Great Dane Dark Mild

Though it said this was on cask at the downtown location, it was served with a huge, creamy head. Nitro pour? Regardless, it looked beautiful, a clear dark brown with that massive tan head. Smells chocolatey with a nice hop twinge, some dark malt, and a little lactose. Taste is dry and malty, with a hazelnut flavor. Finishes with lactose sourness. Felt like velvet in the mouth--smooth and creamy. There was nothing spectacular about this beer, but I wanted to drink another.

Sampled on cask: Poured a dark dark brown with no head. Aroma is pretty malty- chocolate and faint hops on the nose. Taste is super disapointing. Metallicy, thin and watery in the finish- it left an awful gritty taste on my mouth, definately something i won’t be having for a while.

On cask. Beautiful dark brown with a real nice head leaving great lacing. Nice malty aromas, pumpernickel, brown sugar, some roastiness. Some decent chocolate and caramel flavors in the taste some roastiness, not too much to it, but nice. Almost no carbonation and thin bodied, but still pretty nice. A nice brew, and one I would most likely order again.

Dark brown/ruby hued beer - nitro-pour creamy head - a really flavorful combination of roasted malt, doughy character, and light hints of black cherry - a little diacetyl on the back makes it slightly less enjoyable, but this is quality stuff.

On the nitro-tap at Great Dane downtown Madison and served in an English pint glass. This mild poured a nitro-infused brown with a few ruby/amber highlights and a lasting one-finger thick head of creamy foam. Tons of nice lace. The aroma of the beer was made up of muted caramel and chocolate as well as a bit of dark fruit and smoke. The flavor was much the same (also a bit muted by the nitro). The mouthfeel was light-bodied and extremely creamy. Nicely sessionable, but not amazing.

Nose is watery malt, little to no hops. Flavor is slight hops bitterness, washed out malt with a hint of fruit. Its no Grand River Mild.

Cask at the brewpub. Poured a dark brown color with ruby red shining through. Head was thin and soapy as you’d expect coming from a cask. Aroma was of distinct caramel and butterscotch. Slightly sweet on the tongue with carbonation on the low end, again, as expected. Tasted of roasted nuts accented by a bit of caramel and toffee. Pretty good.

On tap at brewery

I stopped by the Great Dane after dinner. This was on tap which was a little bit of a nice surprise. I decided to give it a shot so I headed down to the basement bar, grabbed a stool and ordered a pint. It was a little pricy at $4.50 which is why the Great Dane is slowly slipping down my list of desirable brewpubs. Still a mild ale is a mild ale.

Aroma / Appearance - The body was hard to make out in the dim light but a deep red body let some light trickle through. A one finger beige head graced the top like dirty vanilla icing. Gingersnaps, graham crackers and oreo crumbs formed a light but effective nose. It was sweet and malty. This would not stand up to even an average imperial stout/IPA but it is not trying to.

Flavor / Palate - The body was perhaps a little thin but I still found it very sessionable. A hint of smoke and malts are about the entirity of the experience before it fades. I did not have high expectations for the finish having read a bit about mild ales but this one was still decent. Again, it’s not going to stand up to something more hearty but it is not trying to be more than a simple sessionable starter. I wouldn’t drink these all night but I could see opening the night with one.