Tag: mild

Beer of the Week: Naked City Mild Davis

By Iron Chef Leftovers

naked-cityThe resurgence of mild beers is nice – they are low alcohol, usually have a nice malty flavor profile and can be very refreshing if they are served on a warm day. They are usually my go to beer when I am looking for something that is lower in alcohol and has a deeper flavor on warmer days. It is even better when served either on nitro or cask, giving the traditional English feel to the beer. It also means that when I see a mild on tap somewhere, I am going to get it. This was the case at Naked City where they had their mild on nitro. It clocked in at just 3.8% ABV.

From the Naked City website:

Our Northwest interpretation of a classic English Style Mild Ale. Mild Davis is brewed with British Pale, Ashburne Mild Malt, Brown Malt, and Crystal. Lightly hopped with Willamette. Served on Nitrogen for an extremely smooth, silky mouthfeel.

The beer pours amber in color with a creamy white head. There is no dominating or defining note on the nose of this beer – mild notes of caramel, malt and toffee all appear but none is overly present. The beer starts off on the palate in a non-descript way with really mild hints of malt before moving into very light caramel and toffee and finishing light with those flavors and just a touch of malty sweetness and a creamy mouth feel. Light in flavor and easy to drink, it was fine but it lacked a bit of depth in character that I like in a mild.

Naked City Mild Davis announces its presence with 2 trumpets out of 5

Beer of the Week: Populuxe Mild

By Iron Chef Leftovers

imagesCAAR87MMThere are times when I just don’t want something that has a great deal of hops but I do want something with complexity, especially on a warmer day. That means I am not usually in the mood for a something heavy like a stout or a porter and don’t particularly want something light like a kolsch. Populuxe has that niche covered with their Mild. It has everything that I want from a flavor standpoint – richness and complexity without being overly hopped and is a small beer, clocking in at less than 4% ABV, meaning more than one can be on the menu. Besides, how many other NW breweries do you know doing the old English style of a mild?

The beer pours deep brown in color with a solid foundation of chocolate and malt on the nose. Very light on the palate, almost surprisingly so, with light malt and caramel at the front followed by subtle chocolate in a very long and clean finish that lingers pleasantly. Very easy to drink despite its heavy flavor profile and incredibly complex beer – malty without being sweet, chocolaty without having strong burnt notes and different enough to make me want to drink it when it is on the tap list and I am in the mood for something darker but not heavy.

This is a gateway beer into the realm of darker beers – some of the complexity and depth of flavor that you find in a porter or stout, but restrained enough that those are not all of the flavors you are tasting. A versatile “session” beer that works on both a warm sunny day and a cold wet evening, if you have never tried a mild, you should definitely give this one a shot.

Populuxe Mild eases in with a not so middle of the road 4 Union Jacks out of 5.