Mansfield Dark Mild (Cask)

Brewed by Banks’s (Marstons plc)
Style: Mild Ale
Wolverhampton, England

Serve in English pint

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First tasted this in the Ale House, Paisley in November 1992. Cask, handpump dispense. Dull ruby black in colour with a thin creamy white head. Slight roast malt in the short nose. Thin watery mouthfeel and good lacing. Dark malts give a maltloaf base with sweet treacle toffee evident. Dusty hop prickle gives a dry aftertaste which is short lived. Finish is very weak with just a hint of caramel sweetness. An ok session mild but not that adventureous.

Cask Handpump at the London Hotel, Llandudno 05/05/2008 (As Banks’s Dark Mild) Fruity aroma. Small beige head. Dark red coloured smooth on the palate and fruity with a crisp dry and slightly bitter chocolaty roast finish.

Cask@Wheatsheaf, Cropwell Bishop. Black beer with a creamy white head. There is very little aroma and the flavour is watery. Overall a very light and watery beer.

Cask (handpump), Snowdonia Park Hotel, Waunfawr, October 2005. Nothing of much interest here. Zero aroma. Dry, ashy mouthfeel, with light caramel malt. Quite bitter, for a mild. Very dry, but not much roasty character, or depth of flavour. OK for quaffing but doesn’t stand up to close scrutiny.

Bland beer with smooth caramel and sweetness. Nothing really stands out as being of interest and a dull caramelly finish obscures anything else. (Cask @ Swan & Railway, Wigan)

Cask Conditioned
Dark color. A quite simple beer, just some caramel and a light fruitness (rhubarb).

[Cask conditioned] Brown coloured. Slightly thin mild ale with pleasant notes of roasty malts and coffee.

Cask Conditioned at The Quiet Woman, Earl Sterndale, Derbys. Dark Mild that is now produced by W&D. Nicely set up mild with thin apple flavour and roasted hazelnut, but overall just too thin and boiled to get good marks. Average.

Mine was a cask conditioned Dark Mild rather than the usual keg that is served in the Midlands. The pint was pulled at the now rather seedy and run down Market Porter in London. This Mild has been served in the area around Nottingham since the late 1800’s. Mansfield was, however, bought by Banks (Wolverhampton & Dudley Breweries) in 1999, and the Nottinghamshire brewery closed down - all beer production being moved to Wolverhampton. This is light & refreshing, yet with oodles of roastiness and well sucked licorice. There are also some mild caramel flavours. There is a disturbing hop awareness in the finish - slightly stewed and unpleasant. A decent mild.