Here’s a recipe for one. Will it help answer that existential question? Possibly not. It does provide an example of the style, if nothing else.
No shock that the grist includes nothing darker than crystal malt. Other than that, base malt and flaked maize, nothing went into the mash tun. If only the same simplicity could be found in the sugars. There were six of those: Invert, C.M.E., C.W.A., DCS, HX and C.D.M. Only the merest hint of the last, which is a dark sugar.
It’s not a massively bitter beer, clocking in at just under 20 IBU (calculated). Enabled by two types of English hops from the 1958 harvest and one of Styrian from 1959.
How did it differ from Lees Bitter? More crystal malt and more types of sugar. And fewer hops. So Mild was most likely a sweeter beer.
| 1960 Lees Mild | ||
| pale malt | 4.00 lb | 63.09% |
| crystal malt 60 L | 0.50 lb | 7.89% |
| flaked maize | 0.50 lb | 7.89% |
| No. 1 invert sugar | 0.67 lb | 10.57% |
| No. 2 invert sugar | 0.67 lb | 10.57% |
| Fuggles 90 min | 0.75 oz | |
| Fuggles 60 min | 0.50 oz | |
| Styrian Goldings 30 min | 0.125 oz | |
| OG | 1032 | |
| FG | 1007 | |
| ABV | 3.31 | |
| Apparent attenuation | 78.13% | |
| IBU | 19.5 | |
| SRM | 7.5 | |
| Mash at | 148º F | |
| Sparge at | 170º F | |
| Boil time | 90 minutes | |
| pitching temp | 60º F | |
| Yeast | Wyeast 1318 London ale III (Boddingtons) | |
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8 comments:
According to what I've gathered from earlier posts on this blog and elsewhere: HX was some sort of caramel/colouring syrup. CME undoubtedly a type of malt extract, possibly for head retention rather than enzymatic purposes. CWA most likely a glucose syrup. DCS probably an unfermentable dextrin syrup simlar to CDM, but I could be wrong on this one. Anyway some of these syrups were more or less unfermentable so this would have been a rather fullbodied beer despite its strength.
To recreate this sugar wizardry I would suggest invert sugar, caramel and quite a bit of maltodextrin. Invert alone would not give the right fullness of palate (or colour).
Anonymous,
I though HX was a low-grade white sugar.
I don't know for sure but looking at how it's being used in e.g. the Eldridge Pope beers strongly suggests it had a colouring function.
Anonymous,
sugars are a nightmare. Especially the ones that are just initials. For HX, I have "white sugar of lower grade". Stupidly, I didn't record the source for that description.
Anonymous,
these are the best descriptoins I have:
CWA starch conversion syrup eg enzymatic syrup
DCS invert sugar based colourant
HX white sugar of lower grade.
Ron, did you get those 7.5 SRM from logs, pictures, or recreating the recipe in Beersmith? I have some darker sugars and, since it seems not to be clear what the sugars in this recipe were, I was wandering if I should pay attention to the colour at all.
Pyramid Head,
that's calculated in BeerSmith. Pretty sure it was pale, while Best Mild was dark.
Oh ok. Thanks a lot Ron. I only have homemade D-45 and D-90 syrups right now. Beersmith throws something like 12 SRM, more like a Dark Mild using those.
Maybe I should check the Best Mild recipe instead.
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