Grand River Mill Race Mild

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

Growler from the brewery. A: Deep mahogany, off-white/light-tan head, not a lot of retention but it leaves some lace. S: Dark toffee, caramel, dark fruit and a light spicing. T: Dark toffee, chocolate, caramel, roasted nuts, dark fruit, figs, orange zest, some mineral flavour, balanced bitterness. M: Residual sugar yeilds a pleasant, moderate body (impressive for its strength), yet the finish is still crisp & relatively dry. D: Very drinkable.

Poured out of a 64 oz growler jug, the beer resembles a cola with its almost black colour and light tan head. The head retains well wih some lacing but does not have the best texture or flavour to it. The aroma is not strong but is pleasant with nutty and chocolatey tones to it. Flavour and drinkability are this mild’s real strong point and why I enjoy it so much. It resembles almost a guiness in its delightful abundance of flavours that are present enough to make every sip enjoyable and yet light enough that you could almost wash the whole pint down in one shot if you wanted to. I would call it dangerously drinkable and tasty, but at 3.5 ABV you can actually enjoy a lot of these without regreting it too much.

Sampled at cask days at Volo café.

Cola brown with a bit of red thrown in for good measure, it sported a nice frothy ring.
Roasted, caramel sweetness intertwined to give it an aroma similar to hoisin sauce. It absolutely floored me.
Light as a feather, totally dangerous to drink, the flavors are concentrated in the finish where a mild sweetness, similar to maple sap caress your taste buds and only the faintest kiss of hops pulls it all together.

This is a good a reason to advocate for milds on cask as I have ever seen.

Sampled fresh from a growler purchased at the Brewery on 15/01/08. Deep mahogany body sits under a billowing froth of beige foam. Excellent head retention and minute lacing throughout the drinking experience. The aroma is initially roasted barley and burnt malts. It is also quite toasty and nutty. Just a touch of vanilla extract and mineral. The flavour profile is surprisingly well rounded and full, but that just goes to show you that full flavoured beers don’t have to be high in alcohol. This beer is quite full of sweet burnt malts, toasty barley, quite nutty, with a just enough of a hop presence to create a perfect balance. The finish is dry and lingering. Well done Grand River Brewing!

GROWLER. APPEARANCE: Very nice Mahogany colour with a mocha head which is big and fizzy and very quick to disappear. AROMA: Very nice malt complexity but not overdriving. Well received aromas of roast, mild chocolate and a touch of caramel sweetness and fruitiness. The hop aroma was layed up in the back ground. Just perfect for this style. FLAVOR: Wow! Malt complexity is deep here. There is a bit of everything that should be present in this style. Mild chocolate, roast, caramel, fruitiness a touch of plumb. Hop bitterness is low but balances beautifully with the malt characters. MOUTHFEEL: Medium body with a slight astringency from the roast malt the drys this brew to a lovely closing. OVERALL PERSONAL COMMENT: This is a perfect example of and English Mild. The only think I did not like about this beer was how quick the head disappeared. This is definitly the best brew I have tasted from this brewery (out of the original four releases). This beer has it’s direction. Good work to the brewer. I will be back for another.

On tap at the Victory Cafe - came a clear dark chestnut shade with a small off-white head. Very nice aroma of dark fruits and surprisingly a good amount of hops as well. Flavour is a beautiful bouquet of currants, raisins, date, plum, fig and a nice good hop punch as well. To get all this aroma and flavour into a beer this light is a masterful example of the brewing craft, and something rarely seen in these parts. Bravo. Grand River is a true gem of the Ontario craft scene.

Draught. Copper dark mahogany body with a medium off-white creamy head. Aroma is pretty solid - nutty creamy almond, some lingering toast and caramel...maybe vanilla too? Flavour holds its own. Quite nice for 3.5% - nice malts, caramel, toast grain, and nuts. I’ve enjoyed this numerous times!

Several pints, Volo. Dark brown, big white head. I was surprised how dark this was. Really nice aroma - lots of nuttiness and roast - very very nice. Taste - wow, that is a heck of a lot of flavour for 3.5%! I’m not ignorant to the possibilities of a great mild, I lived in England for a bit and had some nice ones pre-ratebeer, but man, this one is right up there with the greats, so full of flavour - lots of nuttiness and roast again. Nice roasty sweetness, mild hops in finish. My only small complaint is that it finishes way too quickly - it really does just stop. But wow, what a great unique accomplishment for the Ontario market. These guys really should be commended - this makes a perfect #1800 b/c it is a great Ontario brew by a brewery not afraid to take chances - kudos for breaking out of the too easy Ontario me too conservative slump. And I also chose it for #1800 because it really does indicate where I am at a few years into ratebeer. I started with Guinness and worked my way up to enjoying just about every style out there. I love extreme beers but I also love session pints like this - it doesn’t have to be one or the other which is something I wish some people would get straight. Hopheads might complain this is too boring while session freaks rally against extreme hop beers like Ian Paisley screaming about Catholics on July 12th. Settle down guys, beers like these can happily co exist. Anyway, end essay, great beer.