The beer geeks are gonna hate me. I had just finished a three brewery Charleston pub crawl and ended it with a four beer sampler at Edmund’s Oast. I wanted to take home a crowler, though, back to Georgia. We had a few more days in Charleston still, but I liked the beers here. Which one to choose, though?
I could have gone for a sour, or a Belgian strong, or an imperial stout with apple brandy aged in whiskey barrels, or a double IPA. I didn’t go for any of those beers, though. Instead, I opted for a crowler of Lord Proprietor’s Mild, a delightful English mild ale brewed with black tea.
I had had a sample of this beer, the last one I tried that night, and loved it. Flavorful but easy drinking, Lord Proprietor’s Mild is like tea time and a pint at the pub, all in one glass. It is eminently sessionable, and that was the attraction for me. American brewers are so afraid to make low strength beers. I found authentic milds and classic American IPA in abundance in my Carolinas vacation, and loved every moment of that.
From the website:
When King Charles II gave the Province of Carolina to his buddies, they were known as the Lords Proprietor. In honor of our city’s heritage, we have attempted to blend something uniquely Charleston with something uniquely English.
Infusing black tea from Charleston Tea Plantation (America’s only tea plantation) into a traditional English-style Mild, we have married the surprisingly complementary flavors of tea and roasted barley. Notes of tea, coffee, cocoa, and caramel meld seamlessly into this quintessential session ale.
Ingredients, also from the website:
Malts Maris Otter, Pale Chocolate, Black, Crystal
Flavor Hops East Kent Goldings
Yeast English
Other Ingredients Black Tea
Lord Proprietors Mild pours to a dark brown color with a thick creamy tan head and a soft baked cookie malt nose. Taking a sip, the beer is light in body, perhaps a tad thin even, but it is rich with cookie malt and herbal tea notes. Light chocolate is apparent, and the beer finishes balanced with an herbal tea aroma and hop bitterness. Drinkable, tasty and at 3.5% even more drinkable. It was running $6 a pint, but I got a crowler to go for just $2 more.
And the crowler went so well with the lamp on my hotel room desk.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft