Brewing Mild Ales - Society of Barley...
Transcript of Brewing Mild Ales - Society of Barley...
Brewing Mild Ales- How Low Can You Go?
Society of Barley Engineers General Meting
4/5/17
Bob Mac Kay - QUAFF
Agenda• Why I love this style
• History & popularity of Milds
• Influence on changes to Milds over time
• Mild Ingredients– Pale & Dark Mild
• Process particulars on brewing Milds
• Mild recipes – past & present
• Conclusion
• Q & A
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Why I Love This Style• Low in alcohol … but full of flavor!
• Tasty with various flavor contributions
– Bready flavor from base malts
– Chocolate/roast flavor from dark malts (Dark Mild)
• Well balanced beer leaning towards malt
– Hop bitterness for balance only
• Economical – simple grain bill
• Easy to brew – single infusion mash
• Can enjoy quickly3
I’ve Enjoyed Some Success with Milds• Mild awards include . . .
– Best of Division – 2006 – San Diego County Fair• English Pale Mild
– Best of Show – 2011 – San Diego County Fair• English Dark Mild
– 1st Place – 2016 ViaSat Homebrew Competition• Dark Mild
– 1st Place – 2016 California State Homebrew Comp.• Dark Mild
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The Highs & Lows of Milds
• Today we think of Milds as the lowest strength English beers
– But this was not always the case
• Latter 19th century, Mild Ale stronger than . . .
– Pale Ale or
– Bitter
– For example:
• Burton Mild: OG of 1.080
• vs Bitter: OG of 1.064
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Time for a Beer – Mild #1• Nerf Herder Dark Mild - 4.5% ABV
– Pizza Port San Clemente, CA
– 2012 World Beer Cup Bronze Medal Winner
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First… A Little English Brewing History
17th Century 18th Century
From 1600 on, hops in most
ales;Ales 1/3
amount of hops than Beers
Early 1700s –
Porters & Stout
Porters in London
Distinct barrel sizesAle: 32 gal
Beer: 36 gal
Publicans Commercial brewers-e.g., Sam Whitbread’s
Porter & Stout created 1st cmml
brewing industry in the world
“Mild” Meant Fresh
All colors of ales
produced –depending upon base malts used
17th & Early 18th
Century –Beer ≠ Ale
All Malt LiquorAle-British
beers before hops 15th cent.Beer-hopped malt liquor
from European immigrants
Hydrometer– malt yields
accurately measured
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A Century of Predominance• “Mild” was fairly common term in 1700s
– Fresh beer that was not kept or vatted– Meant to be drunk within a few weeks
• Often applied to Porter – most popular 18th century beer in England
– Versus “stale” porter kept in wooden vats for 6 – 12 mos.
• Tastes changed in early 1800s– More beers were fresh – called “Mild” or “Running Beers”
• Mild Ale, Mild Porter, Mild Bitter
• By mid 1800s, all ales were fresh beers– Term “Mild” to denote fresh beer fell out of use– Kept beers were now termed “Stock Ales”
• By 1850, Mild Ale overtook Porter as England’s favorite beer – A spot it held for over 100 years (1850 to 1960)!
Roger Prost- Mild Ale: It’s Not Dead Yet – Brew Your Own, September 20058
Mild Designations- circa 1830s
• Milds were designated X through XXXX
– Exact origin is unclear
• Tax / barrel of strong ale before 1830 = 10 shillings = X?
• Just easiest thing to chalk on a barrel end?
• X
• XX
• XXX
• XXXX
67%
23%
6%
4%
Production
1840s
1864
1875
EOL
*OG
* To ~ 1060 in 1870
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The Highs & Lows of Milds
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Time for a Beer – Mild #2
• Skidmark Brown Ale – 4.5% ABV
– Pizza Port Brewing, Ocean Beach, CA
– 2011 GABF Gold Medal Winner
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Legislative & Technology Impacts
19th Century
1820 –IPAs at Burton-on-Trent
Coke on large scaleproduced
1st pale beers in world!
