Mild Returns ... at least for May

A fine pint of dark mild pours at the Carden village inn - and in a traditional barrel glass too! A beautiful sight.

RAISE A GLASS OR TWO TO A MERRY MONTH OF MILD

Each year, the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) puts its considerable consumer weight behind mild ale, an English style of beer that almost became extinct. It is a valiant attempt to stimulate support for the fightback of a style that once dominated, especially in the pubs of the North and Midlands. It was the drink of the agricultural and industrial manual workers who needed to refresh themselves with the malt sweetness of the beer after a hard day's labour.

Mild became so-named not because it was weak but less heavily hopped than the prevailing stouts and porters of the 18th/19th centuries, and later the fashionable bitters and pale ales of the early 1900s, generally enjoyed by the better off. Originally, it could be up to seven per cent in strength, but, in the early 20th century, brewers reduced the strength, partly due to World War I restrictions, to produce a weaker tipple. On VE Day in 1945, the joyous Tommies would have consumed vast quantities to toast the end of hostilities in Europe.

Struggle and success

CAMRA declares mild as: "Usually dark brown, due to the use of well-roasted malts or roasted barley. Look for a rich malty aroma and flavour, with hints of dark fruit, chocolate, coffee and caramel, with a gentle underpinning of hop bitterness."

Nowadays, the British ale scene is complex and eclectic; you can now find anything from straightforward traditional bitters, through golden and blonde ales to black IPAs, fruit and wheat beers. Against this abundance, mild has struggled, despite seeing some successes across the recent decades. Moorhouse's Black Cat (3.4%abv), a truly splendid version, began the new millennium, hailed as CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain in 2000. Sadly, the last we heard, the 1865-founded Burnley brewery - originally a manufacturer of low-alcohol hop bitters - no longer regularly produces this revered ale. Hobsons Dark Mild, from the thirty-year-old Worcestershire brewery also claimed the crown in 2013, while Yorkshire's 1992-founded Rudgate brewer saw Ruby Mild (4.4% abv) take the title in 2017.

New wave brewers

However, somewhat encouragingly, we are seeing more of the new wave of independent brewers reviving the style, often with a modern slant.

To help revival, CAMRA's campaign encourages local pubs to have at least one mild on the bar during May, Well, we don't know the overall success, but it was gratifying to stand at the bar of our local, the Carden Arms (www.cardenarms.co.uk) village inn, hidden away south of Chester in Tilston, Cheshire, and see two young chaps with the persona of rock musicians wander in to pounce upon the guest dark mild from North Wales' Magic Rock; no testing, no hesitation, straight in there. And a fine pint of mild it is. Old Magic is dark mild, brewed with chocolate malt alongside New World hops for touches of chocolate and light fruits. At a modest 3.6 per cent strength, it has claimed SIBA (Society of Independent Brewers) awards.

Good to see Old Magic dark mild joining the line-up of beers at the Carden

Whether or not 19th-century mild drinkers would appreciate Old Magic, we cannot know, but the Carden is an old coaching inn, reaching back to the 18th century, so it could be said that the brew has returned to its roots. Although brought up on bitters, we welcome seeing the reinvigoration of this quintessential British beer. It must survive. We will certainly be toasting this piece of brewing history again a few times more during Mild May. Cheers...