Last night I brewed my first beer with Bob. In the dark.
It’s a mild, and because we embrace irony we’re calling this low gravity beer Blackout Mild.
You see, right as the wort started to boil, the lights went out all over Echo Park. We had to do the rest by the light of two stubby little candles. Originally Bob had suggested we call the beer 28 Days Later Mild because he had devised the process to last the month-long duration of my trip here.
You don’t think about light until you have to do without it. The yellow candlelight shifted the shadows of the normally bright kitchen, and the neighborhood cat kept coming in and jumping beside me, startling me. Worrying over the steaming wort I felt like a witch at her cauldron.
Later we started freaking ourselves out saying it was the 28 Days Later Mild, whispering, “Turn out the light!” lest the infected find us. And, why yes, we were drinking Bob’s home brew at the time, a delicious American Pale Ale. Thanks for asking.
We woke up this morning to electricity and the joy of a bubbling air lock. Glory to the micro-organism!
Impy Malting 
nice – the question is – if you brew it again with the lights on, will there be a difference!! Beer superstitions die hard! I brewed my last three beers listening to Fleet Foxes and am fearing it’s going to become an obsession! im gonna have to do it without one day!
Coincidentally, I just bottled an “American Mild,” which was labeled such because I had to rearrange some ingredients. Instead of getting Maris Otter extract for a base, I had to settle for Light American Pale Malt syrup.
Here’s to hoping the Milds make it to the other side!
Hi Leigh– I definitely think the next batch I brew will be much less exciting, unless I can get Bob to fly to London and tell ghost stories while we boil the wort!
Hi Delia– Milds seem like a logical choice during a hop crisis! I hope yours turns out. When I get a moment I’ll post the recipe we used. I do love milds, and would be really interested in tasting as many American interpretations as possible!
So awesome that this beer is percolating. Congrats! I hope it turns out great. Sounds like you had a great teacher to help you with it, so I’ve no doubt your will turn out much better than mine did.
Dear Impy, I work for a wine and beer PR company in London and was really interested to come across your site when exploring the UK’s best beer blogs… we work with a whole host of beer brands, James Clay, Coors Speciality Brands, Duvel and Innis & Gunn from Edinburgh to name a few (see website for full details). We often hold events and tastings, many in and around London and send out news from our clients of new beers and so on. I wondered if you would be interested in hearing from us with invitations to events and anything beer related in the future? If this is of interest please could you send me your best email address for sending any invites and info to? Many thanks, Nicky