Amber mild

[JKaranka]

Just working on an amber mild. Had some light LME lying around I wanted to get rid of and I got this now in the fermenter:

23l - ~3.6% abv, 17 IBU.

2.75KG - light LME
200g - dark invert syrup

60 minute boil
60 - 10g Challenger
15 - 5g Challenger

Windsor yeast.

The hydrometer sample was slightly sweet (hardly surprising as the OG was 1.037) with just a hint of refreshing herby hop bitterness. I was looking at copper colour but as the LME was a tad old it ended up a darker copper almost in a dark mild range.

[seymour]

What differentiates an Amber Mild from a standard Bitter? That's not a criticism, I'm genuinely curious.

Whatever the case, it sure sounds tasty. Cheers!

[JKaranka]

Not an awful lot! Over time bitters have become less bitter too. But basically: most colour comes from sugar, less bitterness, softer water profile, lower attenuation, little to no hop flavour or aroma. There are a couple of pale milds still around, so it's really about comparing their position within the brewery's lineup. They have tended to be less hoppy, malty and strong than the bitter. The only one that comes to mind right now is Timothy Taylor's Landlord (bitter / best bitter) vs their Golden Best (pale / amber mild).

I've been thinking a lot in terms of lineups so some things that don't seem to make sense to others make sense to me within my lineup (e.g., running porter at 1.050, India porter at 1.058, stout at 1.065, both X and AK being ales pale in colour around 1.045 but with different grist and hopping rate, etc.).

[seymour]

Good info, thanks for sharing.

[JKaranka]

Had a bottling sample and it's very light with most of the flavours coming from the yeast esters and the invert sugar. Gentle bitterness followed by hints of honey, peaches and pears.

[seymour]

Sounds delicious, nice work!