Walk on the Mild Side
Covered Bridge Brewing

Appearance: Poured with a thumb's worth of head that left some mild lace but did not stick around for very long. The body is deep, dark brown of which you can make silhouette's out of your hand, but it revels little else, as I can't really see the carbonation.

Smell: Mild toffee on toast as it's very malt forward, but still quite mild in terms of potency. There is maybe the barest hint of black licorice which the style can call for, but I do like that it's kept incredibly subdued. Warming is helps it out, but the potency needs work.

Taste: Well done roasted toffee malt with the slightest notes of near burnt caramel that turn to a bit more of a dry toast and a mild bitter end, so mild I can't really describe it as anything but that. There's nothing world shattering here, but it is well done.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is a bit low which is a bit of a downer here, and because the beer is mild there isn't a lot to say about it's transitioning but the sweetness of the malt is well balanced by the bitter aspect and the dry note cleans the palate well, leaving only a mild toffee aftertaste.

Drinkability: Refreshing and with a good amount of character for a 3.5 ABV. Light bodied as expected, and incredibly easy on the system. Eminently morish, meaning I could certainly enjoy another.

Final Thoughts: This isn't a complex beer, and this style doesn't lend itself to complexity. In fact, I find far too often these black beers either go heavy on the licorice notes or try to be a thin Porter in disguise. This however was all around just a solid offering.

 

What it says on the bottle - a classic English mild. Light on alcohol and body - perhaps a little too light on flavour - some bready malts and not much else.