Mild for this time of the year

This month is Make May Mild Month.  The idea is to encourage people to drink mild to help boost the declining sales of this style of beer.  Mild tends to suffer from an image problem, being seen as an old man's drink, which is a bit odd, as a lot of old men actually drink lager.  Lager was presented as a clean new drink in the days when processed cheese, meat and sliced white bread were seen as the future; it was reliable and consistent, unlike that boring old cask ale, which was thought to be on the way out, an attitude confirmed by the fact that it was often not well kept.  If a modern real drinker could travel back the the fifties and sixties, he or she would, I believe, be sadly disillusioned with the real beer available.  The reputation of mild wasn't helped by the fact that licensees often put the dregs from all other beers into the mild cask.  This isn't an urban myth - it actually happened; mild was not treated with respect.  The poor image of mild still remains, whereas real bitters, stouts and porters seem to have been largely rehabilitated.

Modern milds are quite superior to what went before.  If you want a reasonable example of old style milds, try Tetley's, which actually tastes better than Tetley bitter, but which I find unremarkable, thin and weak flavoured - having said that, a lot of people still like it.  Milds should have flavour, but being more lightly hopped, shouldn't be particularly bitter.  Because of their lower strength, they are sensible choice if you have to drive or go back to work.  Milds I do like are Moorhouses Black Cat and Prospect Nutty Slack, and I know Theakstons Mild has its advocates.

The only thing I don't really understand is why May should be Mild Month, seeing that it is often considered a winter beer.  In May, the golden ales that herald the summer are making their appearance, which must surely push mild out of drinkers' minds.  There is an on-line campaign to Make March Mild Month (link here), but it doesn't seem to be making much headway.

It would be a pity if mild disappeared completely, especially now that small brewers are producing good versions of the style.

Moorhouse's trip + I missed my birthday!

I've only just realised that yesterday was the first anniversary of this blog. Still, I inadvertently celebrated it in good style. The Sir Henry Segrave, our local JDW, ran a coach to Moorhouse's brewery so we could see the old brew house before it is demolished and a much larger modern brewery is built there. On our arrival, we were given two Premier Bitter tokens and watched a DVD in the brewery tap, the General Scarlett, just across the road from the brewery. It's named after a general in the Crimean War. (I wonder whether earlier in his career he was known as Captain Scarlett?)

After the DVD, we were taken around the old brewery. It really is crammed to the rafters, in some instances literally, with brewing equipment; it's easy to see why a new building is needed. Working here must be an ergonomic nightmare: you have to bend almost double to get to some of the fermenting vessels. Our guide warned us not to slip on the stairs, often damp in a brewery, not like his health and safety officer who (he said) slipped on the stairs in high heels and broke her arm. The new brew house will be a tower brewery, apparently the first one to be built in Britain for many years. Our guide said that they intend to get CAMRA members in after it's opened to judge whether they've managed to recreate the taste of the beers.

After the tour, back to the pub for our second Premier, all laid out ready on the bar for our thirsty return, and pie and mushy peas. With beer tokens used up, I went on to the Blond Witch and Pendle Witches Brew until it was time to go home, at which point everyone was given a pack with two bottles: Pendle Witches and Black Cat. We got back to Southport in time for a couple in the Sir Henry Segrave before they closed at midnight.

Everyone agreed that a return coach trip to Burnley, with two pints, a brewery trip, pie and peas and two bottles of ale for just £13 was an extremely good night out. The plan is to have another trip after the new brew house is open.

As for the blog, I have written 210 postings in the year, an average of 4 a week. Not too bad.

I'll be off to the singaround in the Mason's later. I must dust down my song about Ireland for St Patrick's Day, although I'll be drinking Unicorn, not Guinness.

The picture (added 18.3.10) shows me at one of the fermenting vessels.  Thanks to Sam for the photo.

Meet The Brewer ~ Moorhouses

On Wednesday 27th January at 8-00 pm in the Sir Henry Segrave (Wetherspoons), Lord Street, there will be another Meet The Brewers evening. This time, Moorhouses Brewery will be explaining their brewing processes and recent developments:  work is currently underway on a £3.5 million new brewing complex to triple brewing capacity.  This evening is free and open to all.  If, like me, you've enjoyed their wonderful Pendle Witches Brew or Blond Witch, you won't want to miss this.

Be there, or be turned into a frog.