American brewed Dark Milds

Discussion in 'Beer Talk' started by Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016.

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  1. Feel_the_Darkness

    Feel_the_Darkness Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2012 Virginia

    anyone know of any good ones to seek out? i know it's not a hugely popular style this side of the water but one local brewery has a version of it that's great and would love to find some more to enjoy.
     
    #1 Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016
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  2. zid

    zid Grand Pooh-Bah (3,132) Feb 15, 2010 New York
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    You're probably pretty much limited to locals and Yards Brawler - which I believe is in Virginia.
     
    #2 zid, Nov 30, 2016
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  3. FBarber

    FBarber Grand High Pooh-Bah (7,325) Mar 5, 2016 Illinois
    Mod Team BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Yards Brawler used to be my favorite when I lived on the East Coast. If you haven't had that, I'd give it a shot. Goose Island brews an English dark mild in the winter, I think its called their winter ale or mild winter ale. Might see that out there in VA as well.
     
    #3 FBarber, Nov 30, 2016
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  4. anfield86

    anfield86 Pooh-Bah (2,606) Nov 21, 2006 New Jersey
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Agreed on Yards Brawler. Pretty easy to come by and it's a pretty decent representation of the style. Also I saw this on-tap recently while I was back home in MA. It's a local brewery but I thought it was worth mentioning

    https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/30585/92598/

    Glad to see a Mild in the 3% abv range for once.
     
    #4 anfield86, Nov 30, 2016
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  5. Feel_the_Darkness

    Feel_the_Darkness Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2012 Virginia

    Unfortunately I've had problems acquiring Yards in my area for some time. I don't know why. Occasionally I get up near Philly and grab some. The style I just feel is super under appreciated. A lot of English style beers are fantastic low ABV offerings that you can crush all day, yet just cannot catch on in the US. I was just curious if any other areas around the country have a bit more of a tendency to focus on ales not as universally popular with the American scene.
     
    #5 Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016
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  6. TankerSteve

    TankerSteve Initiate (0) Nov 9, 2014 Washington

    I'm so glad this has come up here. I love English styles. I have yet to be able to try a mild. I want to though and they've been on my mind lately. I need to take a trip to England just to drink beer.
     
    #6 TankerSteve, Nov 30, 2016
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  7. Feel_the_Darkness

    Feel_the_Darkness Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2012 Virginia

    The majority of my family still lives in Scotland, and my grandparents travel back frequently but I have yet to go. If I ever get some free time, I'd love to go with them and explore the Scottish/English cask beer scene.
     
    #7 Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016
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  8. rozzom

    rozzom Pooh-Bah (2,620) Jan 22, 2011 New York
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    You have to make a trip back to the motherland - it's your duty! I'm Scottish - just went back to visit family last week. Whereabouts is the Feel the Darkness clan from? Pains me to say it, but in England you have a higher chance of coming across good cask options. In Scotland it's definitely there, but location plays an even bigger part. If your family are from Edinburgh - no problem. If you're from South Ayrshire like me (or worse - East Ayrshire) then it's going to require more effort/travel.

    Edit - and to answer OP nothing really to add I'm afraid. If you're ever in Brooklyn, Strong Rope list a couple of milds. But the brewer admitted he had never tried one and that these were his takes. And the one I had was made with coffee...
     
    #8 rozzom, Nov 30, 2016
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  9. Feel_the_Darkness

    Feel_the_Darkness Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2012 Virginia

    My grandmothers originally from Montrose, which I hear is fairly small, I don't think the pub scene will be that crazy there. They did live in Kilmarnock for a time too, but I think that's in east Ayrshire :flushed:

    But, if I remember right, they typically fly into Aberdeen and stay in the city for a day or two, and see family as they're available. Edinburgh isn't a terrible distance away either, and I know they'd be cool with making extra time for me to sightsee since I've never been. I also have a cousin in London I haven't seen since she settled over there, I figured on taking an extra day or two, taking the train down to them, hitting the best bars I can find, then flying home from there.

    Either way, I plan on going as soon as I can afford it, cause I know very little about my family overseas and only the stories my mother and uncle (RIP) told me about growing up over there to really fill in the gaps. Which sucks, I want to experience it for myself.
     
    #9 Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016
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  10. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    If you are willing to purchase by the case, a local beer retailer should be able to order you a case of Brawler (assuming the regional Wholesale Distributor is willing to acquire Brawler).

