Grand River Mill Race Mild

Brewed by Grand River Brewing
Style: Mild Ale
Cambridge, Canada

500 ml bottle direct from brewery. Pours black with thin tan coloured head. Carbanation if fine to flat. Amoma and flavour of roasted malt, a little sweet. Great flavour for a 3.5% ale! Very drinkable!

In short: A ton of fresh dark fruits flavours with a good fresh tobacco-like finish. This is an impressively full and intense 3.5% mild.
How: Bottle 500ml, purchased directly at the brewery and consumed fresh less than two weeks later.
The look: Clear very dark ruby body topped by a short-lived beige head
In long: Nose is slightly roasted with dark fruits and hints of black liquorice. Taste is more of the same except with the dark fruits more upfront. I’ve had many 6% beers with a thinner more watery body than this beer, never would I have guessed I was drinking a 3.5% beer. The beer actually feels sweet but not sugary/residual sweetness, I had the impression that a lot of fresh fruits were crammed in that bottle and I was getting natural fruit sweetness. The body was so damn full that I was getting sticky black liquorice and even a little tar sensation. Interesting and totally appropriate hopping with a tobacco-like signature provide an almost perfect balance. I’ve pub-crawled London England searching for a Mild Ale like this one without success. Wow! If this is their Mild, you can probably eat their Strong Ale with a fork.

On tap at Volo in Toronto. Malty, chocolate and caramel flavor. Sweet, with a bit of dark fruit and port. Nice, malty mild. Well done.

Dark amber-brown. The aroma is of nuts, diacetyl, and soft sugary malt. Smooth, nutty palate with some milk chocolate and toffee notes. Good dark malt complexity and thankfully the diacetyl never amounts to much.

draught at Volo. Dark garnet-brown with red hue in the light. Some diacetyl in nose. Perfectly mild, some black licorice and fruit. Sweetish entry with mild, slightly roasted finish. Excellent quaffability with incredible complexity for such low ABV.

500mL bottle, bottled Sept 11, 2008. Pours a bright, clear, dark amber-brown color; thin light-tan head with patchy lacing. Tea, dried fruits, and very light caramel in the aroma; some pleasant earthy and citrus bitterness on the perimeter. Medium mouthfeel: chocolate maltiness, roast, and light nuttiness; very crisp, lightly hopped (minerals, and earthiness), making for a highly sessionable and satisfying mild. Very good rendition. Medium finish: nuttiness, toasty malts, and touches of breadiness; the nutty notes last for a while.

This ale poured a black colour with a nice creamy tan coloured head. To the nose there are scents of ripe fruit, coffee, dark malt and a little cocoa. First taste was smooth but a little watery. Flavours of coffee and roasted malt with a little smoke thrown in. Finish is roasty with light flavours of coffee presant. This is the fourth time having this beer and they are not consistant. Although, out of 4 I have had only one that was over yeasted tasting like a Belgian.

500 ml bottle from brewery. Pours a dark (verging on black), slightly reddish brown with small tan head. Light roasty aroma with a hint of sweet caramel maltiness. Flavour also has a nice roastiness to it with hints of chocolate and hazelnut. Creamy with a slighly bitter finish. I’m impressed.