Beer styles are difficult to categorise precisely. One person's mild is another person's old ale. Some dark dry ales lie equally between stout, dark bitter and mild, while others fall definitely into only one category. Thus the following are only broad categories.
Although bitter is the currently the traditional pint, this was not always so. Until around 1900 porter was the staple of British drinking, then mild took over. It was only in the 1950's that bitter became predominant. So what is bitter?
As the name implies it must be bitter, but will also have a degree of sweetness from the malt used. Bitterness comes from the hops used. Brewers use various amounts and varieties of hops, each with their own character. This results in some bitters being lightly hopped, and some astringent beers. After the bitter taste subsides, the character of the malt comes through. Again there are great variety of flavours available. Some bitters are very dry, having hardly any sweetness, whereas others have a distinct sweet malt flavour. Bitter varies in colour from light straw colour to dark ruby red. These variables (bitterness, sweetness, and colour) can be used by brewers to produce hundreds of subtly different bitters. Because of these variations the mild of one brewer CAN turn out more bitter than another brewer's bitter! Many brewers produce two bitters, a standard strength "ordinary" bitter (3% to 4% ABV), and a stronger (and usually more bitter) "premium" bitter (4.5% to 5.5% ABV).
The simplest thing to say about any brewers bitter is "It has more bitterness than their mild".
Mild is so called because it is less bitter than standard bitter, NOT because it is mild in flavour. In today's current vogue for "Mild xxxxxx" meaning bland, tasteless, inoffensive food, mild suffers from its traditional name. However can you see the problem of marketing a beer called "Less bitter" or "Not as bitter"!
Let's explode some myths about mild.
Mild is sweet - NOT! Just because mild is less bitter, do not think that it is sweet. Remember - it is mildly hopped relative to a brewer's standard bitter. Thus one brewer's bitters can be sweeter than another's mild!
Mild is tasteless - NOT! Well-crafted mild is full of flavours. Most milds have, in varying degrees, chocolate, biscuity malt, liquorice and light fruit overtones. Mild is much more complex in flavour than bitter, which, as the name implies, is primarily bitter.
Mild is weak - NOT! This is only true within any one brewer's range, but when compared between brewers there are some interesting comparisons. One of Britains best selling milds, Banks's Original, weighs in at 3.5% ABV, whereas Tetleys bitter is only 3.6% ABV. Coach House Gunpowder Mild, at 3.8% ABV, is the same strength as Boddington's Bitter. Sarah Hughes Ruby Mild, weighing in at an incredible 6.0% ABV, knocks spots off all bitters!
Mild is for old men - NOT! Surprisingly, mild is a good introduction
to real ales for lager drinkers, as it has a softer hop flavour than bitter.
Mild also makes an excellent session drink. Because it is lower(ish) in alcohol
several pints can be consumed without ill effect. People with sensitive digestive
systems can benefit from the lower amount of hops used.
MILD IS BOTH SATISFYING & FULL OF TASTE - GO ON, TRY A PINT!
A new style of pale, well-hopped and quenching beer developed by independent brewers in an attempted to win younger drinkers from heavily-promoted lager brands. The first in the field were Exmoor Gold and Hop Back Summer Lightning, though many micros and regionals now make their versions of the style. Strengths will range from 3.5% to 5.3% ABV. The hallmark will be the biscuity and juicy malt character derived from pale malts, underscored by tart citrus fruit and peppery hops, often with the addition of hints of vanilla and cornflour. Golden ales are pale amber, gold, yellow or straw coloured and above all, such beers are quenching and served cool.
Stout can be sweet or dry, not very bitter. It will be completely black and have a rich, smooth mouthfeel. The burnt flavours come about because roasted barley is used, giving a very complex and moreish taste. It actually feels heavy and filling. The name came about, as it was originally a "stouter" or stronger version of porter.
Standard stouts have a strength similar to bitters, but beware, some breweries produce a Russian/Imperial Stout, which are typically 9% upwards!
BEWARE: Guinness is definitely NOT a real ale, despite having the word "Draught" plastered all over its dispensers. There is a suggestion that it isn't even Irish but Welsh!
Porter was the staple drink of Britain until the beginning of the 20th century. Originally porter was a mixture of old stale ale and new fresh beer, which gave porter its sour lactic flavour. This method of production is only rarely used these days, but there are some brews that still have old stale ale mixed in. Porter is bitter and deep brown, not really black. It is more aromatic and while malty, is more quenching. It is more like a bitter but darker and heavier.
Old ale, as the name implies, is old - that is matured for a longer time than standard beers. This extended maturation means the beer takes on a "stale" and/or "sour" taste, which is offset by blending with freshly brewed "young" ale. Some old ales are matured for only a month or two, others for a year or more. Nowadays metal conditioning tanks are used for maturation, but previously massive oak tuns were used (this tradition still survives in a few breweries).
In flavour old ales are rich, packed with malt, big on hop bitterness and have a mellow fruitiness. In alcohol content they vary from 5.1% ABV for Highgate Old Ale up to 8.5% ABV for Robinsons Old Tom. The stronger examples have a vinous (wine like) flavour reminiscent of a good red wine.
This category covers a wide variety of styles. The most common group are beers with fruit added. Cherries and raspberries have been used for many years in Belgium brewing. British brewers have supplemented these with all sorts of other fruits, and even a few vegetables!
Wheat beer is another popular beer style, which contain a substantial amount of malted wheat used in the brew. This gives the beer a tart taste, and results in a slightly cloudy pint.
The standard measurement of the alcoholic strength of a beer. The measure gives the volume of pure alcohol to be found in a given volume of beer. Thus 5% ABV means that in a 100ml sample there is 5ml of pure alcohol. The measure is used in most countries except in the USA, where Alcohol By Weight (ABW) is used as well. A beer marked as 4% ABV in Britain would be marked as 3.2% ABW in the USA.