Banks's Mild
Banks's Park Brewery

L: Dark amber, some head
S: Malt, dark fruits
T: Malt, citrus
F: Low-bodied, slightly overcarbonated

O: 4

Cask at the Royal Oak Chapel Ash in Wolverhampton. I think that there may be some confusion in the listing here as "Banks's Mild" should be listed simply as a mild, not a dark mild. Evidently they make a dark mild also, less common, but their flagship beer is the Mild, which is not a dark mild and I see others here have clearly reviewed the same copper-coloured beer that I had and understand this to be.

Copper. Dense , lasting creamy off white head, slowly shrinking to lasting thin foamy top. Aroma strong caramelized grain with hint of raisin. Taste toasted and caramelized grain with hint of vinegary winey fruit and dough. Mild sweetness and mild zesty bitterness. We'll rounded and Lively feel.

For a mild, by definition a beer of light character and low bitterness, this is outstanding and so far possibly the best I have had.

A: poured from a 500 ml can into a dimpled mug, ruby brown with a large off white head that lingers leaving wispy lacing, clear

S: nutty, grain

T: walnut, bread, slightly sweet

M: thin, low carbinarion

O: Serve warm with pork pie.

Poured into pint.
Pours dark copper/chestnut beer with 2-finger creamy beige head, low retention.
Smell - nutty, toasted malts.
Taste - toasted malts.
Light body, moderate carbonation.
Decent and relatively pale mild ale.

Lovely paler mild ale - it's got that fresh flavour, in quite a sweet malty profile, fruity hops toward the finish, and quite a hefty beer for the low abv, making it immensely quaffable and satisfying.

 

 

 

A 500ml bottle with a BB of Nov 2013, so it's a little out of date. Acquired from a supermarket some time back and stashed in my garage.

Poured into a straight pint glass. A clear chestnut-brown colour with medium carbonation. Forms a decent head of frothy off-white foam that lasts for a minute or two before dissipating. Aroma of grainy caramel malt with hints of husk, faint roasted malt, fruity ale yeast and stewed leaves. Unexciting.

Tastes of mild roasted malt with a dry finish. Notes of caramel, grain, slight nuttiness, a hint of dried fruit, ale yeast, stewed leaves and cardboard. Very faintly sour. Well-attenuated, followed by a subtle bitterness upon swallowing. Mouthfeel is smooth, dry and tingly, with decent carbonation but a thin, watery body. Somewhat astringent, accompanied by an aftertaste of caramel malt, stewed leaves and cardboard.

Meh - nothing special. No technical flaws as such, but this aims for mediocrity and hits the target. Looks OKish, while the aroma and flavour are a blend of dull caramel malt, weak roasted grain and ale yeast. Body is lacklustre, even for 3.5%. Drinkable but decidedly average. No need to seek it out.

This is the first lighter-coloured Mild and one of the very few examples indeed that I have tried during my short years of beer adventure, but it was consumed in a historical pub in Manchester City on cask. I remember it being a creamy (poured using a sparkler-fixed swan neck), malty brew with a sound acidity and mild hop resins to boot. Surprisingly refreshing it was. Today I found it in its bottle version available at the local Lidl supermarket, and thought it’s time to revisit it in a fresh light~ Coming in a 500ml brown glass bottle, BB 31/01/2014, served cool in a straight imperial pint glass.

A: pours a dark tawny to chestnut-copper hue with very good clarity and fine carbonation, topped with a slowly dissipating beige frothy head. The colour seems to suggest that it stands in b/w one’s traditional Dark Mild and Pale Mild – a “Tawny” Mild??
S: the aroma is almost like a German Altbier! For, the lightly floral hoppy and lemony notes typical of a lagered German beer using Hallertau-like varieties come in abundance, lifting the body of otherwise aromatic burned malts and deliciously nutty gristy malts… So fragrant that I don’t actually remember having it in this manner… Acidity from hops and yeastiness balance off the malt sweetness just nicely.
T: now it tastes like an Altbier with much less acidity on the palate… the foretaste consists of mainly light-bodied nutty malts, which are surrounded by sweetened roast-tea-ish aroma, finishing on mildly liquid-caramel, liquorice, and boiled yum-like notes (quite likely from pasteurisation). In the finish the burned malt aroma lingers pretty well, while a dry-ish touch also manifests on the rear of the palate.
M&O: overall moderately carbonated but sometimes it does taste a bit spritzy, this medium-bodied, low-gravity Mild (Dark or Pale, or Brown!) is simple, fairly drinkable and in many ways drinks a bit like a German Alt, albeit with much less complexity and lower acidity. Likeable, a bit watery to be honest, but not exactly my type of session beer as more bitterness is in order~ Nevertheless, for what it’s worth, it serves to prove that there’s no need to categorise beers/ales in grea…t details. This is neither one’s Dark nor Pale Mild. This is a Mild in its own right as far as the brewers and drinkers are concerned!

Oxblood with pock-marked off white foam that clings well. Mild mulch and red currant nose - faint.
Caramel crisps and raisin then spicy (Fuggles, if I had to guess) end.
Stem ginger biscuit end and lightly bitter linger. Watery, crisp, slight cling.

Mild in name only. I can see how this sells so much, it's dull and drinkable. Barely a good session bitter, and a disaster as a mild.

Poured into a curvy tulip glass giving a rather rosy rich chestnut brown with reddish hues.

The nose is the main attraction scents of brown sugar and walking past the bakery when treats are being cooked a real biscuity malt and red fruit aroma.

A small but quite substantial creamy head with the odd big bubble.

Sweet barley swirls around the mouth departing with a crisp hoppy bitterness hold onto the better than average mouthfeel supported by good carbonation that helps summon a head with a swish of the glass.

But the real treat a very traditional mild pound a pint price

Clear copper colour with a small, smooth tan head. Fair head retention.

Slightly nutty and sweet malt with a slightly unpleasant metallic note.

Slightly astringent caramelised malts with some mettalic character and a hint of vegetable. Not the best.

Medium light body with moderate carbonation. Okay.

This is not a great mild by any stretch of the imagination. The malt is a bit metallic and the overall flavour profile is a bit industrial.