Brickworks
Inner City Brewing

 

 

473ml can - I recall that English Dark Mild Ale was the last style that I had to find (to collect 'em all), and now here is one explicitly being made in my own back yard. The times, they have a-changed.

This beer pours clear, dark orange-brick brown colour, with three fingers of puffy, finely foamy, and somewhat fizzy tan head, which leaves but a few examples of ocean upswell lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of lightly roasted, bready and doughy caramel malt, some earthy nuttiness, faint mocha notes, and very tame, leafy, musty, and herbal green hop bitters. The taste is gritty and grainy caramel malt, a lesser biscuity toffee sweetness, oily bar-top nuts, medium cocoa powder, indistinct black fruity essences, and more well-understated earthy, musty, and floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-coddling frothiness, the body a solid middleweight, and generally smooth, with a wee airy creaminess arising as things warm up a tad out of the ol' bar fridge in the basement. It finishes off-dry, the malt and cocoa exhibiting the most lingering brio.

Overall - this comes across as a competently rendered version of the old-school style, nice and malty and flavourful and a snap to throw back down the gullet. Worth checking out if you're into that sort of thing.