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Back in the early sixties, when trolley buses were
as common on the streets of Nottingham as the return of the trams
soon will be, it wasn’t uncommon for Nottingham pub-goers to
be heard ordering a pint of mixed in their local boozer; ‘mixed’
being literally a 50/50 mix of mild ale and bitter.
However, nowadays Mild has lost its cool. It's no longer a drink
to be seen with. But could things be a changing? Nottingham Camra
are hoping to raise the profile of the drink with a new Mild Trail.
The History of Mild in Nottinghamshire
In the 1900’s, Nottingham was home to both Shipstones Mild
(brewed in Basford), and Home Mild (brewed at Daybrook) before both
breweries ceased trading after buyouts during the latter years of
the last century. In addition, the now defunct Mansfield Brewery
in the north of the county also brewed a Mild – popular amongst
the locals at the many miners' welfares situated in the surrounding
villages and towns.
Today, the following locally produced Milds can be regularly
seen in the bars of Nottingham pubs:
- Kimberley Best Mild 3.1%
(Hardys & Hansons of Kimberley)
- Beaver Mild Ale 3.4%
(Belvoir of Old Dalby, Leics.)
- Black Gold Dark Mild 3.5%
(Castle Rock of Nottingham)
- Waddlers Mild 3.7%
(Mallard of Carlton)
- Rock Ale Mild Bitter 3.8%
(Nottingham Brewery of Radford)
- Black Fox 3.9%
(Alcazar of Old Basford)
- Stonebridge Mild 4%
(Broadstone of Retford, North Notts)
Nottingham CAMRA Mild Trail 2003
May is when Nottingham Camra promotes mild and launches its annual
‘Mild in May Trail’ – to encourage pub-goers to taste
and help protect the world’s oldest beer style…Traditional
British Mild!
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| Rock Mild beer mat |
This year the Nottingham Camra is promoting two
trails; there is the Nottingham Trail with 31 pubs all situated
within easy reach of the city centre; and there is the Vale of Belvoir
Trail with 15 pubs all located in or around the Vale.
The idea is for drinkers to visit various pubs in the area, drinking
a half or full pint of mild along the way, collecting the relevant
Mild Trail sticker from the outlet, which is then appropriately
attached to the relevant Mild Trail passport.
More details along with the relevant passports for both trails
can be downloaded from www.nottinghamcamra.org
If you’ve never tried Mild, now is your chance to appreciate
the wide variety of Milds available and also try a few pubs you
may not have been to before.
Regional brewers such as Hardys and Hansons of Kimberley, and local
micro-breweries such as the Radford based Nottingham Brewery, and
the Mallard Brewery of Carlton, are all doing their bit to promote
Mild – and all three of these breweries sell a reasonable supply
of Mild throughout the year!
Most of us know what bitter looks and tastes like…but
what is Mild?
Once described as the weakish, sweetish ale, traditional British Mild
ale is one of the oldest beer styles in the world and can be traced
back to the mid 16th century. The earliest reference was by William
Stevenson in a drinking song he wrote in 1551:
I cannot eate but lytle meate,
My stomacke is not good,
But sure I thinke that I can drinke
With him that wears a hood.
Though I go bare, take ye no care,
I nothing am a colde,
I stuff my skyn so full within,
Of jolly good milde and olde.
Backe and syde go bare, go bare,
Booth foote and hand go colde,
But belly, God send thee good ale ynoughe,
Whether it be new or olde.
Ales were regularly drunk instead of water as part of the staple diet,
due to the lack of sanitation in the water supplies of the time –
and in doing so, ales were of a lower strength than the ‘porter
type’ beers of the time.
In the mid-19th century, both ‘ales’
and ‘beers’ were popular with drinkers; the prime difference
between them was that ales (pale ales and Milds) were not vatted i.e.
stored in wooden vats for long periods, whilst the ‘beers’,
(porters and stouts), were. There was also a definite recipe distinction
in the early days between ale and beer – basically, ales didn’t
contain hops, the ingredient that give beers that ‘bitter taste’,
although nowadays most of them do of course, along too with dark malts
in the case of the Milds we drink today.
Similar to Milds, porters and stouts are dark in colour, tend to be
sweeter in taste, and can lay a lot heavier on the stomach.
Back in the late 1870’s, Britain’s brewers of the time saw
porter sales increase, but a lot of them didn’t have enough storage
vats to keep up with the demand, which in turn meant that there was
a porter shortage. So some of those people who were accustomed to
drinking the dark beers switched over to Milds; whilst some of them
drank what we knew in the 60’s as mixed; a mixture of pale ales
(or bitters) and Milds – their way of cocktailing a watered-down
version of the real thing!
During World War One, malt rationing meant that the Milds became weaker
in strength, although they were still generally stronger than most
of the Milds which we see around today.
The decline of Mild
Back in the 1960’s mild sales accounted for 39% of draught beer
sales, and lager wasn’t even heard of…and then, according
to the Brewers Society, in 1980 lager sales rocketed to vast 25% of
the market share, leaving mild in fast decline at just 11% on average
throughout the United Kingdom.
The large national brewers have got to take part of the blame for
the decline in the sales of cask Mild. In the mid-eighties lager was
heavily promoted because of its long shelf life and relatively low
production costs, leaving ‘poor old Mild’ to fend for and
sell its self!
Marketing is a very powerful medium, as can be seen when Mild sales
dropped, but hopefully with Nottingham CAMRA’s Mild Trail, and
other ‘Mild awareness events’ organised by Camra LADS (Light
and Dark Supporters) we can at least have a good go at protecting
what must be regarded as the best beer style in the world!
Hopefully during the month of May Nottingham Camra can encourage a
few more people to try this marvellous full-bodied beer, and appreciate
it delicious taste to its full. |
