
Great Oakley, Welland Valley Mild: my first pint of the evening was this rather thick, dark ale with reddish-brown hints when held up to the light, and a light frothy head, that had a warm, treacly, slightly over-ripe aroma. Dipping in my tongue gave me a taste of sweet, smoky hickory and a little sappiness, then a swill offered more fruity bitterness, and the swallow was coarse and sooty, with a bitter aftertaste of some dark vegetable, maybe kale or ladies fingers. On the whole this was rather more bitter and intense than I expected (or wanted) in a mild, but I'd give it a thumbs up as a fine old porter.
Milestone, Classic Dark Mild: I moved on to Milestone's slightly higher gravity offering, a dark, almost completely opaque and flat-looking beer with almost no head. This mild has very little odor, but perhaps a hint of musty earth and forest berries, a peaty fruitiness which persists into the first taste, although the overwhelming and not entirely pleasant impression on sipping this beer was how fizzy it is. It was a bitter and slightly metallic swill, but a malty, bready swallow. The tastes are all classic mild, but Milestone have made this beer too sparkly for my taste.

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