I like beer… I like bitter beer, strong in flavour, hoppy and with a real tang… I’m not a fan of mild beers, but in some ways I wish I was because mild is such a very traditional style of beer. Mild is as the name suggests a softer, sweeter, less bitter beer – but the name came from it being a young beer, as opposed to an aged, stronger ale. It used to be very popular but fell out of favour so there were few pubs which kept it. Also I suspect it did not ‘keep’ very well so if there weren’t many drinkers there would be a lot of waste, and these days landlords can’t afford to waste anything. Mild is usually a dark beer, but not necessarily, it varies from brewery to brewery, and it is generally low in alcohol, usually about 3% – which was another reason why it was popular, for price reasons as well as strength. having fallen out of favour, and being difficult to find, it is now enjoying a revival; there is a general interest growing in craft beers and traditional beers, and although I’m not a mild drinker, I’m delighted that it is coming back into pubs again.
The splendid CAMRA, Campaign for Real Ale, has this article:
… and Otter Brewery also have it:
http://www.otterbrewery.com/news_article.php?id=101
Lois Elsden 