Today we brewed the fifth crack at a clone of Sarah Hughes Dark Ruby Mild, a wonderful dark mild that is a throwback to the milds of the 19th century.  Changes to the recipe include reducing the amount of roast barley, upping the amount of crystal malt from 5% of the grist to almost 20%, and the addition of some homemade dark invert sugar.  Original gravity was 1.060, a couple of points higher than the target 1.058.

I altered the stainless braid setup that is beneath the false bottom on the mash tun by cutting off about half an inch from the dip tube so that the braided hose is not kinked on the bottom of the tun.  The runoff from the mash was pretty clear, an improvement over the last brew.

We racked the Harvey’s bitter clone from the primary to a firkin, dry hopping with 2.5 ounces of East Kent Goldings.  The beer was at 1.010, so it’s a whopping 2.7% ABV.  We should be able to tap that for Labor Day weekend and drink all ten gallons in about five minutes.  The ultimate session beer!