What is "mild ale"

n. (context British English) A relatively low-gravity beer, often with a dark colour.

Mild ale is a low- gravity beer with a predominantly malty palate that originated in Britain in the 17th century or earlier. Modern mild ales are mainly dark coloured with an abv of 3% to 3.6%, although there are lighter hued examples as well as stronger examples reaching 6% abv and higher.

The term "mild" originally meant young beer or ale, as opposed to "stale" aged beer or ale with its resulting "tang". In more recent times, it has been interpreted as denoting "mildly hopped".

Light mild is generally similar, but pale in colour, for instance Harveys Brewery Knots of May. There is some overlap between the weakest styles of bitter and light mild, with the term AK being used to refer to both. The designation of such beers as "bitter" or "mild" has tended to change with fashion. A good example is McMullen's AK, which was re-badged as a bitter after decades as a light mild. AK (a very common beer name in the 19th century) was often referred to as a "mild bitter beer" interpreting "mild" as "unaged".

Once sold in every pub, mild experienced a sharp decline in popularity after the 1960s and was in danger of completely disappearing. However, in recent years the explosion of microbreweries has led to a modest renaissance and an increasing number of milds (sometimes labelled "Dark") are now being brewed.

The Campaign for Real Ale has designated May as Mild Month. In the United States, a group of beer bloggers organised the first American Mild Month for May 2015, with forty-five participating breweries across the country.