Recipe Request: J. Sainsbury's Mild

[maxashton]

Had a tin of this the other day, and it's bloody lovely.

I don't know my ingredients well enough yet, so can anyone have a stab at a recipe?

More to the point, how do i get that smooth, subtle hop flavor, and maintain the sweet malty flavour in such a weak beer... without it being watery?

Max

[mysterio]

Never heard of the beer so I can't help you with a recipe, but I do brew mild quite a lot.

The key is a high mash temp, 68 or 69 will give you the full mouthfeel and no wateryness. If you don't mash hot like that, it won't turn out right. I usually brew to an OG of between 1.035 - 1038. Single hop addition of Fuggles at the start to around 15 - 20 IBUs.

Another key is plenty of crystal malt. The dark crystal malt (200-400 EBC, 120L) available at some online suppliers tastes great in a mild if you're after the dark toffee/nutty flavours. I used to use the 'medium' crystal in milds (120 EBC/60L), but the darker stuff makes a world of difference. I would use about 10%, because you want plenty of body to compensate for the low OG. On top of this i usually use 5% chocolate malt.

I'm also keen on mild ale malt as a base malt, but maris otter works out just as well.

[maxashton]

How does this look?

I know it's a bit dark, but i like it black.

I haven't mucked about changing the mash in temperatures etc yet, but im sure i'll figure it out.

Bag End Mild
11-A Mild



Size: 18.93 L
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 128.6 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.039 (1.030 - 1.038)
|=========================#======|
Terminal Gravity: 1.010 (1.008 - 1.013)
|=============#==================|
Color: 56.4 (12.0 - 25.0)
|============================#===|
Alcohol: 3.81% (2.8% - 4.5%)
|=================#==============|
Bitterness: 16.24 (10.0 - 25.0)
|==============#=================|

Ingredients:
2.5 kg Maris Otter
0.7 kg British Dark Crystal
0.2 kg Roasted Barley
14 g Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min
14 g Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 30 min
9 g Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 5 min

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 21.11 °C
Source Water: 15.56 °C
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:35:54 Mash In - Liquor: 8.87 L; Strike: 72.4 °C; Target: 65.6 °C
01:35:54 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 62.9 °C
01:46:48 Mash Out - Heat: 10.9 min; Target: 75.6 °C
02:31:48 Sparge - Sparge: 16.1 L sparge @ 76.7 °C, 21.64 L collected, 45.0 min; Total Runoff: 22.19 L

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28

[mysterio]

Looks like you're on the right lines. You won't get much flavour from Fuggle in late additions, and I doubt any commercial breweries bother with them because Milds are about the malts and sessionability. I would tend to replace the roasted barley with chocolate malt personally, but that's just my taste. You will get a similar colour contribution, but more of a dark toasted flavour rather than a stout-like burnt flavour, if that makes any sense.

Also, that looks like about a fifth of the grist is dark crystal malt - I think that's a bit overkill. If you're going to use that much a would replace a part of it with a lighter grade of crystal.

If you're looking for a good starting point, I would try Wheeler's recipe for Boddingtons Mild in BYOBRAH. Use dark crystal in it and keep the mash temp high.

[Graham]

In the good old days long past, Sainsbury's stuff was Ruddles in all but name. Probably not the case today though.

[maxashton]

I actually saw a case of ruddles at Sainsburys.. just before some git in a cloth cap nicked it off the shelf. I haven't had it since i was a teenager and i remember it being bloody great.

The Mild i have tried however, is bloody superb.

How about this then?

Bag End Mild
11-A Mild



Size: 18.93 L
Efficiency: 75.0%
Attenuation: 75.0%
Calories: 120.2 per 12.0 fl oz

Original Gravity: 1.036 (1.030 - 1.038)
|====================#===========|
Terminal Gravity: 1.009 (1.008 - 1.013)
|===========#====================|
Color: 46.6 (12.0 - 25.0)
|======================#=========|
Alcohol: 3.56% (2.8% - 4.5%)
|===============#================|
Bitterness: 8.78 (10.0 - 25.0)
|======#=========================|

Ingredients:
2.5 kg Maris Otter
0.4 kg British Dark Crystal
0.2 kg Chocolate Malt
14 g Fuggle (4.8%) - added during boil, boiled 60 min

Schedule:
Ambient Air: 21.11 °C
Source Water: 15.56 °C
Elevation: 0.0 m

00:33:00 Mash In - Liquor: 8.08 L; Strike: 72.4 °C; Target: 65.6 °C
01:33:00 Saccharification Rest - Rest: 60.0 min; Final: 62.8 °C
01:43:00 Mash Out - Heat: 10.0 min; Target: 75.6 °C
02:28:00 Sparge - Sparge: 16.59 L sparge @ 76.7 °C, 21.64 L collected, 45.0 min; Total Runoff: 22.19 L

Results generated by BeerTools Pro 1.0.28

[johnmac]

mysterio, your recommendation for a high mash temp is interesting because GW recommends a mash temp of 63 for most of his mild recipes. MO does similar.

I think I need to find out more about mash temperatures!