Mild or Running
Beers Common
All ales fresh vs. “Stock” for kept
1850Mild Ale
surpassed Porter as England’s #1 Beer
1816Only 4
ingredients in beer
Beerhouse Act of 1830- Tax malt &
hops- Auto
Licensing of Beer Houses
1880 - Free Mash Tun Act - Tax on OG
- Adjuncts OK
Maize, rice & sugar
lightened body;
ConditionedQuicker
Sugar led to gradual
darkening of color
Gravities continued to decline1.050 to 1.055 for
“X”
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Wars Impact Mild Gravities
20th Century
Brewers cut
strength to retail at
same pre-tax price
1918Average
OG fell to 1.025
World War I- Material shortage- Gov’t
Restrictions
OG continued to drop to ~ 1.027 or
1.028
Gravity of Mild Ale dropped
to ~ 1.035 - modern Mild Ale was born
Post War 1920s OG increased - but only to 1.043
1929Depression
- Led to British Gov’t dramatic tax increase on beer in 1931
1990 Lager
overtakes Bitter
WWII –further
shortages &
restrictions
By 1945 most mild ales were
below 1.030
By 1950 gravities
rose a little to 1.030 to
1.032
1960 Bitter
overtakes Mild
2002 Only 1.2% pub sales
were Milds
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Not Dead Yet• Milds continued to decline… but are not dead
• CAMRA has continued to support
– May declared as Mild Month
• Some revival at US craft breweries
• But particulars that make it a great personal favorite doom it to widespread US support
– Low hopping rates – against grain of US palates
– Shorter shelf life
– Slower sales movement & profitability for brewers
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Time for a Beer – Mild #3
• Pale Mild - 4.0% ABV
– Harold Gulbransen, QUAFF
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Mild Ales by the Numbers
• Pale Mild
– BJCP Style Guidelines
– Roger Protz3
• Dark Mild
– BJCP Style Guidelines
– Roger Protz3
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Brewing Milds• Both Pale & Dark Milds were brewed
– Based upon geographical location
• Dark in London, Whales & Midlands of England
• Pale in North of England
• Key – make flavorful but not watery!
– Trickier for Pale Mild, since a lot of flavor in Dark Mild comes from the roasted malts
• A dextrinous wort from high temp mashing is key
– 154ᵒ F to 158ᵒ F
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Ingredients for Milds• Base Malt
– Use Maris Otter, Mild Ale malt or Pale malt• Terry Foster2 – use Mild Ale malt
– Kilned higher get some roasted/nutty flavor
• Specialty Malts– Crystal malt - 10% to 15% in both Dark & Pale Milds
• Pale mild: Lighter colored malts – 20 to 40 Lovibond• Dark mild: Darker but not too dark – 60 to 80 L
– Chocolate or Pale Chocolate• Pale mild: 1-2% of total grist to add complexity• Dark mild: up to 5% of total grist
– Can omit Crystal malt
– Black malt (Dark Mild) – for a dry finish• 1 – 2% of grist
• Hops– English hops – Kent Goldings or Fuggle
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Process for Brewing Milds
• Single step infusion mash
– 154ᵒ F to 158ᵒ F to produce dextrinous wort
• I add a twist with a “pseudo decoction”
– Dark Milds only, not Pale Milds
• Sparge with 170ᵒ F water
• Boil for 60 minutes
• Water treatment- 50% RO/50% filtered tap
– Some Calcium Chloride
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Pseudo-Decoction• Pull 0.5 qts/lb wort 15’ boil return to mash tun
• Jonny Lieberman, Maltose Falcons, 2009; link: pseudo-decoction
• Enhances melanoidin process maltiness
• Aids protein breakdown/coagulation clarity
• Maximizes gelatinization of starches efficiency20
Yeast, Fermentation & Packaging• Pitch with English yeast
– Character but low attenuation
• Pitch yeast without starter– Help ester production
• Ferment at 66ᵒ F to 68ᵒ F– Should be finished in 4 to 5 days
• Secondary fermentation not needed
• Carbonate to only 1.5 to 2.0 volumes CO2
– Priming sugar, DME or forced carbonation
• Or serve on beer engine - the CAMRA way!
