Mild Ale Becomes Britain’s Dominant Pub Beer

During the 1880s, mild ale became the dominant everyday beer in Britain. The word mild had originally described fresh, unaged beer rather than a particular color or strength, and nineteenth-century milds were often considerably stronger than their modern descendants. As pale ale and bitter grew in popularity, mild developed into a recognizable category of its own, generally offering a sweeter and less strongly hopped alternative. Mild became especially associated with industrial towns and working-class pub culture. It was commonly served from the cask and consumed in large quantities as an affordable, sustaining drink after physical work. Successive increases in taxation and restrictions during the First and Second World Wars reduced its strength, helping create the lower-alcohol dark and pale milds familiar in the twentieth century. Mild remained Britain’s most popular beer style for decades before bitter overtook it in the postwar period.