Mild Ale Beer is not a complicated beer to brew, but it rewards attention to detail. Mild ale Malt forms the base of the mash here, and Northdown 8% carries the hop character through to the glass.
Recipe at a Glance
Recipe at a Glance
| Style | Mild Ale Beer |
| Batch Size | 5 gallons (19L) |
| Boil Time | 60-90 minutes |
| Original Gravity | 1.032-1.040 |
| Final Gravity | 1.008-1.012 |
| ABV | 3.0-3.8% |
| IBU | 12-25 |
| SRM | 10-25 (amber to dark brown) |
| Difficulty | Beginner |
Brew Day, Step by Step
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1
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Mash · ~60 min Mash the grain bill, led by Mild ale Malt, at a steady temperature to build the fermentable sugars this style needs. Sparge slowly so you do not lose efficiency. |
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2
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Boil · ~60-90 min Bring the wort to a boil and work through the hop schedule, starting with Northdown 8%. This is also where you will add any fining agent for a clearer finished beer. |
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3
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Ferment · 20C (68F) Pitch Wyeast 1318 London Ale III once the wort has cooled to fermentation temperature and hold it steady. Primary fermentation is the most active week, do not rush it. |
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4
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Condition · 3 weeks at 12C (54F) Rack to secondary (or leave in primary if your recipe calls for it) and let the beer round out at a cool, steady temperature. This step does more for the final flavor than people expect. |
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5
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Package · 1 day, then wait Bottle or keg once gravity has held steady for a few days in a row. Give it time to carbonate and, for bigger styles, additional time to mellow before your first taste. |
That’s the shape of brew day and the weeks after it. For the exact grain bill, hop schedule, and full step-by-step instructions with amounts, use the recipe card below.
What You Will Need
Sourcing your own ingredients locally is always fine, but if you want to skip a homebrew store trip, here is what’s in stock in our shop right now:
- Base and specialty grain: Grains & Adjuncts (e.g. My Brew Supply Flaked Maize Premium Beer Making Grain)
- Bittering and aroma hops: Brewing Hops (e.g. Amarillo Hop Pellets 1 oz)
- Yeast: Brewing Yeast (e.g. Craft A Brew – Safale S-04 Dry Yeast – Fermentis)
- Secondary fermenter for conditioning: Fermenters & Carboys (e.g. Carboy Caps 4 Pk Silicone Caps)
- Priming sugar for bottling: Priming Sugar (e.g. Dextrose 50 Lb)
- General kit and tools: Homebrew Equipment (e.g. Northern Brewer Homebrewing Starter Kit w/Equipment, Chinook IPA)
- Pour it right when it’s ready: a tulip glass shows off the color and holds the aroma better than a straight pint glass
Serve It Right
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A Mild Ale Beer is best served in a pint, it fits the body and carbonation of this style better than a straight pint glass. Here is one from our shop: |
Ingredients & Gear for This Batch
Grain / Adjuncts MG-RYCJ-O9FS 2-Row Chocolate Brewing Malt Whole Grain 1lb Bag |
Hops |
Yeast |
Fermenter Zazolyne 5Pack Fermentation Airlock,Twin Bubble Fermenting Improved |
Priming Sugar |
Equipment |
Full Recipe: Grain Bill, Hops, and Instructions
Mild Ale Beer
Equipment
- 1 Large pot or mash tun
- 1 Fermenter (with airlock)
- 1 Hydrometer
- 1 Thermometer
- 1 Spoon or paddle for stirring
- 1 Fine mesh strainer or muslin bag
- 1 Bottles or kegging equipment for storage
- 1 Sanitizer for cleaning equipment
- 1 Siphon hose or auto-siphon
- 1 Bottle capper (if using bottles)
Ingredients
For the Mash – Liquor 9 Litres (16 Pints) – Mash Time 1 hr – Temperature 68°c/154 °F
- 6.10 lb Mild ale Malt Quantity 3kg
- 1.2 lb Dark crystal Malt Quantity 500g
- 3½ oz Chocolate Malt Quantity 100g
For the Boil – 27 Litres (47½ Pints) – Boil Time 1 hr – 10 mins
- ⅔ oz (Hops) Northdown 8% When to add – At start of boil (IBU 19.7)
- ⅓ oz (Hops) Bramling Cross 6% When to add – For last 5 mins of boil (IBU 0.0)
- 1 tsp Protofloc Other – When to add – For last 15 mins of boil
To Ferment – 20°C (68°F) – Conditioning 3 weeks at 12°C (54°F)
- 1 Wyeast 1318 London Ale III
Instructions
Mash the grains:
- Heat 9 liters (16 pints) of water to 68°C/154°F in a large pot or mash tun.
- Add the Mild Ale Malt, Dark Crystal Malt, and Chocolate Malt to the pot, and stir well to ensure that all the grains are covered with water.
- Allow the mixture to rest for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Boil the wort:
- After the 1 hour mashing, add 27 liters (47.5 pints) of water to the pot.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, and let it boil for 1 hour.
- Add the Northdown hops at the start of the boil, and add the Bramling Cross hops for the last 5 minutes of the boil.
- Add 1 tsp of Protofloc for the last 15 minutes of the boil.
Cool the wort and ferment:
- After boiling, cool the mixture quickly to 20°C (68°F).
- Transfer the cooled mixture to a fermenter and add the yeast. Stir well to ensure that the yeast is evenly distributed.
- Allow the mixture to ferment for 28 days at a temperature of 20°C (68°F).
Condition and bottle:
- After fermentation, transfer the beer to a secondary fermenter and condition it for 3 weeks at 12°C (54°F).
- Bottle the beer, ensuring that the bottles are properly sanitized.
- Store the bottles at room temperature for at least 2 weeks before drinking.
Get the fermentation temperature right on Mild Ale Beer and most of the rest of the process takes care of itself.
What Makes Mild Ale Beer the Style It Is
There is nothing exotic about the roots of Mild Ale Beer, it grew out of practical brewing choices, local ingredients, and the tastes of the people drinking it.
What you get in the glass is a beer that leans on mild ale malt and northdown 8%, with a finish shaped by Wyeast 1318 London Ale III. Get the fermentation temperature right and the rest of the process is mostly patience.
Style Characteristics at a Glance
- ABV: 3.0-3.8%
- Bitterness: 12-25 IBU
- Color: 10-25 (amber to dark brown)
- Serving temp: 50-55F (10-13C)
- Glassware: a pint
- Food pairings: pub food, sausages, mild cheeses
Common Questions
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes, the grain bill and hop schedule scale linearly with batch size. Just make sure your equipment, mash tun and boil kettle both, can actually handle the volume you are scaling to.
What is the biggest mistake homebrewers make with this style?
Rushing the schedule. Pulling a beer off yeast too early or skipping conditioning time is the most common way to shortchange a recipe like this one.
Can I substitute a different yeast strain?
You can, but expect the flavor profile to shift. Stick close to the same yeast family (English ale, American ale, Belgian, lager, etc.) if you want a result close to what this recipe is aiming for.
Keep Exploring
Once you have this one down, here are a few more homebrew recipes worth trying next:
Browse the full homebrew recipe collection for more styles, or if you are just getting into the hobby, start with one of our homebrewing starter kits for new brewers.
This recipe is for adults of legal drinking age. Please brew and drink responsibly, and always sanitize your equipment thoroughly to avoid infection.
