When is a Mild not a Mild?
When it’s hard as nails perhaps?
I’m not really sure what Colonial Mayhem is except for the fact that it’s absolutely marvellous.
It pours the colour of a good Mild, dark and chocolatey brown and with an explosive head.
But it doesn’t smell Mild, oh no.
It smells of massive red fruits stewed in rum and encased in bitter chocolate.
There’s a delightful yeast aroma floating around here too.
And then you take a mouthful and this Mild thumps you.
Hard.
That’s not very Mild.
Or perhaps this is a Wild Mild.
Colonial Mayhem is thick and round and juicy, it’s packed with plums, rum and raisins in brandy and hefty caramel coated chocolate biscuits.
And then there’s the hops.
The hops are grassy green, hidden by hedgerow foliage, dampened by dew and then whipped with sappy willow sticks.
They make the finish dry and long.
And they Make this Mild wild and sexy.
So, when is a Mild not a Mild?
When it’s a Hardknott Mild.