Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild

Brewed by Sarah Hughes
Style: Mild Ale
Dudley, England

This is an all time classic. Rich, warming ale with a lingering full flavour. Beware the strength of this easily drinkerble beer. Don’t miss it.

Bottle: Mohogany brown w/ a lasting beige head. Malty, sherry, slightly lactic sour and green apple aromas. Apple aroma seems the strongest while chilled. Intense fruity, English yeast character. Apple fades to caramel apple as it warms; a bit vinous as well but only hints. Light leathery and horse blanket aromas come through. Flavor is malty and lightly sour. Surprising since I thought that milds were not supposed to be. Sourness seems slightly lactic, not dark grain induced, a little disappointing. Balance is to lightly malty and dry from sourness, not from hops. Light sherry flavor, followed by a light baryardy flavor. I think this is infected with Brett! I’ve had this before and I don’t remember this being there. Light hop flavor as well with a dry lightly sour finish, aftertaste is sherry. Carbonation is high for a mild, body is light but not unusually light given the style, but the overall m/f is way too dry for style IMHO. I’ll re rate with another bottle when I get one, but this one is by far sub par!!!!!!!! Others I’ve had have been much, much better and a far more better example of the style and this beer in particular.

[Cask conditioned] I did not expect to see this listed as a mild ale. Dark reddish brown coloured. Great vinous aroma. The aroma and the flavour is full of complex fruitiness. Very pleasant and interesting.

I had been looking forward to trying this one for a while - a strong mild sounded an intriguing prospect. Although it was very agreeable, I’m not going to enthuse about it as much as others have. The colour is a murky chocolate brown, with hints of garnet. I struggled to pick up much on the aroma other than a vaguely sweet candy sugar backdrop. Some roasted malt, a touch of berry fruit and just a slight hop presence in the background. Very restrained sour edge on the finish. The all round impression was soft and easygoing. I had hoped for something a little more complex and assertive. I guess I’m just not a big mild fan and those I do like tend to be those that drift towards the stout style. Cask (gravity), Cambridge Beer Festival

Nearly opaque brownish black color with a tan head. Strong grape and vinegar aroma. Very woody flavor, with sour vinegar and sweet grape as well. Very soft carbonation, with a fairly dry finish. A very diffiernt mild. Not what I expected!

Very dark, almost opaque, brown color with a medium tan head. The aroma was dominated by raisins...but also had some nice woody, malty, alcohol tones. The flavor was very earthy, woody, lots of grapes/raisins, other dark fruits (plums mostly) and a slight alcohol kick...a touch of sourness in the aftertaste. The feel was extremely soft...not much crispness in this at all...mildly thick, semi-dry finish. Wonderful mild!

This beer formed a very large sized frothy tan head with fine-small bubbles that fully diminished. The body was carbonated and opaque with a brown hue. This beer's nose was malty, sweet, fruity and wine notes. The flavor was somewhat sour, fruity, caramel and wine. The mouthfeel was smooth and this beer had very sparse amounts of lacing.

This bottled brew poured an beautiful extremely large head of foamy finely sized light brown colored bubbled that left behind a semi-transparent dark ruby red brown colored carbonated body. It had a strange but good aroma of malty but mild doughy piney port like scents. The mouthfeel was smooth from start to finish. The flavor was vinuous with tart grape and malt flavors with aport like quality that was very different from any other brew I have yet tasted.