The words "mild" and "brown" are two of the oldest terms used to describe English beers.  Brown ales used brown malts which were kilned over a hardwood fire and originally had a smoky flavor.  Brown ales became the overall term used to distinguished the darker stouts and porters from beers made with pale malts.  Often, a stout and then a porter was drawn from the same mash of brown malts.  Our B-17 Brown Ale uses seven different grains and three different hops to give it a complex malt profile and body with medium hops.