When it comes to British beer styles, one that usually gets left out of the conversation is the Mild. This classic style is nowadays known for being a low ABV style, with high drinkability and a nice toasty and biscuit like character from the malts… But did you know that these beers used to be high in ABV and not necessarily dark in nature?
Milds used to be all the talk in Britain, the most popular beverage in the 18th century, before lagers were even available in the United Kingdom. These would vary in colour and strength. Around this time the words ale and beer were not interchangeable, with ales being lighter in hop usage.
Mild Ales were not the light-ish beers we see today, the term mild was used to describe young beer, that was meant to be consumed fresh. There were many aged beers around that time like “Stock Ales”. Most of these Milds actually sat around more or less 7%. In the 19th century their strength used to be designated by the letter X in their name, going from lightest (X) to strongest (XXXX).
It wasn’t until the 20th century where two world wars affected the supply of barley, and with extra taxes coming in and a massive financial crisis, Milds had to be made lighter and lighter in ABV. Some beer historians believe that brewers would purposely make Milds darker because people thought they were stronger. Eventually with the arrival of industrial lagers and the popularity of bitters, the Milds of old almost vanished. But this wouldn’t be the end!
Modern brewers were the rescuers of this style, after the craft beer movement started. And thanks to organizations like CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) the style has gathered more importance in the last decade, with CAMRA even designating May as the official ‘Mild month’ in the UK. Well, although it’s not May, you can take this spritzy Dark Mild from this month’s Ale Odyssey and cheers to those who keep beer history alive!
FEATURED IN ALE ODYSSEY - BOX #18
Image: Sobremesa
