Black & Tan Experiments

heh I tried to make a Black and Tan from the last 8 oz of both my gf's blue moon and my green flash black ipa but didn't work well.

did you use a spoon to pour the top beer? I didn't but will try next time

 

I did this with Hopslam and Expedition stout - yeah, they blend too well. Ended up just taking a nice long slow afternoon with one heck of a blended glass of beer.

 

A couple of years ago, some guys did the ultimate high-end black and tan. Westy 12 over PtY.

 

WHAT'S THE SCIENCE! I just really want to know WHAT I need to know in order to make these work. Is there some gravity ratio that needs to be obeyed? some law of ABV?

 

It's all about density and pouring the lower density liquid gently enough on top of the higher density liquid to minimize the mixing at the interface (thus pouring over the back of a spoon to distribute the liquid). Look for nitro beers and beers with higher and/or finer carbonation as lower density candidates.

 

I guess that's a refinement of my initial question - what's the most effective way to determine how dense a given beer is?

 

DFH 120 under WWS. That's a man's B&T.

 

They do that at the local DFH franchise here and call it "Heaven & Hell".

It's pretty fantastic.

 

Typically you layer a dry stout, buoyancy level (gravity) lets it float on the top, if you do it right.

 

I've never gotten it to work with a stout that wasn't on Nitro to be honest. I've tried several and just couldn't figure it out.

 

It should be renamed to Quick Death. That's one potent cocktail.

 

Trial and error. Delicious trial and error.

 

Just because you can doesn't mean you should.

 

I tried a Hopslam and Green Flash Double Stout a couple of weeks back. Just tasted like a slightly hoppier imperial stout, nothing special.

 

Anyone ever use Left Hand Milk Stout Nitro for the Black portion? I very rarely, if ever, attempt to make Black & Tans, but I can acquire the MS Nitro and am very interested in trying this. Maybe pair it with 90 min IPA, Captain Lawrence IIPA, or one of my left over Hopslams.

 

Did a 120 minute and a Worldwide not too long ago. I believe this combination already has a name???

It was ok. Rather have them separate

 

Just because you never have doesn't mean you shouldn't.

 

You need the bottom beer to have a good head (helps prevent the beers from mixing) and then pour the top beer over a spoon (or over the turtle separator you have there) VERY slowly. Presto, black and tan.

 

Not a bad problem to have if you have enough spare KBS or Hopslam to experiment with them. With the meager amount of KBS that I can score I have to savor every last drop then cry once it's gone.