Yin & Yang
Evil Twin Brewing

Yin & YangYin & Yang
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From:
Evil Twin Brewing
 
New York, United States
Style:
Imperial Porter
Ranked #123
ABV:
10%
Score:
90
Ranked #9,687
Avg:
4.02 | pDev: 8.96%
Reviews:
86
Ratings:
454
Status:
Active
Rated:
Mar 21, 2024
Added:
Jul 19, 2012
Wants:
  62
Gots:
  80
This is a complete RTD Black and Tan. Not just any Black and Tan but the one where we flawlessly mixed a flippant good Imperial IPA with a profoundly evil Imperial Stout and sustained sweet beer balance.

33% Stout and 67% India Pale Ale
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Ratings by DrBier:
Photo of DrBier
Rated by DrBier from Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev -0.5%

Jul 26, 2014
More User Ratings:
Photo of TooManyGlasses
Reviewed by TooManyGlasses from Canada (AB)

4.24/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
This is not an imperial porter…but who am I to judge as I held onto this stout/iipa blend for 9 years…
Pours a very dark brown pushing to black - clear by appearances - scant tan head.
Aroma of dark fruit, chocolate, toffee but with some piney resinous notes.
Sweet with dark fruits, molasses, chocolate and bourbon booziness on the palate, with resinous bitterness on the backend.
Bright medium mouthfeel with crisp bittersweet finish - remarkably brisk carbonation for a beer pushing a decade of life…
Mar 21, 2024
 
Rated: 3.13 by TMoney2591 from Illinois

Feb 16, 2022
 
Rated: 3.92 by craigbelly from Iowa

Jan 08, 2020
 
Rated: 2.8 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Dec 09, 2019
 
Rated: 4.1 by mholdefer from Alabama

Jan 31, 2019
Photo of VoxRationis
Reviewed by VoxRationis from New York

4.44/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
I had reviewed the two brews separately previously and was really waiting for a rainy day to make Black & Tans from the components. The PyeongChang Olympics seemed somehow appropriate.

Made with a 50/50 mixture of the two in two separate glasses. I could not achieve more than a short term separation even when using a pouring spoon. The yin seemed more or less as heavy as the yang, so while I did achieve a temporary layering of yin over yang in one glass, I had yang over yin in the other. Just a thought, refrigerating Yang, but not Yin might help by enhancing the density differential.

Decanted from the two 12 oz (355 ml) cans into a conical pint glass; I couldn't make out the bottom in Yin, but Yang was Batch 2.
A: Pours to a mahogany brown with a one half inch light tan head, good retention, and rings of webbed lacing all the way down the glass.
S: Struck by the floral aroma, particularly of honeysuckle, with a strong presence of grass, toast, and mocha, but moving more toward molasses and cocoa as it warms.
T: Tastes remarkably like a chocolate soda initially, although no more than semisweet with nice amount of bitterness offsetting that. As it warms a caramel and molasses flavor also becomes more evident.
M: Medium to full bodied with strong persistent carbonation and a rich, smooth, creamy mouth feel, as like a chocolate malt.
O: I am glad I review the Black & Tan version separately from the two components. Definitely a surprisingly distinct drinking experience from either component and certainly a winner. Kudos to the novel packaging strategy.
Feb 11, 2018
 
Rated: 3.96 by snowmageddon from Massachusetts

Jan 15, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by 1971bernat from Virginia

Dec 31, 2017
 
Rated: 3.93 by IBUBrew from Vermont

Dec 25, 2017
 
Rated: 3.79 by buzzedup from Pennsylvania

Dec 23, 2017
 
Rated: 4.13 by travelguy from Ohio

Nov 30, 2017
Photo of TerryMills
Reviewed by TerryMills from Tennessee

4.03/5  rDev +0.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Very nice blend of ipa, not too bitter and not too sweet either .. Its a very fresh smelling stout basically with a clean dry finish ..

Hardly any head and quickly dissipated , dark copper color..
Oct 03, 2017
Photo of LAp
Reviewed by LAp from Ohio

3.93/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Made as a 66.6% DIPA, 33.3% Imp Stout mix with a can of each (per the bottle description from the old bomber) - measured out with a kitchen scale. Couldn't keep the separation despite pouring over a spoon. The darkness of the stout is cut only somewhat despite being a full 2/3 DIPA. The nose is dominated by the DIPAs malty notes, and the caramel sweetness of the DIPA takes the fore on the palate as well, though the stout rounds out the mouthfeel substantially.

I used the remainder of the beer that didn't fit in the teku to make a 50/50 mix, and despite the relatively small change in ratio, the Imp Stout really started to dominate. This was more to my palate (given the I prefer the base Imp Stout to the DIPA), but less of a true black and tan flavor profile.

Overall, the core concept here is awesome. Building a mixed 4 pack with the intent of providing black and tan mixing options is brilliant. Unfortunately, the base DIPA really *has* to be malty for the melange to work, and that makes for a relatively uninteresting standalone beer.
Aug 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4.07 by BeerAndFilm from Oregon

Jul 30, 2017
Photo of MikeWard
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania

3.95/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
12oz cans of Yin and yang poured into a pint glass. 50/50 split. cans batch 001 instead of more helpful canned on date.

Great look. Jet black body, head is a nice tan and white swirl. good lacing from the tan.

nothing on the nose except some faint aromas of roasted malt.

the stout component is dominant here. roasted malt, slight booziness. DIPA shows up more in the finish and mouth.

mouth is right around medium. medium roasted malt, some alcohol, slightly bitter on the finish.

overall, I prefer Yin to this, and this to Yang. The more Yang I added to the pint, the more the roastiness evened out. So perhaps a 70/30 mix would be more appealing to this palate.
Jul 01, 2017
 
Rated: 4.06 by IPA_Mark_inPA from Pennsylvania

May 29, 2017
 
Rated: 3.88 by sjrider from California

May 22, 2017
Photo of qrazvan
Reviewed by qrazvan from Romania

4.24/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Dark brown colour, with no sediments and a medium head. Nice carbonation.
Chocolate, coffee, vanilla and bourbon on the nose.
Tastes at first a bit sweet-sour, very pleasant though. Then you can feel the coffee and some vanilla, and afterwards, the roasted malt. It finishes with a woody, bitter taste.
The IPA hops is in the background, dominated by the stout, which gives the general impression.
An interesting combination very well done by Evil Twin, as always.
May 14, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by NonicPanic from Pennsylvania

Apr 26, 2017
Yin & Yang from Evil Twin Brewing
Beer rating: 90 out of 100 with 454 ratings