| Product: |
Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild |
| Date: |
23.04.04 (571 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: Tasty, Rich , History and tradition.
Disadvantages: Hard to get hold of away from the brewery area.
It is almost May so I'm getting all geared up to start promoting Mild. Those of you who have read some of my other beer reviews will know that I love dark beers and that stout, porters and milds are my favourite styles of beer. May is Mild Month and I am on a quest to promote Mild and to try as many different ones as I can. At the recent Mansfield Beer Festival I was able to try several different ones and my favourite on was Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild.
~~~THE BEER STYLE.
My other Mild reviews have a brief outline of what a Mild is. Here is another chance to find out...
"To go back to basics, Milds are normally classed as beers that are brewed using fewer hops than bitter beers. They are generally brewed with darker malts, or sugar and caramel to give them a darker colour, although light coloured Milds can be found (such as Timothy Taylor's Golden Best).
To generalise, modern Milds tend to have an ABV of around 3 to 4%, but again this is not true of all Milds ~ Gales Festival Mild is 4.8% and Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild is 6%! The weaker Milds are easy to drink, lighter in texture and make really good Session beers! For a long time Mild was facing an uncertain future, and was overshadowed by the popularity of lager and bitter. In recent years more Brewers seem to be producing a Cask Mild, although there is still a long way to go before we can say Mild has shaken off the image of "old men in flat caps". Mild is definitely more popular than it was, but it still needs to be promoted and supported by drinkers everywhere, so we don't lose this style of beer altogether ~ we need all the choice we can get!"
(This is the description of Milds that I produced for our local CAMRA magazine Innspire, to start the campaign for Mild Month).
~~~THE BREWERY.
Sarah Hughes beers are actually brewed in an old Victorian Brewhouse behind The Beacon Hotel ~ a pub in Sedgley, Dudley in the
West Midlands. Brewing started there in the 1860s, taking the name of Sarah Hughes in the mid 20th century. The brewery closed for a while in the 1950s, but started up again in the late 80s by Sarah Hughes' grandson. It is a tower style brewery and produces bottled and cask ales for The Beacon Hotel and a small number of other outlets.
They don't brew a huge range of beers and, I must confess, that the Mild is only one I have come across. My friend who orders the beer for our beer festival says that they also brew beers called Surprise (5% ABV), Pale Amber (4% ABV) and a seasonal winter beer called Snowflake (8% AV).
~~~THE BEER.
***A bit of Background***
Dark Ruby Mild was first brewed in the 1920s and is a classic example of a strong Black Country Mild. It is stronger than most modern Milds and sticks faithfully to the old recipe ~ which is a VERY closely guarded secret. A lovely story says that the recipe was lost for a number of years (around 30) and was finally discovered in an old cigar tin. Don't know how true it is, but it is a nice tale all the same!
***Vital Stats***
Dark Ruby Mild weighs in at 6% ABV and is a favourite beer at Beer Festivals around the country ~ it has been a close contender for many awards and medals too.
***Look, aroma and Texture***
I would say that Dark Ruby Mild is a pretty good example of a name describing a product to perfection. It is intensely dark, almost black in colour, with a lovely red tinge. It has a coffee coloured head that is quite bubbly to begin with, but settles down quickly to form a thickish covering. The aroma is predominantly malty, with a pleasant fruit smell ~ the fruit is almost wine-like and seems to smell of grapes, plums and raisins. The texture is rich and very full bodied for a Mild. It feels smooth in the mouth and has a silky texture that makes drinking a very pleasant experience.
***Taste***
>Ooooh...where do I start? The main flavours you will get are rich fruit, malt and hops ~ it tastes strong and it is! The initial fruitiness mingles with a caramel/toffee flavour, with elements of nuttiness from the roasted malt. To start with it seems very sweet, but this is replaced by an increasing bitter dryness that comes through in the finish. The aftertaste is lingering and has a pleasant fruit aspect, almost like drinking a glass of port or fine red wine! The aftertaste also has a soft malt flavour that is pretty moreish.
~~~WHAT TANGE THINKS!
I was really impressed by the complexity and dept of flavour in Dark Ruby Mild. All the various taste elements are full, long lasting and well developed. It turns much of what you expect from a Mild on its head and really packs a punch. Just remember that, although it is VERY easy to drink, it is a strong one and should be treated with respect and caution.
I would say that Dark Ruby Mild is predominantly a winter beer ~ it is rich, warming and full of those lovely plum/ red wine flavours that are very welcome on cold nights! It is a well crafted, well balanced beer and I love the fact that it has a tradition and a history behind it. I get the impression that if there were more Milds like this one, lots more people would drink them!
My only problems are limited availability and price! I have only ever seen this beer at Beer Festivals and never in any pubs in my area. It appears so infrequently and often it has run out before I even get a chance to sample it. This is why I was so excited to get some at the Mansfield Festival! We paid £3.00 a pint for it (actually sold in two half pint lined festival glasses at £1.50 each) ~ not a bad price considering the strength I suppose.
So, I thoroughly recommend Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild to anyone who appreciates a dark, rich tasty beer. Go on...you know you want to!
~~~BREWERY DETAILS.
S
arah Hughes Brewery
Beacon Hotel
129 Bilston Street
Dudley
West Midlands
DY3 1JE
Tel: 01902 883380
***They don?t have a brewery website either***
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B-DISE - 03.05.04 This deserved a crown! Do try and read my op about Namibian Beer, you might enjoy it...then you might not. Well done. |
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