I do take big sips :)

ha ha man I couldn't drink for 11 hours straight even sipping nowadays... my body has shut down to levels of mild accomodation where I get a head spin and wobble quite early... apparently the older you get the less water in your body is the reason... 11 hours is way past my nap time :)

At business school a lecturer said - say you make the best cake in the city and nobody chooses to eat it. They think it's shit. What is your cake? It's a shit cake, regardless. You might think it's the best (quality) cake in the world, but consumers decide at the end of the day what cake is best.

but it must get harder when the original beer gets down below 5% and they want to knock off significant alcohol... in the end the consumer will come along, though... like when Cadbury moved to oil (dammit) and side by side they were different, but today I only remember the one that they have now.

I remember when Coopers lowered their ABV by 1% about 20 years ago... Coopers Best Extra Stout for the lower ABV at the same price point felt very much like being ripped off as a consumer. Quality difference was imperceptible (to me) - I guess going from about 7.3 down to 6.3 wasn't too difficult...

Dark Mild must have been almost constantly on tap in my kegarator for at least two years, ending early this year, and it's a wonderful beer. Milk Stout... I made one. Perhaps the word Mild is a bit downplayed in consumer perception, but the beer is absolutely lovely.

I'd love to believe that Mild was about to make comeback. Can't see it happening anytime soon. Still, Milk Stout returned from the dead. I didn't see that coming.