In my continuing quest to hunt down as many of the world’s wonderful beers as I possibly can, I am beginning to realize just how difficult a task this really is. Were I to be offered three wishes by a genie from a bottle (of beer, preferably), then I think I would request eternal life, unlimited funds, and an 800 pound liver to accomplish my goal. Since I do not think it likely I will ever be offered any of these, I’ll just do the best that I can with all the resources available to me. Usually, they get me far enough.

Just the other day, for example, I was browsing the shelves at Cork’s Beverage Depot here in Atlanta when I spied a bottle of George Gale and Company’s Festival Mild Ale. Coming from Gale’s, I knew it would be a good beer. I have long enjoyed the brewery’s Prize Old Ale, and was eager to try their mild.

As I soon discovered, Festival Mild is not your average mild ale. Mild ales are usually moderate in alcohol content, slightly nutty malty and somewhat similar to brown ales in both color and flavor. Not so with Festival Mild. This is a very complex, intriguing ale with an alcohol content of 4.8% by volume, about the same as Budweiser and many other beers. Festival Mild is also bottle conditioned with yeast in the package.

Festival mild comes with a very good pedigree. Gale’s lists the following awards it has received:

Date Award
2000 Best Mild of the Festival - Portsmouth Beer Festival
Best Mild of the Festival - Gosport Winterfest
Beer of the Festival - Rugby CAMRA Beer Festival
Silver medal - CAMRA National Winter Ales Festival
1999 Beverage Testing Institute (USA) rating 87/100 Highly recommended
Best Mild of the Festival - Cornwall CAMRA Beer Festival
Best Mild of the Festival - Milton Keynes & North Bucks CAMRA Beer Festival
Best Mild of the Festival - Portsmouth Beer Festival
Best Mild of the Festival - Gosport Winterfest
Champion Mild - Gosport Winterfest
1997 Champion Mild of Festival - Portsmouth Beer Festival
Champion Beer of Festival - Doncaster Beer Festival
Bronze Medal - Great British Winter Beer Festival
Peoples Pint - Great British Winter Beer Festival
1996 Champion Mild of Festival - Portsmouth Beer Festival
1995 Champion Mild of Festival - Portsmouth Winterfest
Champion Mild of Festival - Gosport Winterfest

That’s a pretty strong pedigree, to be sure. Of course, those awards were won by Festival Mild in its cask form, not from the bottle. In fact, Festival Mild was first brewed in 1990 to assist the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) with its efforts to support the mild ale style. Cask ale is real ale, but bottle conditioned beers are considered real ale too. An additional fermentation, either in cask or bottle, can have a dramatic effect on the final character a beer exhibits. In the cask, where the process can be monitored and controlled to a degree, the results tent to be much more impressive than in the bottle. Still, bottle conditioning can bring us as close to the cask ale experience at home as we can possibly get, short of installing a beer engine in the kitchen.

Gale’s Festival Mild pours to a dark chestnut brown color with a moderate and creamy tan head and buttery raisin nose. The palate is full with nutty sweet malt and is very creamy as it slides across the tongue. There are powerful notes of raisin and a subtle buttery character along with hints of plum pudding, licorice, and spice cake. The finish reveals a subtle bitterness that emerges amidst all the complex flavors to balance the beer nicely.

At $4.99 a bottle, Festival mild is slightly on the expensive side, but it’s worth every penny. This is a delicious ale of great complexity that is a rare find indeed. Allow it to warm slightly after removing from the refrigerator for maximum enjoyment.  Not too long ago, the Gale's brewery was acquired by the much larger Fuller's concern. It's a shame that they closed the original brewery, and one hopes they will maintain the wonderful quality of this beer.



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