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In Search of Mild 29^th May 2008

North Cotswold Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale

To celebrate CAMRA’s Mild Month, the Branch went in search of mild. First stop was the Mousetrap Inn in Bourton-on-the-Water where the landlords, David and John, had specifically ordered a barrel of North Cotswold Brewery’s Mayfair Mild. At 4.1% this is a Black Country style mild, lightly hopped with a rich malt taste. Brewer Jon Pilling had joined us and as you would expect was extolling the beer’s virtues! We then moved on to the Inn on the Marsh, Moreton-in-Marsh where in addition to the regular Banks’ Original, landlord Wayne provided Banks’ Dark Mild (previously called Mansfield Dark Mild), a well balanced beer with a strong roast taste at 3.5%. Our numbers had swelled by now and our final stop was to be Shakespeare CAMRA’s Pub of the Year, the Plough Inn, Stretton-on-Fosse. The family who keep this delightful pub are well known to us having previously owned the Volunteer in Chipping Campden, when it was CAMRA Pub of the Year for the whole of Gloucestershire. Again two Milds were on offer, NC Mayfair Mild and the regular Ansells Mild, now brewed by Thwaites in Blackburn. Sarah and Jean-Paul kept us suitably refreshed by providing some very welcome hotdogs. Committee member Andrew Calver-Jones presented each pub with a CAMRA Mild Month certificate, uniquely designed by him. (See example right) Another pub to serve Mild during May was the Kings Head at Bledington, where we had enjoyed Arkells Maypole Mild at our own Pub of the Year presentation the previous week. This is a dark malty beer with a creamy after-palate at 3.6%. CAMRA promote Mild as an endangered beer style so please drink it when ever you get the chance. It would be tragic if this beer was lost forever. Peter White, Chairman, North Cotswold CAMRA.