Dark Star Over the Moon

Brewed by Dark Star
Style: Mild Ale
Haywards Heath, England

Cask Conditioned, at the Wenlock Arms, London.
Cooper coloured, with a white speckled head. Dissipating. Certainly some reddish colour as well. Unusual style of a beer for a mild, however this has been verified with Rob Jones the owner/brewer at Dark Star and it certainly is a mild according to him. The flavour starts with a soft malty, caramel opening, the more traditional ‘Mild’ like flavours, only to finish with a moderate-big bitter kicker. I’ve certainly had bitters more mild then this. Tradition light mild is the consensus from the very learned drinking community at the Wenlock today at lunch.

Brown with a mild hop aroma. Sweet nutty caramel balanced with a decent amount of flowery/grassy hops. Medium bodied, very easy drinking mild. Re-Rate: Hoppier aroma, good session beer but not really a mild IMO. Previously 5/3/7/3/10

Gravity at Reading Beer Fest, with Kook, Duff, Chris_o and Joeh. Mid-brown, no head. Fresh, slightly grapefruit Mild, with a sandy malt, bitter finish. Crunchy and tasty.

Half pint gravity feed at the Luton Beer Festival, brown with a yellow bubbly head. A brilliantly strong blackberry fruit aroma. Fruity with some caramel malt in the mouth, and smooth. So good!!

Gravity cask at the Battersea Beer Festival, 8th Feb 2008. Deep chestnut in colour with a line of head. Light caramel aroma. Suprisingly hoppy for a mild with a long hoppy finish. Smooth mouthfeel though. Rather schizophrenic all in all.

Cask at The Dove Street Inn Ipswich 23 Sep 06. Deep red coloured. A small white head. A strong fruity and hoppy aroma. Rich fruity flavour leading to a loooong finish with some dry bitterness little by little. A top beer. Definitely my best mild so far.

Rating update: again at FFtMC. Man this was in top shape tonight. All the things noted in the previous ratings, but also noticing a slightly sour woodiness that is deeply satisfying, and a nice toasty brown malt finish. Grapefruit rind hops are wonderful, but don’t try to steal the show from the sticky malt goodness. More decadent that most beers 2x the strength. Yum! (Cask at the Far From The Madding Crowd Autumn Ale Festival. Deep ruddy brown with a little dirty white head. Really pleasant blend of deep earthy, dark bread malts and warm orange marmalade. Soft malt flavor with a touch of roast. Significant hop flavor but fairly low bitterness. Nice heft to the mouthfeel, but still dangerously drinkable. Probably a bit of a stretch to call something with this much hop flavor a mild, but it really is a nice pint. 7/3/7/4 16)

Draught at Pullman Bar, Helsinki- Very dark brown in colour with red tinges and a small head. Citrus fruits in the aroma with grapefruit and lemon sticking out along with some chocolate. Chocolate and caramel in the taste with the aftertaste being strange but enjoyable with a hint of lemon, ginger and vanilla.