Great Dane Dark Mild

Brewed by Great Dane Pub & Brewery
Style: Mild Ale
Madison, Wisconsin USA

From the beer engine in Madison: clear, though incredibly deep garnet…full, persistent light brown head – served at a perfect cellar temp (which is increasingly hard to find in the US). Wonderfully subtle, charred sweet raisin aroma with ever-so slight piney undertones. Even and balanced palate flirts with bitterness, but decides on malt…why can’t more brewers produce these under appreciated beers?

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.

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.

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.

On cask at the Madison brewpub.
Pours a moderately dark transluscent ruby-brown. The thin white head that forms on pour is not terribly impressive but the clumps of webby lacing it leaves sure is. Aroma is dominated by lightly toasted grain backed up with mild hop bitterness and a hint of dried fruit. Flavor is grainy, dry, nutty with moderate hop support and a surprising dose of dried tart fruit -- a bit of dried cranberry perhaps. Medium-thin body, flat & slighlty watery palate as is expected for the style, especially from a beer engine. Nothing groundbreaking; nonetheless a pleasant little brew I would certainly order again. Rated a bit harshly here IMO.

Cask. Dark red color with no head. A hint of orange for the nose. Little bits of malt in the taste with a floral finish. Creamy. A good and tasty session beer.