Where the Mild Things Are

We’ve just wrapped up a successful second-annual ‘March Mildness’ showcase down on Main St.

Inspired by our head brewer Azlan Graves’ love of mild beers and fellow breweries that place a premium on them like Seattle’s Machine House, it featured bracket-busting milder beers being poured from our handpull beer engines in the tap room all month long and included some of our own, a couple from our friends around the corner at Brassneck Brewery and Langley’s Smugglers Trail Caskworks and a collab with the crew at Squamish’s Backcountry Brewing.

Here’s a little recap for all you lovers of all things mild:

• We kicked off the month of mildness with our Tunnerman’s ‘Calm Before The Storm’: a 3.8% ABV/30 IBU beer inspired by post-WWI-era ‘mild’ ales that was brewed with flaked corn (due to a lack of available barley at the time), Phoenix and Cascade hops from Charles Farm, a house-made invert sugar #3 that contributed notes of light treacle and red fruit, and a base malt of Maris Otter from Crisp Maltings.

• We continued by rolling out a new mild from our pals at Langley’s Smuggler’s Trail: an 4.2% ABV/28 IBU Invictus Dark Mild traditional pale ale popular in English Pubs when growlers were just pails carried down to the local. This Dark Mild was dry-hopped for a modern twist and has notes of gooseberry, cassis, dried plums and dark raisin rye bread. A smooth, pub-style session ale designed to be enjoyed throughout the day and into the night.

• Next up was the newest member of our Garage Series: The Gale Force Old Ale. This 9.4% ABV/23 IBU beauty’s roots run back to our 2020 Tunnerman’s Dark Mild Ale. Traditionally made from the first runnings of a mild recipe, Gale Force is built on a rich, almost barleywine-like base that underwent an extended boil to add to its depth of sweetness, and a secondary fermentation with a traditional English brettanomyces that imparted a subtle tropical fruit character without detracting from the array of English malts used in the brewing process.

• In the semifinals of March Mildness, we collaborated with Squamish’s Backcountry Brewing to brew up a new 3.7% ABV/14 IBU Tunnerman’s Yorky Mild, which took its cues and inspiration from a 1945 Tetley Mild recipe and was brewed with a Phoenix and Fuggles hops combo, a house-made invert sugar No. 3 for a light treacle/red fruit flavour and a crisp floor malted Maris Otter base.

• In the championship finals, we made a little room on our tap list for Brassneck’s Old Money Mild — a straight-up 4% ABV brown ale that showcases subtle notes of milk chocolate, a hint of blackcurrant from the addition of Bramling Cross hops and contains a subtle peppering of Mandarina Bavaria. 

Thanks to everyone who joined us for our latest March Mildness celebration! Keep an eye out next year for an even BIGGER bracket with more milds coming your way.

Stay mild, our friends.