[tony perkins]

It's pretty basic.  Let me know if anything seems amiss.  Thanks!

1.035 OG
16 IBU
9 SRM

I'm using the "amber malty" profile in Bru'n Water, with a .7 sulfate/chloride ratio (i.e., slanted a bit more toward chloride than the default).

5 lbs Maris Otter
0.5 lb Victory
0.5 lb Crystal 40
1 ounce Chocolate 350

Mash at 156 F.  BIAB.

~0.7ounces UK Goldings (5.8%aa) at 45 minutes.

Wyeast 1968.  No starter.

[garc_mall]

I think its fine, but if I were to do it...

I would up it to 7lb MO, .5 lb Victory
or 8lb MO

and mash at 162.

I have found that I like my beers mashed higher, with less crystal. I find that I get the body that I like in session beers, but not the sweetness that I get out of crystal (and that I find objectionable over 5% of Grain Bill).

[mabrungard]

That should be a fine outcome.  I've been a fan of Jeff Renner's Mild recipe and I've refined it over the years. It focuses on Briess' Ashburne malt.  I've enjoyed it even more with Paul's Mild Malt from the UK, but that malt is hard to find.  The other substitute I've found for Mild malt is light Munich malt, since both are a bit darker than Pale malt and provide a bit more richness in the flavor. 

I've tried the Reaper's Mild on Homebrewtalk and its nice, but it does use an incredible 20+ percent crystal malt and it does come across nicely sweet.  But I can't say that passes my 1, 2, or 3 pint test. Its approaching a cloying taste that makes it hard to go for that third pint.  A Mild should always pass that 3 pint test.  The one thing that the recipe did introduce me to was the Pale Chocolate malt.  That is an incredibly good addition to a Mild.

As you might gather, Mild is a style I've focused on and enjoy.  Packing flavor into a little beer like that is tough, but its worth it.  Enjoy!

PS: This is why there is a Mild water profile in Bru'n Water...I like Milds!

[tony perkins]

As you might gather, Mild is a style I've focused on and enjoy.  Packing flavor into a little beer like that is tough, but its worth it.  Enjoy!

PS: This is why there is a Mild water profile in Bru'n Water...I like Milds!

Martin, I'm embarrassed to say that I forgot about the Mild Ale profile.  Am I right in supposing that it's built for a traditional dark mild, in the 12 - 25 SRM range?  I am going for about 9 SRM, but I'll play around with mineral additions to see what fits.

Separate but related: in my initial attempt at constructing a water profile for this mild, I was having trouble getting my calculated mash pH up to 5.4 without adding too much bicarbonate.  I fear I may be putting too much effort into nailing the center of the optimum pH range.  Would you be satisfied with 5.2 or 5.3?

[tony perkins]

Upon reflection, and with the suggestions offered by Martin above, I'm taking this recipe in a different direction.  I am now planning it as follows:

3 lbs Maris Otter (50%)
2 lbs Munich 10 (33%)
0.5 lb Victory (8%)
0.5 lb Crystal 40 (8%)
2 oz Chocolate 350 (2%)

With 78% efficiency, the above grist will give me 1.035 at 5 gallons and will enter the low end of the color scale for an English mild (12 SRM).

I used the Mild Ale profile in Bru'n Water and was able to engineer my calculated additions to hit the numbers almost exactly by reserving the 2 ounces of chocolate malt and adding it at the end of the mash.  (This is all theoretical, of course; I'm not brewing this until next Saturday.)

Bru'n Water tells me that the mash pH raises a tenth or two during the duration of the mash, so hopefully it won't be a problem if my mash begins at 5.2.

Thanks to everyone for your input.