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Does Mild (ale) still exist?


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Old 10-05-2008, 15:18
Inkblot
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About ten years ago I was on holiday in the Isles of Scilly and found that one of the pubs there had Mild as a guest beer. Don't remember which brewery - maybe Banks's?

I thought it was delicious, refreshing and perfect for summer, but I've never seen it since. Do any breweries still produce it - and where can you buy it?
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Old 10-05-2008, 23:43
TheFirstCut
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It's sold as Banks's Original, it dropped the mild name a while back.
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Old 11-05-2008, 09:58
Inkblot
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Thanks, armed with that knowledge I've found a site with links to a few other mild ales so will try to track some down.
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Old 11-05-2008, 11:54
diablo
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I'm not a great lover of mild normally but I do rate Cains Mild. Try that if you can find it.
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Old 11-05-2008, 13:29
swingaleg
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When I lived in Lancs Thwaites Dark Mild was my tipple of choice...........it was beautiful. They also did a Light Mild which was nowhere near as good.


Mmmmm................Dark Mild..............
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Old 11-05-2008, 17:27
TheFirstCut
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I used to do the barcode labbeling on Banks's, Marstons, Thwaites, Sam Smiths and other breweries many years back. Use to see some breweries make some beers for the other and vice versa. This was before Banks's & Marstons merged.
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Old 11-05-2008, 17:48
linnylou
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My Dad's British Legion sold it, but not sure if that goes for all BL's.
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Old 11-05-2008, 23:52
opinions4u
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*bows to Banks's* We're not worthy, we're not worthy.

Apart from the house prices, the ridiculous price of a round in the pub, congestion, air pollution and aggressive drivers, the thing I hated about London was the quality of the beer.

Do yourself a favour and take a quick trip up the M1/M6 to the Midlands and stock up. Do a search at Tesco etc first though, you may find Banks's is sold closer to the Watford Gap than you imagine!
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Old 12-05-2008, 00:15
Hullensian
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I'm not keen on Banks', far too pale and insignificant for my liking. I much prefer the good old-fashioned dark milds that they used to serve up North.
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Old 12-05-2008, 00:31
tangsman
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Used to love Banks's Mild when it was a dark coloured beer (80/90's).
When did it change to looking like a pint of bitter?

Bring back Banks's Dark Mild permanently!!!
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Old 12-05-2008, 13:24
Inkblot
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Used to love Banks's Mild when it was a dark coloured beer (80/90's).
When did it change to looking like a pint of bitter?

Bring back Banks's Dark Mild permanently!!!
Now you've got me scratching my head, because when I was drinking Mild on holiday, it would have been around 1996 I think. I don't remember it being a dark mild, just that it was quite low in alcohol and good for quenching a thirst.
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Old 25-04-2013, 21:25
bowland37
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I'm glad I discovered Cains dark mild. A lovely nutty taste and not too strong so I can have a few pints on a regular basis.
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Old 25-04-2013, 23:57
swingaleg
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When I lived in Lancs Thwaites Dark Mild was my tipple of choice...........it was beautiful. They also did a Light Mild which was nowhere near as good.


Mmmmm................Dark Mild..............

I see that Thwaites Dark Mild has been voted the World's Best Mild at the World Beer Awards..............2012

http://www.thwaites.co.uk/news/thwai...best_mild_beer
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Old 26-04-2013, 01:42
ericos
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Whitbread dark mild was my fav, & still availxble (in cans anyway dont know about draught). Dont think I'd bother with it (or any beer) out of a can though tbh.
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Old 26-04-2013, 08:08
Jambo_c
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I've never seen a mild that hasn't been dark. Never seen Bank's though. Our local brewery does a decent mild, it won best mild at a beer festival last year. I'm more of a fan of pale ales and wheat beers but always try a few stouts and milds at a festival.
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Old 27-04-2013, 13:56
bowland37
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I see that Thwaites Dark Mild has been voted the World's Best Mild at the World Beer Awards..............2012

http://www.thwaites.co.uk/news/thwai...best_mild_beer
Have tried Cains and Thwaites dark mild in cans and Cains is much nicer in my opinion. I don't think Thwaites nutty black is widely available.
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Old 27-04-2013, 14:48
swingaleg
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Have tried Cains and Thwaites dark mild in cans and Cains is much nicer in my opinion. I don't think Thwaites nutty black is widely available.
I've only ever drunk Thwaites on draught.........I don't think many canned beers are very nice !
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Old 27-04-2013, 15:24
Espresso
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If you have any pubs near you that are real ale pubs, or in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, they'll probably have guest milds on in May, as CAMRA makes a bit of a deal about May being Mild Month.

If you see any Sarah Hughes' Dark Ruby Mild anywhere, make sure you have some of that. It is absolutely fantastic.
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Old 28-04-2013, 21:38
davelovesleeds
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Mel, the much missed landlord of the Mac(intosh) in Goole sometimes use to wear a teashirt advertising a brand of mild, can't recall which one, which read

'Hello Darkness, Mild Friend'

which always amusied me.
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Old 28-04-2013, 21:50
heskethbang
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Mel, the much missed landlord of the Mac(intosh) in Goole sometimes use to wear a teashirt advertising a brand of mild, can't recall which one, which read

'Hello Darkness, Mild Friend'

which always amusied me.
That's brilliant!

Try the Coach and Horses at Weatheroak (near Jn3 of the M42 yet seeming miles from anywhere). As well as a fantastic onsite brewery, there's usually a mild on tap.
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Old 29-04-2013, 15:39
Glawster2002
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If you have any pubs near you that are real ale pubs, or in CAMRA's Good Beer Guide, they'll probably have guest milds on in May, as CAMRA makes a bit of a deal about May being Mild Month.

If you see any Sarah Hughes' Dark Ruby Mild anywhere, make sure you have some of that. It is absolutely fantastic.
CAMRA have been trying to increase Mild's popularity for some time now. It isn't that long ago that Mild was by far and away the most popular beer in Britain.

It is still popular in the Midlands and north of England, but it is an increasingly rare site south of Birmingham these days.

St. Austell used to do a really lovely XXXX Mild, but I've no idea if they still brew it, I haven't seen it for years.
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Old 29-04-2013, 23:27
alfster
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Mild is definelty still around and tastes great - I think it is losing the old man feel and becoming more of a 'real ale'.
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Old 01-05-2013, 11:27
Glawster2002
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Mild is definelty still around and tastes great - I think it is losing the old man feel and becoming more of a 'real ale'.
Mild was always seen as a "working man's" drink, so was popular withing the heavily industrialised areas of the country, so the North, the Midland, London's Docklands etc. Once those indurtries started to disappear the popularity of Mild dropped with it. Office workers wanted to be seen as more "sophisticated" so Mild effectively suffered a decline in sales through an image problem!!
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Old 01-05-2013, 11:29
Kiko H Fan
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There's still lots of Mild available in South Wales, from the likes of Brains, Tomos Watkins et al.
It's called Dark in South Wales.
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Old 01-05-2013, 11:50
barbeler
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If you see any Sarah Hughes' Dark Ruby Mild anywhere, make sure you have some of that. It is absolutely fantastic.
I thought somebody would beat me to it Be aware that it's 6.0% though, so to be treated with caution. It looks as if the website is still being worked on (I hope) www.sarahhughesbrewery.co.uk/regular_ales.html
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