English Mild Help

[Sjt_71]

Hey there everyone,

I'm planning to brew my first English mild for Thanksgiving and was hoping for a little feedback on my recipe. Is the malt selection good or could I add something to it for a little more character?
Thank you!

5 lbs two-row
1 lbs toasted two-row
.25lb Black malt
1 lb Crystal 60
Mash at 156F for 60


.5 oz EKG FWH
.5 oz EKG 45 mins
.5 oz IEG for 15 mins

Wyeast 1318

 

[philosofool]

Look like a winner to me and should pair very well with a turkey dinner. The traditional dinner is rich (gravy) and savory, but not big or dominating in flavor. That suggests bitter, roasty or highly carbonated beers of moderate strength. You have enough black malt to match some richness and enough caramel to have a flavorful beer despite the low strength, but it won't over power dinner.

 

[BeatnikTom]

Mild is actually really hard to get just right because it's so small, every facet of the balance is delicate. IMHO, it's actually harder than Pilsner, albeit for different reasons.

Really think about your OG and FG. Especially the FG. Too sweet or too dry, too bitter or too malty, anything throws it off.

Your mash temp is nice and high and with 1lb of crystal, you might be OK, but if it turns out too "watery" or dry, try a yeast that will finish a little sweeter. I like Fuller's for Mild (Wyeast 1968/WL002) but I don't mash at 156 for mild, so this looks like a good first stab. Expect to make adjustments until you get it just right, though.

 

[permo]

I would drop that mash temp down to 152 ish......I really think 1.008-1.010 is the perfect spot for these beers to end up at. With 1# C60 in there and a 156 temp for mashing you may end up with a beer to sweet.

This does contradict what some of the other folks are giving as advice, but this is what i would do in my system.

 

[Sjt_71]

I would drop that mash temp down to 152 ish......I really think 1.008-1.010 is the perfect spot for these beers to end up at. With 1# C60 in there and a 156 temp for mashing you may end up with a beer to sweet.

This does contradict what some of the other folks are giving as advice, but this is what i would do in my system.

I think it'll end up around 1.011 mashing at 156F, which is right in the middle of the FG range for the style. I'm using a 1L starter with the Wyeast 1318 so I think it'll hit that easy.
I may drop it down to 154F, that may lower the FG a point.

The biggest thing for me is that I'm not very experienced with the commercial examples. They seem hard to come by around here. Perhaps I'll need some opinions of the finished product.

 

[Bosh]

Mild often uses a base malt that`s a bit more roasted than 2-row. I used Vienna as a substitute but actual mild malt or Marris Otter could also work.

For crystal malts I used less and darker crystal but I don`t like sweet beer so that`s just my personal taste.

 

[motobrewer]

I disagree with others on mash temp - I've made about a dozen milds in the last year (20g in the last few months) and 1.014 is the sweet spot for me. usually that happens around 158 F (1.040 OG). Last batch got a little hot (160 F) and ended at 1.016. bit high but not terrible. I would be wary of going much lower than 1.012-1.013.

i would definitely use MO if you have it in place of 2-row.

 

[philosofool]

Mild often uses a base malt that`s a bit more roasted than 2-row. I used Vienna as a substitute but actual mild malt or Marris Otter could also work.

For crystal malts I used less and darker crystal but I don`t like sweet beer so that`s just my personal taste.

Don't know if you noticed, but OP has some home toasted 2-row (1#) and I think that would be a good sustitute.

I like you mash temp and I doubt that three degrees either way is going to change much in a low gravity beer, with a pound of crystal, you don't need to worry about body.

 

[BeatnikTom]

Three degrees actually makes a very big difference in the finished product *especially* in a small beer.

There's no magic formula, you have to figure out what works for you, there's just no margin for error. You have to fiddle with your control points for FG. (Yeast strain/attenuation level, dextrins/mash temp) and then match up that hop balance just right too. And keep that carbonation level low, that's super important for flavor in a low-gravity beer like this, too, it's not just a style thing.

I spent several years perfecting my Mild recipe, but had the luxury of an elderly British friend who was able to tell me how horribly wrong each batch was until I got it dialed in. For me the FG/crystal malt level was the hardest. My recipe ended up having some really weird percentages of crystal malt, not exactly rounded to the nearest 1/4 pound.

Took me about 8 or 9 attempts to get it all dialed in. Now it's one of my favorites.

Good luck! It's a great underrated style that I keep hoping will become the next fad!!! C'mon Mild!

 

[JKaranka]

You might want less toasted malt (like 1/2lb Amber malt). Make sure the toast and roast flavours don't show up too much in the finished beer. A hint of nut and cocoa is ok, but it shouldn't taste like a weak porter. Often you end up with a mid brown colour and you bring that to dark brown / almost black using caramel syrup in the fv.

 

[Bosh]

Don't know if you noticed, but OP has some home toasted 2-row (1#) and I think that would be a good sustitute.

I like you mash temp and I doubt that three degrees either way is going to change much in a low gravity beer, with a pound of crystal, you don't need to worry about body.

Right, that works as well. Just "toasted" is pretty vague so its hard to tell how dark he's getting it. Just suggesting Vienna malts as they're easier to find than English malts and are a rough substitute for mild malts. Worked out great in my mild, as did the four oz of caraaroma I put in, but that wasn't the most authentic mild in the world...

 

[Sjt_71]

Thank you all for the advice.
Brew day went great and I hit my mash and mash-out temps dead on. I'll not underestimate black malt going forward though. I used ~4 oz and it is one dark beer. I'm sure it'll turn out darker than the style guidelines but that's ok.
It's been 9 hours since I pitched the yeast and she's got a full krausen and bubbling steady. Throw a few OM's towards our favorite microorganism and wish me luck!
I'll let you all know in about 12 days.
Thanks all!

 

[Sjt_71]

The beer is done and I've had a chance to try it out on multiple occasions.
I've learned a few things brewing and drinking this beer.

1. This is most important, don't use Avengard Pils malt for a mild! Long story but a buddy sold me 27.5#'s of malt a while back. It was pilsner malt not two-row like I thought. Had I known this from the start, I would have mashed differently.
I know many would argue that pilsner malt and pale malt are interchangeable. That may be the case for some beers but not for me and my system brewing this style.

2. The beer is still very, very good despite the malt conundrum. It finished a little low at 1.011 but it is very drinkable. It drinks a little more like a dark Mexican beer than a mild though. This is ok, just not the result I was looking for.

3. The Wyeast 1318 is a bit dry. I plan to research my yeasts and choose a new one for the next try.

Thanks everyone for your help.

 

[JKaranka]

The beer is done and I've had a chance to try it out on multiple occasions.
I've learned a few things brewing and drinking this beer.

1. This is most important, don't use Avengard Pils malt for a mild! Long story but a buddy sold me 27.5#'s of malt a while back. It was pilsner malt not two-row like I thought. Had I known this from the start, I would have mashed differently.
I know many would argue that pilsner malt and pale malt are interchangeable. That may be the case for some beers but not for me and my system brewing this style.

2. The beer is still very, very good despite the malt conundrum. It finished a little low at 1.011 but it is very drinkable. It drinks a little more like a dark Mexican beer than a mild though. This is ok, just not the result I was looking for.

3. The Wyeast 1318 is a bit dry. I plan to research my yeasts and choose a new one for the next try.

Thanks everyone for your help.

Most milds are fairly dry. They should still have some body to not be too thin but not so much that they'd be sweet.