Which would you choose from these?
These were the results:
| XXX | 29.50% |
| IPA | 28.60% |
| Porter | 23.20% |
| Stout | 18.60% |
OK, I'm assuming most responders were American. And I didn't really mention that XXX was Mild. Other than that, a totally valid and representative survey.
Those four beers, incidentally, formed the typical range of a late 19th-century US Ale brewery.
There's a long tradition of Mild or "present use" Ale in the USA.Drinkers clearly like the idea of it. So why aren't Americans drinking gallons of Mild? I blame the marketing.
I'm sure that it would sell much better under another name. Preferably one including the letters IPA. Like Mild IPA. Or Young IPA. That sounds good. Bound to draw the youthful crowd.
Come on, US brewers. You've only yourselves to blame if Mild isn't flying out of your warehouses.
Any idea what the difference was between porter and stout in 19th century American breweries?
ReplyDeleteWas it just strength or was there a recipe difference also?
I had a very decent pint of cask English Mild at Mathews Brewing Co, at Lake Worth, Florida a few years ago (2019). Looking at their website they are still brewing it, along with a Brown Ale (as per your earlier post).
ReplyDeleteAfter several years of pushing it, Mild is now one of our top sellers. So it IS possible Ron!
ReplyDeleteMatt
I doubt that current US ales generally follow the British aging specifications you suggest. I don't have direct knowledge, but suggest that most US ales (IPAs, pale ales, porters, stouts) are aged for a couple of weeks. Barrel aged products (as specified in the marketing) use longer aging times. Fifty years ago the traditional (primarily lager) brewers marketed ales that were probably aged between two and four weeks (similar to their lagers) and maybe at higher than lagering temperatures. Long aging wasn't common. Ballantine aged their IPA and Burton Ales, but I'm not aware of other examples that lasted into the 70s. On a side note, JessKidden (ongoing beer advocate Anchor Steam discussion) mentions Fritz Maytag's description of historic steam beer that corresponds pretty well with your aging process (but with lager yeast, of course). Now that beer is discontinued.
ReplyDeleteUm...doesn't xxx sound a bit naughty? Surely marketing gold?
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/2VsOjJHZRgs
ReplyDeleteHah! So all those cans of Stone's Enjoy By "fresh IPA" are actually Mild? That makes a weird kind of sense, really. (-:
ReplyDeleteRob,
ReplyDeletestrength, I would guess. But I haven't seen the brewing records to know for sure.
Plenty of U.S. craft brewers brew American Amber, which I would guess to be similar to Mild. Lower hopping rate than pale ale and darker in color. They also seem to be fond of brewing a made up style, Irish red ale.
ReplyDeleteIrish red isn’t that just copper red to rugby coloured sweet to sweetish ale with low hopping rates.
DeleteOscar
It could be reviving, Ron. Just last month, I had a dark mild from Spiteful Brwg., Farthing (local to Chicago - but no longer a member of the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild), Untappd (3.6% abv). It was quite good. I will have it again should I view it on draught anywhere.
ReplyDelete