Mild mannered (Brown and Mild)

In the latest of our series on beer styles, Roger Protz looks at the history of brown and mild

When I first started drinking in London pubs some 40 years ago I would call for “a pint of brown and mild.” Why?

For the simple reason that my father and people of his age group all drank the same tipple and in those days we followed in the wise footsteps of our elders and betters.

But with the benefit of hindsight it was a curious beer to drink, as it was a blend of the same thing: mild was on draught while brown ale was the bottled form.

Along with an equally curious concoction called light and bitter, brown and mild went out of fashion.

Mild ale itself declined and virtually disappeared but now craft brewers in both Britain and the United States are breathing life back into the style, aware that the use of darker malts can bring fascinating depths of flavour to beer.

Brown beers are historically important.

Before the industrial revolution of the 18th and 19th centuries, all beers were brown in colour as a result of malt being cured or kilned over wood fires. The beers of the time had a smoky aroma and palate, sometimes with a touch of lactic sourness that resulted from long period of maturation in oak vessels.

The ‘oud bruin’ or old brown beers of the East Flanders region of Belgium, which still feature in the cuisine of the region, including the celebrated carbonade flamande, most closely recall this type of beer.

The ‘sour red’ beers of neighbouring West Flanders share a common link, as do the few remaining strong ‘country beers’ in England, of which the best-kno.....

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By Roger Protz

Section : Beer styles

Page number : 52