Dark Mild
Machine House Brewery

Dark MildDark Mild
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Machine House Brewery
 
Washington, United States
Style:
English Dark Mild Ale
Ranked #10
ABV:
3.6%
Score:
89
Ranked #12,908
Avg:
3.96 | pDev: 7.32%
Reviews:
22
Ratings:
58
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 14, 2024
Added:
Mar 10, 2013
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  4
A traditional English Dark Mild, one of the great underappreciated beers. Mild in ABV, mild in hop bitterness and aroma, yet our most full flavoured and drinkable ale. Light bodied and very smooth, yet dark in colour with a rich, chocolate flavor.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 4.3 by mthelm85 from Texas

Jan 14, 2024
Photo of jonphisher
Reviewed by jonphisher from New Jersey

4.11/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Sent to me from @snaotheus

Pours very dark brown, mostly clear, backlit shows some awesome ruby hues, lightly browned head, OK retention but a nice film persists with spots of lace.

Nose is lightly burnt toast, some underlying nuttiness and light dark chocolate with black tea.

Taste leans more into rich roasted malts, there is a very light sweetness that comes with it; a pleasant dark brown roast bite pops on the finish, get some faint tea black character, light dark chocolate too.

Light body, light on carbonation, smooth clean drinking with a lingering nut skin like bitterness.
Dec 31, 2023
 
Rated: 3.75 by Ajlvt from Washington

Mar 13, 2023
Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

3.92/5  rDev -1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Poured at fridge temp. Pours a very dark brown with tan head. The nose is wonderful. Chocolate, mild roasted malts, toffee, pipe tobacco, some licorice, and dark German bread.

The taste is fantastic. Really rich and vibrant taste. The roasted malts really shine here. Molasses, charred wood, dusty leather-backed books, and just a hint of soy sauce. Really nice.

The mouthfeel is medium to full bodied. It's incredible just how much flavor is packed into this one. Just a great beer.
Dec 12, 2022
 
Rated: 4.17 by SushiSakeBeer from Oregon

Oct 20, 2022
Photo of NickSMpls
Reviewed by NickSMpls from Washington

3.64/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Pored into a 20 oz nonic. As with all the MH brews, they are true to style. Very clean dark roasted malt forward with just a touch of bitterness on the finish. Very low carbonation. Almost not enough. No date on the bottle thst we could ffnd.
Oct 10, 2022
Photo of Rub_This_BBQ
Reviewed by Rub_This_BBQ from Massachusetts

4.07/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
A cask in box (seems like box wine idea) thank you to from @snaotheus in NBS BIF #15

Fast fading head that dispears instantly, clear and deep black.

Smell is light burnt sugar

Taste like good bitter ice cofffee

Mouthfeel is on the thing low carb

For 3.8 abv I can drink it all day would love to compare it to real cask or a canned!
/bottle verison.
Apr 02, 2022
Photo of gandres
Reviewed by gandres from Philippines

3.85/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Saturday, November 6, 2021 12:08 AM
500 mL ounce bottle to wine glass
Sight: Black, reddish against the light, small head, lacing 3.25 Smell: malty aroma, not a lot
Taste: slightly bitter, no full bodied complex flavors
Mouth feel: slightly tart,good cabonation, good follow through, dry finish, slightly bitter aftertaste
Overall: Very good beer, ok to repear not to look for
Nov 06, 2021
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.21/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
this beer is the bomb, especially from the cask, not enough breweries in american even touching this style, let alone the format, and this makes me want to visit this place even more next time i am in seattle. deep brown. luscious chocolate color, high shine, not much head just a thin tan layer of suds thats fading slow, slick looking and relatively viscous for its modest abv. it smells fantastic, english yeast and a ton of malt nuance, soy and molasses, raisin and fig, rum and cola, chestnut and acorn, really earthy and dynamic, just a little bit sweet, complex for something so seemingly simple, and all of this translates to the flavor. it might be the most flavorful mild ive ever tasted, nutty, roasty, dry chocolate, clove, bready yeast, light toffee and maple, birch syrup, licorice, tobacco, its gorgeous, and it gets better and better as it warms a little. smooth to drink, not many bubbles here but it doesnt feel still either, just sort of patient and mellow, i dig it. good body for the low alcohol content, nice fermentation profile, and on the whole just a wonderful example of the style. a beer i could drink all day long and a heck of a contrast to all the sours and wild beers i was drinking in this session. these guys are top of my list next seattle trip!
Oct 05, 2021
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.23/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Very dark brown pour with a tan finger of foam head and spotted lacing. Mild cocoa, herbal hops and general mild malt in the nose. Taste adds a tiny stream of caramel and toast to the mix, very malty complexion overall. Indeed it is mild, smooth, light and clean. Very nice dark mild for any time of year
Sep 13, 2021
 
Rated: 4.18 by chrishiker1409 from New York

Aug 11, 2021
 
Rated: 3.92 by dshansen1184 from Washington

Jul 26, 2021
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

3.99/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
2021-03-06
500ml bottle served in a big nonic pint glass. Bought it at PCC in Ballard earlier today. No date on it that I can find.

