Songbird Smoked Mild is a 3.8% smoked beer that is a cross between an English mild bitter and a rauch from Brewery Songbird based in Chiba. Rauch beers involve the malt being dried over a smoking fire rather than air-dried, thus gaining a smoky flavour to the beer. This beer is part of Songbird Brewery’s autumnal line up and is on sale from mid-September onwards and can be found in either bottles or on tap.
Smokey aromas galore with this one.
Songbird Smoked Mild Aroma and Taste
Brewery Songbird’s efforts on the limited edition labels really could with some work as Songbird Smoked Mild is another one that comes with a tag on the neck and that’s it. Even the label on the “back” – who knows where the back really is – doesn’t let on what beer this is, but you soon know when it’s open. The smokiness was the strongest flavour that is evident as soon as the bottle is opened though there was some malt sweetness in there too. Not much but enough to make some dent on the nostrils. For some reason, rauch beers always get me thinking of bacon and this was no difference – of course there is no bacon in the beer but it reminds of a nice smokey joint. It poured out an amber-brown colour with a minimal amount of head. What there was though diminished into a thin oiliness on top.
Songbird Smoked Mild’s body was though too thin to really be able to sustain the bold flavours in the beer and as such, the wateriness to the body lacked the stamina to carry and develop the sweet malts through to the aftertaste. In the end, it ended up tasting like liquid smoke in the aftertaste without much development of other flavours. If the body was a bit thicker, or if the sweetness had been a bit stronger, then Songbird Smoked Mild would have been nice but it ended up just being another mild with a slight kick.
Songbird Smoked Mild One Line Review
Songbird Smoked Mild is a pretty bland beer that only stood out because of the smokiness to it. Give it a miss.
Where to Buy Songbird Smoked Mild
Songbird Smoked Mild can be bought online at the following places:
I got my bottle from Liquors Hasegawa.
