Mumbling Mild – English Dark Mild Ale


beer-label-mumbling-mild-3inchMy first English Mild was Nerf Herder from Pizza Port San Clemente. I really enjoyed it even though it was hoppier and bolder than a traditional mild. Without any other point of reference, I was pleasantly surprised when I had Unintelligibility from Noble Ale Works, so I sent an email to the brewer, Evan, and he was gracious enough to send me a recipe that he based his brew on.

Recipes don’t usually scale down to homebrew size very well, so I had add in some more dark malt to get the color right. I had some chocolate rye laying around, so I used a small percentage of that to bump the color and add a spicy note.

Rich chocolate, subtle roast, and a hint of spicy rye makes this indulgent take on the classic English Mild a treat to be savored. At only 4.2%, it’ll take several of these before you’re speaking unintelligibly. But since it’s so tasty, you’ll find yourself mumbling before you realize it. Or maybe that’s just the way you talk. No judgement here, just good beer.

Brew Date: February 28, 2015
Kegged On: March 14, 2015
O.G.: 1.051
F.G.: 1.020
ABV: 4.2%

Recipe Details

Batch Size Boil Time IBU SRM Est. OG Est. FG ABV
5 gal 30 min 13.987928 24.121550 1.053 1.014 5.170104

Fermentables

Name Amount %
UK Maris Otter 10 lbs 87.43
UK Brown Malt 1 lbs 8.74
US Blackprinz 7 oz 3.83

Hops

Name Amount Time Use Form Alpha %
UK Golding 1 oz 40 min Boil Pellet 4.7

Yeast

Name Lab Attenuation Temperature
DCL S-04-SafAle 73% 32°F – 32°F

Mash

Step Temperature Time
Rest at 154.4°F 60 min

Fermentation

Step Time Temperature
Aging 0 days 32°F

Notes

The inspiration for this beer came from Adnams brewery in England. They make a dark mild that uses just maris otter and chocolate malt. Below will give you an idea of how to make that beer:

Use Calcium Chloride in the mash to help make more malty.
91% Simpsons Maris Otter
9% Simpsons Brown Malt (aka Coffee Malt), if you can't find this, you could use Simpsons Chocolate Malt.
Bitter with some English hops at 13 ibu's. We used UK Progress, but I don't think it matters too much for this beer.
Fullers Yeast, ferment at 72F
OG: 11.9p
FG: 4.0p

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