Midlands Mild "A Spoonful Weighs A Ton"
John Harvard's Brewery & Ale House

Appearance: Pours a clear, dark, ruby-brown with a thin, beige head that fades to a shiny film, leaving patches of lace that cling to the side of the glass.

Smell: Very malty. Notes of caramel, toffee, dark fruit and burnt sugar. I may have detected an almost smoky aroma as well.

Taste: Very nice maltiness that's sweet, but never cloying. There are notes of caramel, dark fruit, a little bit of burnt sugar as well as a mild graininess. Mellow, but flavorful.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, low carbonation. Incredibly smooth.

Drinkability: Very flavorful, but nothing is overpowering. The low alcohol makes this ideal for a session.

Discovered a million came from one with this one on 4/20/2007. 16-oz. pint in a shaker glass at the Harvard Square location.

According to the menu, “Not all ‘light’ beers are light in color, or flavorless; not all ‘dark’ beers are overpowering in flavor or alcohol. Mild ales from England’s Midlands region are a little known example. A so-called ‘cloth cap beer,’ these drinkable session ales sustained farmers through the harvest season. Dark, mellow, flavorful and surprisingly complex at 3.2% alcohol by volume, this is the perfect ale to debunk popular beer myths.”

Sort of a loose floculence of pitched up head that settles out to some nice islands; Jackson Pollock splatter of lace going down. Mahogany hue has touches of crimson at the edges, fairly clear with some light cascading carbonation throughout. Nose is very light but with a strong pull some caramel touches, malt, pull through. Excellent maltiness and light char mix on the tongue initially is smoothed over with some burnt sugar sweetness in the tail end; some cracked black pepper sits in there too. Light body, this is extremely drinkable.

With the write-up on the menu, a challenge was issued, and the folks at John Harvard’s have more than met it.