First of all — pony bottles are adorable, but that’s not what I mean by little beers.

What I am talking about are what have come to be recognized as traditional English beer styles — bitters, milds and, in the case of Hart Johnson’s recommendation for this show, an OG porter that won’t remind you of the beefy American versions of the same style.

The idea for this show struck me while I had dinner at Piper’s Pub a few weeks back and ordered an English mild from Four Seasons in Latrobe … and in spite of the demure nature of the style, I was blown away. The beer is perfectly balanced, with rich, caramel malts restrained by a touch of hop bitterness. I wanted another, and at 4.4 percent ABV, that’s totally fine.

It’s not a stretch to find beers like this at Piper’s; but the thing to get excited about is that our local brewers are starting to make them as well. When I returned to do the show a few days later, Hart had added Blanks and Postage, a bitter by Brew Gentlemen, to the lineup; we also tasted Brawler, a mild that been a staple for Yards Brewing in Philly for years, and — at Hart’s insistence — a deliciously restrained London Porter from Fuller’s in, uh, London.

To me, the trend towards smaller, more restrained styles, nationally and locally, is a good thing; I’m as guilty as anyone of chasing bigger beers and hot styles, but it’s also great to see that brewers here are also interested in digging in to the nuance of smaller beers as well.