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Time for a Beer – Mild #4
• Dark Mild - 3.9% ABV
– Bob MacKay, QUAFF
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Recipes - 19th Century Milds
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Recipes – Current Day MildsPP San Clemente – Nerf Herder (Sample #1) – 4.5% ABV• 62% - 2 row malt• 6% - CaraPils malt• 5% - Crystal 50L malt• 9% - Crystal 77L malt• 3% - Crystal 120L malt• 3% - Chocolate malt• 2% - Chocolate Wheat• 3% - Honey malt• 7% - Flaked oats• 75 min – Magnum hops• 30 min – EKG & Fuggle• WP – EKG & Fuggle• House strain - La Cruda Yeast (Tomme Arthur brought back
from UK)24
Recipes – Current Day MildsPP Ocean Beach – Skidmark Brown (Sample #2) – 4.5% ABV• 66% - Maris Otter English Pale Ale malt• 9% - Mild malt• 5% - Chocolate malt• 4% - Wheat• 4% - Crystal 120L malt• 6% - Crystal 50L malt• 6% - Flaked oats • 90 min – UK Phoenix hops• 65 min – Brewers Gold• 10 min – Sterling• House strain - La Cruda Yeast (Tomme Arthur brought back
from UK)25
Recipes – Current Day MildsHarold’s Pale Mild – 6.5 gallons (Sample #3)• 7lbs. Bairds English Pale Ale malt• 1 lb. Crystal 10L malt• 2 oz. Pale Chocolate malt• Mash at 157ᵒ F ± 1ᵒ F for 60 minutes• 12g of Magnum (12.4%AA) for 60 min; 15g of
Liberty (5.5% AA) for 10 min• White Labs WLP013 London Ale Yeast• Ferment at 68ᵒ F for 7 days; then 65ᵒ F for 7 days• OG = 1.039; FG = 1.008; ABV = 4.0%• Force carbonated to 2.2 volumes CO2
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Recipes – Current Day MildsBob’s Dark Mild – 10 gallons (Sample #4)
• 10lbs. Maris Otter English Pale Ale malt
• 1 lb. Crystal 60L malt
• 0.8 lb. Crystal 120L malt
• 0.6 lb. Pale chocolate malt
• 0.30 lb. Black Patent malt
• Mash at 157ᵒ F ± 1ᵒ F plus pseudo-decoction mash
• 46g East Kent Goldings hops (5.1%AA) for 60 min.
• White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast
• Ferment at 68ᵒ F ± 1ᵒ F for 7 days; then 4 days at 70ᵒ F
• OG = 1.039; FG = 1.011; ABV = 3.9%
• Force carbonated to 2.3 volumes CO227
Recipes – Current Day Milds• John Palmer’s Belladonna Took’s Oaked Mild5
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Recipes – Current Day Milds• Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer’s Dark Mild4
– Brewing Classic Styles, 2007, pg. 145
“Through A Mild Darkly” – 7 gallons• 7lbs. British Pale Ale malt• 0.5 lb. Crystal 60L malt• 6 oz. Crystal 120L malt• 0.25 lb. Pale chocolate malt• 2.0 oz. Black Patent malt• Mash at 154ᵒ F • 24g East Kent Goldings hops (5% AA) for 60 min.• White Labs WLP002 English Ale Yeast or Wyeast 1968
Londaon ESB Ale or Safeale S-04 • OG = 1.039• Ferment at 68ᵒF ± 1ᵒ F• Carbonate to 1.5 volumes and serve at 52ᵒ F to 55ᵒ F
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Recipes – Current Day Milds
Terry Foster2 30
Recipes – Current Day Milds
Terry Foster2 31
In Conclusion• Mild Ales are not . . .
– Just fresh beers (vice stock ales)– Same high gravity beers as in 19th Century England– Popular for craft brewers– Dead yet
• Mild Ales are . . . – Nice alternative to super-gravity & hoppy beers– Easy to brew– Economical & Efficient– Low gravity & ABV– Refreshing – true Session Ales– Worth finding when commercially available– Definitely worth brewing & enjoying with friends
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References• 1-The Home Brewers Guide to Vintage Beer
– Ron Pattinson – Quarry Books, 2014
• 2 - Mild Ale: It’s Not Dead Yet– Terry Foster - Brew Your Own, September 2005
• 3 - Unesco: Take a Look At Britain’s Heritage– Roger Protz – Protz On Beer, January 25, 2017
• 4 - Brewing Classic Styles– Jamil Zainasheff & John Palmer, 2007
• 5 - Belladonna Took’s Oaked Mild– John Palmer – Brewing TV, Episode 8: NHC 2010
• 6 – Mild Ale – AHA Classic Beer Style Series– David Sutula – Brewers Publications, 1999
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A Special Thanks To . . .
Harold Gulbransen of QUAFFfor brewing the
Pale Mild
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And a Special Thanks To . . .
Sean Farrell
Director of Brewing
Pizza Port Brewing Companyfor providing the Commercial Milds:
Nerf Herder – PP San Clemente
Skidmark Brown – PP Ocean Beach
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Anyone Still Awake?Questions?
Stone Yorkshire Squares at
Samuel Smith Brewery, Tadcaster
Hook Norton (Victorian Tower) Brewery
Oxfordshire Cotswolds
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