    Cheers!
     
    #10 JackHorzempa, Nov 30, 2016
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  11. champ103

    champ103 Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,296) Sep 3, 2007 Texas
    Society Pooh-Bah

    I worked in Aberdeen for a while and loved it. Some great pubs with lots of cask options. Use the CAMRA website when searching for pubs. Typically ones with the CAMRA Marquee are the better quality.

    http://www.camra.org.uk/
    Their pub search site is excellent:
    https://whatpub.com/
     
    #11 champ103, Nov 30, 2016
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  12. ceeg

    ceeg Initiate (0) Dec 16, 2010 New York

    They are hard to come by.

    Barrier used to make a great one before they went IPA crazy. Flagship in Staten Island also has a nice one and Wandering Star out of Pittsfield, Mass had one but I haven't seen that in years.

    Now I really want to drink a Dark Mild!!
     
    #12 ceeg, Nov 30, 2016
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  13. Ranbot

    Ranbot Pooh-Bah (2,463) Nov 27, 2006 Pennsylvania
    Pooh-Bah

    Very few American brewed milds are bottled for distribution, but you might get lucky with some on this list: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/style/75/

    The good english milds I find are usually on tap at a brew pub somewhere. Apart from Yards Brawler the only other American-made and bottled mild I can remember having is Shorts' Earl of Brixom [which I did not like - your results may vary].

    EDIT: @JackHorzempa makes a good recommendation to place an order at your local beer distributor for a full case too. I know that seems like a lot of beer to many people, but here in PA we're accustomed to buying cases. It's not so bad and it's less expensive the ounce. Also low-ABV English session strength beers are meant to be drunk several in a row, so a case might go much faster than you think! :slight_smile:
     
    #13 Ranbot, Nov 30, 2016
    Last edited: Nov 30, 2016
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  14. Hoppsbabo

    Hoppsbabo Pooh-Bah (2,053) Jan 29, 2012 England
    Pooh-Bah

    Try to find some on cask if possible. Of all the English styles I feel it's milds that suffer most when bottled. You don't get any of the nuance or nuttiness. Not that bitters fare well either.
     
    #14 Hoppsbabo, Nov 30, 2016
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  15. Feel_the_Darkness

    Feel_the_Darkness Initiate (0) Oct 17, 2012 Virginia

    Unfortunately we don't get many decent bitters around here either, we don't even get GI's Honkers Ale which as far as I know is one of their flagship beers -_- ah well, I'll just have to do like @JackHorzempa suggested and get something specific from my distributor.
     
    #15 Feel_the_Darkness, Nov 30, 2016
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  16. JackHorzempa

    JackHorzempa Grand Pooh-Bah (3,375) Dec 15, 2005 Pennsylvania
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Randy,

    Do you ever make it out to the Forest & Main brewpub in Ambler? They make excellent English Ales and Belgian (Saison) Ales (plus other styles).

    I have been there a half-dozen times and for me they had Dark Mild Ales on cask (hand-pump) 50% of my visits. One was branded as Poor Yorick (I think). Those Mild Ales on cask are very, very tasty!!

    Cheers!
     
    #16 JackHorzempa, Nov 30, 2016
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  17. rhino88888888

    rhino88888888 Zealot (694) Dec 12, 2013 Massachusetts
    Trader

    Log Boat Brewing in Columbia MO cans a traditional dark mild ale called Mamoot. I thought it was a nice representation of the style and the 12oz cans were a pleasure to take out on the lake when I was visiting family.
     
    #17 rhino88888888, Nov 30, 2016
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  18. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,800) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Has anyone mentioned Yards Brawler yet? :-)

    On serious note, does any know if any place or Yards taproom serves this beer on cask (properly)? That should become more of a regular thing for this beer IMO.
     
    #18 bubseymour, Nov 30, 2016
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  19. TheBungyo

    TheBungyo Pooh-Bah (2,037) Dec 1, 2004 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    #19 TheBungyo, Nov 30, 2016
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  20. Dan_K

    Dan_K Pooh-Bah (1,980) Nov 8, 2013 Colorado
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    Little London Mild from Pikes Peak Brewing Co is really nice.
     
    #20 Dan_K, Nov 30, 2016
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