Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild

Brewed by Sarah Hughes
Style: Mild Ale
Dudley, England

Dimpled pint mug inserted through the hatch at the The Beacon Hotel, Sedgley. (The Source). Rich, bittersweet, roasty, chocolatey. Very sweet, but the right side of cloying. Locals throwing it down their necks by the bucketload, and who can blame them? Strange echoes of Kasteel Donker. A dangerously sweet and seductive brew, wonderfully unlike any Mild I’ve encountered to date. Must remember to sample it sober.

Cask at the Devonshire Arms, South Normanton, Derbyshire. Deep ruby red, served absolutely flat with no head; rich port wine aroma; rich port wine flavour, chewy and full, developing as the beer warms in the mouth; a fruity "christmas cake" aftertaste. Overall, a really excellent mild, served at its best.

[Cask from The Three Judges] Deep brown, red tinges, moderate tan head. Big ruby port aroma , fruity berry notes, caramel, chocolate, liquorice and some alcohol. Big chewy body, slilky, vinous, dry, more alcohol in the finish. This was one of the first pints out of the cask and apparently it became a bit little less alcoholic throughout the day which would have pushed up my rating a bit, still a good beer though.

3 judges, been vented for 9 days, top condition and totally like "HIGH 5!". Aroma gives increadibly amount of fruit, berry, chocolate, cherry’s, blueberries, floural off detectable hops, increadibly full aroma. Taste is similar chcolate first, fruity malts, sweet but yet balanced in its own way, i compair to a perfectly carbonated perfect temperature, belgiun brune. Rerating: I got this on cask, vented 3 days it was magic, i rated it 4., Had again in the judges small sample it was about 3.8, it seemed to have gotten a little to complex again, ie oxidised.

Gravity, Oxford CAMRA Festival. Poured by a very pleasant lady about the right age to be my mother, who asked me if I had tried this ale before, and when I said no, told me this was a great choice. I love how normal and wide-reaching the love of good ales is here in England. It seems like in the US there is a much narrower demographic. Maybe it has to do with the American beer culture being comparatively so much newer. To the beer. Deep carmel color--along the lines of a doppelbock, light tan soapy head. A small touch of sulfur to the aroma, not enough to be really off-putting, but still...a little distracting. Chocolate, clove and bananas. The flavor makes me think of creme brulee--a soft cool sweetness, given depth and piquancy by a deeply caramelized flavor. This would make a fantastic dessert beer.

Cask handpull at Wenlock Arms. I have seen this at a lot of festivals, but never had it. Black/ruby colour with lasting beige head. Bit of sickly malt. No real hop but dryish finish. Syrupy malt. In fact very syrupy malt. Couldn’t drink too much of this. Nothing bad at all about it, but it’s like liquid malt.

Bottle. Very dark ruby-brown body, thin tan head. Great fruity aroma - dark brown sugar, plum, peach, and some chocolate. Equally fruity flavor - tart raspberry and strawberry with a syrupy caramel underneath. Some tart lemon rind becomes apparent in the finish. Medium mouthfeel with tingly carbonation. Great beer!

Cask handpump at the Jeremy Bentham, University Street, London. Dark ruby coloured with a slim, soon gone head. Fruity, malty, rich, lots of caramel. Smooth and warming. Very nice.