THE drink known as Black and Tan is a mix of dark beer (stout or old ale) and light beer (pale ale or lager).
In the USA it is conventional to layer the dark beer on top of the pale, creating a two-tone effect, while in the UK the two beers are thoroughly mixed.
In Ireland where the drink originated, the mix is known as a “pint special”, or sometimes a “blacksmith”, since the term “black and tan” carries a very different meaning, being the name of the despised paramilitary police sent in to quell the Irish uprising in the 1920s.
This week’s feature is a ready-mixed version from Naylor’s Brewery at Crosshills near Keighley in the West Riding, a blend of their Pinnacle Bitter and Pinnacle Porter.
Chestnut brown in colour, it pours with a deep, loose, off-white head. There is creamy vanilla on the nose, with chocolate and raisins up front, and a touch of hazelnut in the background.
In the mouth it is slightly lighter bodied than the aroma suggests, but with a very smooth, easy texture, and a deep, dry chocolatey flavour.
A note of liquorice appears mid-palate and there is a definite orange-peel element that brings to mind Terry’s Dark Chocolate Orange from a few years ago. An earthy, hoppy bitter finish completes the picture.
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