New Albanian Community Dark

Brewed by New Albanian Brewing Company
Style: Mild Ale
New Albany, Indiana USA

On draft at Sportstime pizza. Rather opaque reddish tint. Tan head. Full bodied with hints of cola and cocoa. :ive;y flavor and very fresh. Toasty bready flavors. Solid brew...And tasted again at the St Louis Microfest in a JW Lees firkin. Filtered and dark amber hued. Tight ring of off-white head. Aromas of grainy malty breads, honey, vanilla and a lotta oak! I actually said, "Oh my God!" outloud. Sweet nose and big malts. Thick and sugary sweet. Lotta oaky woody notes. Anise and raisins. Great complexity and a great experience!

Draft at Rich O’s in New Albany, IN. Small tan head, lacing was fair, transparent, and a reddish brown hue. Malty, caramel, chocolate notes, and some hops. Flavor was lightly acidic and malty. Smooth mouthfeel.

Deeply dark coloration, slimmish head, tan and lightly dotted... Nose of cocoa and nuts...charcoal and maple, but all played very lightly...nice..to a point...shall we say... Taste: smooooth, light on the palate, very easy, yet full of character, if not too full of body...loads of malt, lots of taste, much more full of taste than I’d expect from an English mild...I like it, it’s good... a much ballsier mild than I’d been anticipating...very worthy. Very good...nice...Hooray, New Albany, and all the New Albanians!

On tap at brewpub

While in town for the weekend I crossed the river to New Albany to visit this gem of a brewpub. Unfortunately having just missed Thunderfoot I nonetheless discovered an elusive mild on tap. Deciding it was a good place to start I ordered a pint while waiting for food. It’s hard to make a judgement with only two data points but if this is what most mild ales are then it is definitely one of the most underappreciated styles on the site.

Aroma / Appearance - The deep black body was very dark; I was expecting a typical amber body. You’ll hear no complaints from me however. Roasted wheat, malt and only a hint of hops smoothly blended as the pint slowly warmed from ice cold to room temperature. It was hard to pin down exactly but it almost reminded me of Stone’s black IPA without so much hoppiness.

Flavor / Palate - Dry coffee beans, wood shavings, and a light malt profile rolled across the tongue. A mellow finish capped the drinking experience without the slightest evidence of ethanol. I could see how you could drink a few of these in a night without being overly intoxicated or ruining your palate. Hopefully the next mild ale is as good as this one.

STL microfest. I appreciated this one far more than I enjoyed. it. Pours dark brown / bornze with a tan head. The aroma has sour mash, sweetness, lots of scotch and some dark toasted malt. Light body with extra gentle carbonation. The flavor starts like the aroma with more sourness ~ quite clean. The finish has green apple and nectar fruits. The is good for what it is, but I don’t need much.

Tap at rich o’s. Drunk with a retired newspaper editor named David who is now a sculptor who discussed life and travel with me, a pleasure to meet you, sir. Yep, it’s dark. Not pitch black by any stretch, but close. Head was thin light & gray, but lasts. Smells of caramel, & strawberry. Taste is a bit of roast coffee, some maraschino cherry & smoked meat. I wouldn’t expect these flavors to work, but they do, well. I could happily drink a few pints in the right company. Lingering meaty roast flavor. Chocolate emerges late in this. Ap-4 ar-6 tas-7 pal-4 ov-14

Pours dark brown/black, with little head. Sweet, malty aroma. Strong flavor of cola with a decent, heavy body.

Tap at Mad Anthony’s. Deep brown color. Coffee aromas. Didn’t know this was in the mild ale category. Tasty for a mild ale.