Pours very dark, almost black, with a very small head. Smell is roasty, nutty, a little burnt toast.

Taste is rich, nutty, roasty, maybe a little coffee or chocolate. Almost stout-ish, but not quite.

Mouthfeel is rich but light bodied. Overall, I really like it.
Mar 07, 2021
Photo of Roguer
Reviewed by Roguer from Connecticut

3.99/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Almost no head production (true to style). Nutty, dark brown body.

Smooth, sweet, malty aroma, featuring nuts, bread, and dark fruit. Prunes, plums, and toffee.

Smooth, lightly carbonated. Quite roasty, on par with a porter. That roastiness dominates the flavor profile, although there are hints of bread, dark fruit, and toffee behind. Ton of flavor for the low ABV.
Apr 12, 2020
Photo of cjgiant
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia

3.61/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 3.25
Bottle:
Actually doesn’t look bad, though it seems that over carbonation is responsible for this out of character with the style. Feel confirms this to a distracting state unless you want to wait a while for it to dissipate.

Nose has a nice grain malt nature to it, medium to darker toasting included. There’s also a little bit of a weaker brewed coffee loitering in the aromas. Taste is a bit richer than other milds I’ve had. There’s perhaps a tad more bitterness than expected, also, and this comes as a light American brown ale as much as an English mild.

Overall, the feel is the main detractor for me, but it’s presence extended into overall enjoyment.
Dec 26, 2019
Photo of CrushDaley
Reviewed by CrushDaley from Washington

3.91/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Very stout like in appearance, lots of creamy tan head. Aroma is yeasty and sweet. First sip is surprisingly roasty and carmelly. It’s full bodied and yet drying I think due to the roast character. The head sticks around. It’s good but not what I think of a mild. More like a porter.
Nov 23, 2019
Photo of MNAle
Reviewed by MNAle from Minnesota

3.76/5  rDev -5.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Aroma of dark fruits, earthiness, light roastiness, coffee; very English. Ample carbonation (visible with the back-light).

Deep, dark brown, glowing ruby from a back-light. 1/2 inch thick, very creamy, slightly tan head (looks almost like a nitro beer head) that has very good retention, leaving thick sheets of lacing as it recedes.

Taste is roasted malts, coffee, nuts, bread / biscuit, earthy hops. Just as you would expect from an English Dark Mild. No bitterness. Excellent flavor, very porter-like. The finish is dry, very dry, so dry it nearly turned to dust on the back of my throat. The aftertaste is roasted malts.

Body is thin, but with good contribution from the carbonation.

Overall, a good, but not great, English Mild. This is an easy-drinking beer (as a Mild is supposed to be), no bitterness, that has especially top notch flavor. With the low ABV and great flavor, this could be a beer for an evening at the pub, if not for the desert dryness. The very dry finish is what holds this beer back, for me.

I will likely be buying this again just to give it another shot. Otherwise, too much of an arid dry porter for me.
Nov 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by Taybeh from Minnesota

Aug 09, 2019
 
Rated: 3 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Jul 02, 2019
Photo of strohme2
Reviewed by strohme2 from Michigan

3.93/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
500 ml bottle poured into a tulip glass. No date seen on the bottle.
Carefully poured trying not to disturb the settles yeast (as instructed by the bottle) pours a deep dark chestnut brown with slowly developing latte foam head. The cap quickly recedes leaving just a light ring around the interior glass.
Chocolate, nuttiness, lightly roasted grains, and ash aromas.
This beer is very light but does not mean it’s lacking flavor. Chocolate, thin coffee, malted milk, rye toast, nuttiness with a lightly earthy hop bitterness.
Unfortunately, this bottle is lacking carbonation. The beer is completely flat. Reading previous reviews leads me to think this is not normal. Too bad, I think some tiny bubbles would be amazing. A lot of cask reviews here so I’ll substitute one of their scores for mine. I don’t think it’s fair to knock this beer down for an anomaly I experienced . In fact I love cask beer and would love to try this one some day.
Overall, The beer presents with a huge drinkability for such a smaller beer. Sessionable and tasty.
Apr 19, 2019
Dark Mild from Machine House Brewery
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 58 ratings