Bottle from Kabutomushi. 7/4/8/3/14 Nice orange/copper color with a medium, frothy head. Rich aroma, mostly of citrus hops, piney, with caramel malts underneath. Rich, malty flavor. Chocolate, caramel, earthy amber malts. Strong hopping but not as overwhelming as in the nose. Citrus and pine. Great balance, easy to drink, probably easy to drink a lot of. Dry, citrusy finish with some lingering caramel malts. Light, crisp. Nothing like an English mild, but I like it.

(10/14/08) Draught sample at the brewpub in Munster. Clear golden color with a medium white head. Aroma of malt, some toasty notes and some slightly earthy hops. Sweetish and rather caramelly flavor and a bitter hoppy finish with some citrus. Medium-bodied and rounded-mouthfeel.

No sooner do I speak of the elusive nature of Three Floyds Brewing do I get to taste, savor, and review two of their beers in a row. Mild ales were quite the rage back in the day, served to all walks of people and at all times of the day. A very low ABV beer, they were served to children with family meals so they would feel included and learn to respect and control their beer intake. Workers during a hard day would take a break and enjoy a mild ale to refresh and invigorate themselves for the rest of the day. In a world of ever Bigger and Badder beers, the mild ale has unfortunately fallen by the wayside, which is a shame because a low ABV or gravity beer doesn’t mean that it has to be low or lacking in flavor, taste, and character. Three Floyds Brewing understands this and thus they have brought before me their Pride and Joy ~ Mild Ale, a tribute to their brewing heritage and future.<br />Pride and Joy poured a blossoming cloud of orange and sand with light shining through along all sides of the glass. A decent off-white head scatters into a thin foamy layer on top while lace sticks stubbornly to the sides. Repeated swirls produce repeated puffs of foam and webs of lace. A very refreshing looking brew, her nose reflects her looks with a bright explosion of light yeasty sour esters and spices; cinnamon and ginger, and hop zest. Her initial mouthfeel is clean and light with very little afterbite or lingering presence. A gentle river of sour yeast, cinnamon, ginger, and citric esters whispers over my tastebuds. Each quaff leaves an ever growing and very impressive webbery of lace worthy of a spider’s jealousy. Faint sweet malt notes creep in as her brew warms and my glass empties.<br />I picture myself on a bright and clear spring day, standing atop rainbow colored fields of flowers and grass, a gentle breeze ruffling my clothes. Tired from a hard-day’s work, I grab my Pride and Joy Mild Ale and refresh myself with a gentle brew as subtle and brilliant as the fields that surround me. Three Floyds Brewing may not have been around during the heyday of mild ales, but they have certainly created a deliciously faithful reproduction of said mild ale. A stellar mild ale, if only I was able to enjoy her once more, I would be sure to share her bounty with others.

Aroma of hops. Taste of hops and sweet malts. Nice balance of hops and not a lot of citrus.

Pours the color of polished brass with tight white head. The aroma is smoothly hoppy with lots of pine, grapefruit, and sweet earth. The flavor has lots of piney hops and citrus in the finish. A little bit of earth malt holds it all up. The aftertaste is nice and bitter. Again, a well balanced beer from 3F