rounded off with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel. Unlike the other beers I tried today which are regularly brewed, and available in both cask and bottle, this beer was only sold in cask and likely to be on limited releases, so it could very well be my only chance to sample this rare beast. The beer’s status as a mild rather frankly confusing, it’s complex array of flavours and mouthfeel veered more towards Porter/ Stout territory and its strength was anything but mild, I enquired the landlord about this, and he stated that mild beers tend to use milder hops, though they can still vary in strength. This throws the entire status of Mild into doubt, and further muddies the already murky waters of dark ales, perhaps a conundrum to solve at a later date? Scotland uniquely has its own beer styles, they are historically based around the Shilling system where the strength of the beer would calculate the price per hogshead, this ranged from Light (60/-), Heavy (70/-), Export (80/-) and Wee Heavy (90/- plus). Scotch ales are another name for strong ales and tend to be over 6% abv, they are similar in character to Burton Ales, Stingo and Barley Wine and have a mature, fully rounded flavour with a kaleidoscope of notes and a warming effect brough on by its high strength. The place was starting to fill up with punters as I sampled was 180 Shilling (12%), a recent collaboration between Holy Goat Brewing of Dundee and Newbarns. Produced alongside a selection of four limited edition Winter releases, it is based on a 17^th century recipe for Scotch Ale, in order extract its strength, it is put through the mash tun twice which helps concentrate the wort and produces a high ABV beer without the need of additional sugars. Adhering to tradition, the brewers utilize Chevalier Malt, a once common variety that was commonplace in most beers during the 19^th century, it was discontinued following the introduction of mechanical harvesting processes in the 1920’s, where the relatively small heights of the stems made it unsuitable for harvest.  It has since been brought back following the efforts of Dr. Chris Ridout from the John Inns Centre (that boasts a large selection of heritage malt varieties) who planted a crop, to see how it would fare in modern brewing. Since 2017, a clutch of breweries have produced small batch beers using this malt, and having never tried sampled a beer made with this malt, I was eager to sample it. Due to its high strength, it was only sold in halves and thirds, so understandably I went for the latter. I was met with a cacophony of flavours, including notes of sherry, whisky, oak, brandy, berry fruits and a whisp of marmalade. There was a notable caramel sweetness flowing in the background, whilst the bitterness was subdued and melded with the other flavours to create a unique tasting experience. The richness from the malt was notable, and its high strength helped complement it, yet although it was on the strong side, it wasn’t too overwhelming as Scotch Ales go, and it was akin to drinking a fine wine or a low strength spirit. This beer was a like a trip back in time, a faithful recreation of the Scotch Ales that propagated pubs during the Victorian Age.

 

In retrospect I found this event to be a success, the range of ales available were carefully selected and thorough researched, it was evident that the staff put their effort in to source the best quality examples from north of the border. I sampled a fine range of ales, from sessionable bitters to popular well-known releases, strong dark milds and a Scotch Ale that provided a window into the past. Each of the beers provided a different and unique drinking experience, furthermore none of them were bland and unassuming in any way. I have tried several Scottish beers in the past, but I’m still relatively vague and naive in my knowledge of Scotland’s brewing industry. So, this mini-beer festival not only offered the opportunity to discover more about Scotland’s illustrious brewing sector, it also gave me the unique and rare chance to try these beers on cask, where they would otherwise be seldom available in England. This event proved to be a popular draw for the micropub, attracting a slew of customers throughout the day, let’s hope that the owners put on more themed events throughout the rest of this year as this could be a potentially worthwhile enterprise, I’d definitely drink to that!