Mild At Heart - Wandering Star Brewing Company

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

3.9/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On-tap 4/11/2012 at Doherty’s East Ave Irish Pub, in Pawtucket, RI served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a dark brown color, with a short dense off-white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is faint but contains roasted malts, some smoke, coffee chocolate and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts with a hearty roasted malt character followed by a strong smokiness for the style. Then mild flavors of coffee and chocolate come in. The hops presence is mild but provides a good balance. The after-taste is slightly smoky.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: Tasty, goes down easily, not too filling, very mild kick, good representation of style with the added smokiness, this is a very solid beer to session with if you’re in the mood for a milder smoky beer.

Serving type: on-tap

04-16-2012 01:10:01 | More by TheManiacalOne

syrupjoe

Minnesota

3.93/5  rDev +3.1%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

On tap at Armsby Abbey.

Pours with a one finger caramel mocha head that dissipates quickly, pitch brown color with sparse but consistent lacing.

Nose is metallic with dark grain and roasty caramel and toffee notes.

Taste is very clean and clear with notes of roasty coffee, bitter coffee bean, and roasted grain.

This is a very smooth, crisp, drinkable beer with low carbonation.

Overall, an enjoyable mild. Slightly watery tasting, but otherwise a good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

08-03-2011 18:57:51 | More by syrupjoe

brentk56

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Arrives with a chocolate brown color and a modest cap that leaves a few strands

Smell: Roasty, with black bread, caramel and a hint of chocolate; over time, the caramel builds in intensity

Taste: Caramel and black bread, up front, with a bit if fruit and chocolate appearing in the middle; after the swallow, coffee flavors arrive though the finish re-affirms the caramel and black bread elements; interestingly, coffee lingers in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: A very interesting panoply of flavor; nice to see more breweries experimenting with the style

Serving type: on-tap

05-16-2012 11:35:37 | More by brentk56

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

4/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

I had this beer on tap at The Good Life thanks to BOBPINCH666 & emdawg. Served in a standard pint glass.

L - black liquid with a beige head that thinned out after a while.

S - roasted malt aroma.

T - roasted malt upfront slowly leading to light bitterness as it finishes, very tasty.

F - medium bodied with mild carbonation, easy to drink.

O - this was my 1st dark mild and I quite enjoyed it, but not as much as the company I was with!

Serving type: on-tap

10-08-2011 20:13:56 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.03/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Served on-tap at Drop Off Service in New York, NY

A: Pours a clear yet almost opaque very dark amber in color with some light amber and garnet red highlights along with a light amount of visible carbonation. The beer has a finger tall frothy beige head that slowly reduces to a very thin film covering the majority of the surface of the beer and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of roasted malts with some very light notes of chocolate.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of roasted malts with some light notes of chocolate and just a hint of dark fruit (plum). Light amounts of bitterness in the finish.

M: Light to medium bodied with light to moderate amounts of carbonation. Smooth.

O: This beer is very easy to drink, is enjoyable, and as a result of the low ABV definitely a session beer. I really enjoy this style and there are just not too many options in it, especially made in the US - glad I found this one since I started doing full reviews (I previously "Had" it at a cask festival in late 2011).

Serving type: on-tap

04-04-2013 21:23:23 | More by dbrauneis

metter98

New York

4.05/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Cask at d.b.a., Brooklyn, NY

A: The beer is essentially jet black in color and poured with a thin beige head that slowly died down and left some lacing covering the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of roasted malts in the nose.
T: Flavors of roasted malts are also present in the taste, although they aren’t quite as strong as those in the smell. Notes of dark fruits are also noticeable.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and very smooth on the palate with no perceptible carbonation.
O: The beer is very easy to drink and is rather sessionable, especially given its low alcohol content.

Serving type: cask

04-27-2011 02:23:04 | More by metter98

jlindros

Massachusetts

4.15/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Tap at Armsby Abbey

Very light fizzy head, super dark molasses brown beer.

Nose had light brown toasty malts, brown sugar, sweet malts, crystal malts and caramel, toffee, very light chocolate and hint of roast, light nutty.

Taste had nice mild brown malts, toasty nutty, light sweet caramel and toffee, crystal malts, light creamy, touch of chocolate and roast, very mild hop addition, light and drinkable with darker flavorful malts. Finishes a bit sticky with lingering darker malts, sweetness but drier.

Body is slightly lighter bodied, a bit creamy decent carb.

Overall pretty good, drinkable and tasty, nice malt profile, hint of hops, despite being light it has a nice dark malt presence, nicely done.

Serving type: on-tap

08-02-2011 12:01:25 | More by jlindros

rudzud

Massachusetts

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Armsby Abbey.

A - Poured into a standard pint glass a deep dark roasty brown color with a half finger creamy white head that fades to leave medium lacing and a nice thin blanket.

S - Very much like a porter in that it has a rich and creamy toasted malt aroma with super faint hips. Mostly deep and dark malts.

T - again not sure of this symbolizes an english dark mild but the flavoring is very porter like. good strong roasted malts with light chocolate notes. Chocolate and dark roasted malts

M - Nice and creamy yet again like a porter. Stuff is highly addictive as the flavor profile along with the smooth mouth makes this a must drink.

O - Overall I really like this dark mild. Nice appearance and good roasty flavors. Really really enjoy this and would like to have a few bottles of it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-25-2011 17:00:51 | More by rudzud

plaid75

New York

4.22/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On draft at The Good Life, Massapequa Park, New York.

Poured a dark brown hue with a half finger frothy off white head. There was good retention and lacing.

The smell featured elements of cocoa and brown bread with a grassy hop.

The taste consisted of a grainy toasted malt with a touch of roasted grain resulting in a robust charcoal and dry cocoa flavor. Good herbal hop as well.

The mouthfeel was of average fullness with a dry finish.

Overall a very tasty mild. A lot of flavor packed into a small package.

Serving type: on-tap

08-31-2011 00:43:17 | More by plaid75