Modern Homebrew Recipes (28 page)

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

0.5 tsp CaCl
₂
and 0.5 tsp CaSO
₄
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

158°F (70°C) 60 minutes

168°F (76°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

60 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

66°F (19°C)

Sensory description:
Dextrinous, chewy, but with a rich chocolate flavor. Has a fruity and lightly caramel supporting layer with low bitterness. Served with low carbonation and at cellar temperature, takes the drinker straight to England. At 3.1% ABV, very easy to drink over a long period.

Formulation notes:
The Fawcett chocolate malt is the key to this recipe. I’ve seen it used in other dark beers, and it really has a classic chocolate flavor without harsh notes. It’s a 325–400L chocolate malt.

Variations:
It would be fun to experiment with this recipe to try malts from different suppliers to see how much they impact the flavor profile of the final beer. Varying the proportions in this recipe would be another interesting exercise to see how flavor and balance can be influenced by the percentages of individual grist components.

COMPLEXITY MILD

This recipe has seven malts and grains to produce layers of flavor. It’s a different type of mild, with less emphasis on the chocolate flavor.

Style:
Dark Mild (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
A toasty, bready mild with caramel and light chocolate flavor and a chewy body.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

1 tsp CaCl
₂
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

152°F (66°C) 60 minutes

170°F (77°C) 25 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

75 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

68°F (20°C)

Sensory description:
Malt-forward with a bready, toasty, caramel, and chocolate flavor profile. The bitterness is low and there is no late hop
character, so the beer remains malty. A moderate fruity character enhances the darker malt flavors.

Formulation notes:
I find the challenge of milds to be in balancing the maltiness of the grist with the character of the yeast. In this recipe, I’m using malts that provide bready and toasty flavors with layers of caramel and dark fruit. The fresh chocolate flavor tops it off. The yeast is somewhat malty and fruity, and adds a pleasant character to the beer. I mash low so that it doesn’t seem too sweet; I’m getting body and sweetness from the crystal malts so I don’t need to mash higher.

Variations:
Since mild is a small beer, it’s pretty easy to do a double-sized batch and use it for yeast experiments. I’ve tried Wyeast 1318, 1968, 1469, 1335, 1028, and others with good luck. I’ve often thought of 1318 as great mild yeast, but you have to be careful of getting too malty with the grist since the yeast is also malty. I like 1469, but it is fairly minerally. Once when I did a split batch with 1318 and 1469, I actually liked a 2:1 blend of the two batches much better than either individually.

NHC MILD

This recipe comes to me from my friend Dan George, who has won multiple NHC medals with this beer. The low alcohol level is unusual, even for a mild.

Style:
Dark Mild (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
A lower gravity and lower bitterness mild that packs significant flavor into a small beer, making it highly sessionable.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

0.5 tsp CaSO
₄
in mash, 0.5 tsp CaSO
₄
in boil

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf
, no sparge

Mash rests:

154°F (68°C) 60 minutes

170°F (77°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Boil length:

75 minutes

Final volume:

5 gallons (19 L)

Fermentation temp:

68°F (20°C)

Sensory description:
Very easy drinking beer, with chocolate, toffee, and bready malt, a lightly floral hop flavor, and a soft fruity palate. Has enough body to not seem watery, but finishes malty.

Formulation notes:
The no sparge technique increases the malt flavor, which helps in this small beer. The deep toffee and chocolate flavors pair well against the bready base malt. The yeast brings a fruity note that always goes well with chocolate.

Variations:
The alcohol level can be increased to make it a more normal strength mild; target around 3.3%, either by scaling the recipe up or decreasing the final gravity. This recipe has low attenuation (56%); a more normal (70%) attenuation for this yeast would take this down to 1.010, producing a 3.2% ABV beer—perfectly normal for a mild. If it seems a bit too sweet, try it again with a touch of black malt or roasted barley (about 1.5 ounces, or 1% of the grist).

GABF MILD

I tasted this beer while at the 2014 GABF; it was a pro-am entry from my friend and fellow club member James Henjum. It’s a bigger mild by UK standards. I drank quite a few of these at the GABF, one ounce at a time.

Style:
Dark Mild (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
A beer that would be called a
strong mild
in the UK, features a toasty, bready, nutty character.

Ingredients:

Water treatment:

RO water treated with ¼ tsp 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons

0.5 tsp CaCl
₂
and 0.5 tsp CaSO
₄
in mash

Mash technique:

Infusion, mashout, dark grains added at
vorlauf

Mash rests:

154°F (68°C) 60 minutes

170°F (77°C) 15 minutes

Kettle volume:

8 gallons (30 L)

Boil length:

60 minutes

Final volume:

6.5 gallons (25 L)

Fermentation temp:

68°F (20°C)

Sensory description:
Bready, toasty, and nutty malt flavors with caramel and toffee. Very restrained roast characteristics. Medium-bodied with a malty finish. Superb balance and drinkability.

Formulation notes:
Blending of base malts for added complexity, bringing in some toasty notes to go with the strong bready flavors. The darker malts are nutty and lightly roasted, lacking a strong punch of burnt flavor. The yeast profile is balanced, allowing the malt to be the star. Hops added primarily for bitterness.

Variations:
For a more chocolate-focused beer, replace some or all of the pale chocolate malt with regular chocolate malt (Fawcett would be my first choice).

CASK MILD

Many English dark beers get their color and flavor from brewing sugars, either in addition to or instead of specialty grains. This beer makes good use of invert #3 sugar, and also includes some corn, a common adjunct in English brewing. Unusual in many homebrewed milds, this one is dry-hopped, which smells lovely when served from a cask.

Style:
Dark Mild (Classic BJCP Style)

Description:
Unusual for homebrewers, but a fairly typical English dark beer with adjuncts. A chance for homebrewers to try brewing with some less standard ingredients.