Vinery Mild 3.4%.  Available May & September

First made in 2008 for the 'CAMRA Mild in May' campaign the Vinery Mild was named after the address of the Brewery, 'The Vinery' which was once upon a time a vinery.

When bottled Mild is usually referred to as 'Brown Ale'. However, Vinery Mild is not bottled and will only be brewed twice this year for May and September. But they do say variety is the spice of life. (Who ever they are of course)

Mild Ale is a low-gravity, malty beer that originated in the United Kingdom in the 1600s or earlier. Modern Mild Ales are mainly dark coloured with an abv of 3% to 3.6%, though there are examples of up to 6%.The term mild originally meant young beer or ale as opposed to "stale" aged beer or ale. In more recent times it has been interpreted as denoting "mildly hopped"

In essence Mild was originally used to designate any beer which was young or unaged but did not refer to a specific style of beer. Thus there was Mild Ale but also Mild Porter and even Mild Bitter Beer. These young beers were often blended with aged "stale" beer to improve their flavour. As the 19th century progressed and public taste moved away from the aged taste, unblended young beer, mostly in the form of Mild Ale or Light Bitter Beer, began to dominate the market.

In the 19th century a typical brewery produced three or four Mild Ales, usually designated by a number of X's, the weakest being X, the strongest XXXX. They were considerably stronger than the Milds of today, with the strength ranging from around  5.5% to 7% abv. Gravities dropped throughout the late 1800s and by 1914 the weakest Mild's were down to about 4.5%, still considerably stronger than modern versions.

The draconian measures applied to the brewing industry during World War 1 had a particularly dramatic effect upon Mild. As the biggest-selling beer, it suffered the largest cut in gravity when breweries had to limit the average of their beer to 3%. In order to be able to produce some stronger beer - which was exempt from price controls and thus more profitable Mild was reduced to 2.5% or lower. At that strength, it could scarcely be considered an intoxicating drink.

Though restrictions on brewing were removed in 1921, Mild never fully recovered its pre-war strength. It settled at around 4.3%, still considerably higher than today. A dramatic rise in excise duty in 1931, from 80 shillings to 114 shillings per barrel, prompted brewers to cut their Mild strengths back 3.2%-35%. However, some breweries, such as Barclay Perkins, introduced a new Best Mild, with a strength of 4.3%.

Until the 1950s, Mild was the largest selling ale. It retains some popularity in the West Midlands, Wales and North West England, but has been totally ousted by bitter and lager in the South of England. In 2002 only 1.3% of beer sold in pubs was Mild. Mild's popularity in Wales, in particular, persisted as a relatively low-alcohol, sweet drink for coal miners. Outside the United Kingdom, Mild is virtually unknown, with the exception of Old in New South Wales and some microbrewery recreations in North America and Scandinavia.

Light Mild is generally similar, but paler in colour. There is some overlap between the weakest styles of bitter and Light Mild, with the term AK being used to refer to both. The designation of such beers as 'Bitter' or 'Mild' has tended to change with fashion. A good example is McMullen's AK, which was rebadged as Bitter after decades as a Light Mild. AK - a very common beer name in the 1800s - was often referred to as a 'mild Bitter Beer'.

Some dark Milds are created by the addition of caramel to a pale beer. Modern Dark Mild varies from dark amber to near-black in colour and is very light-bodied. Its flavour is dominated by malt, sometimes with roasty notes derived from the use of black malt, with a subdued hop character, though there are some quite bitter examples. Most are in the range 3-3.6% abv.