My Goodness, My Guiness®!

****BREAKING*** A day after I posted this post on half light beer/half dark beer beverages,  the Nike "Black and Tan" sneaker marketing debacle hit, illustrating my point about the light beer/dark beer moniker and why it's a pretty big deal. And why it's a nice/good idea to be politically sensitive when constructing a light beer/dark beer beverage. 


St. Patrick's Day is a big drinking/bar day. We all know why and we all have our favorite St. Patrick's Day libations. So I won't get into the whys and wherefores of St. Patrick's Day and booze. Because there's such a rich depth of libation material for St. Patrick's Day I'm devoting a couple posts to it. 

Today we'll talk beer. Irish and Ireland inspired cocktails will follow in a few days. 

Some people like green beer. Okay. Rock on. Here's how you make green beer: Add green food color to your favorite beer.

But for Irish purists or those wishing to actually drink what the Irish drink, all roads lead to Guinness®. 

 

Half and Half, Black and Tan, Blacksmith…it’s all Guinness® to me.

“Usually” Black and Tans are made with Bass® Ale and Guinness®*. That’s the traditional build. However. It’s St. Patrick’s Day so what better time to talk about some of the colloquial and political angles to the “two types of beer in one pint glass” drink. 

The military personnel sent to suppress revolution in Ireland in the early part of the 1900s were called the Black and Tans. They were sent there to “deal with” the IRA, but they perpetrated many civilian attacks. Consequently, the mere utterance of the words “black” and “tan” in the same sentence invokes some heavy emotions for most Irish people. 

Compounding the problem of the Black and Tan for the Irish is that Bass® Ale is an ale ubiquitous with England. It’s been around since the 1700s. Put in perspective, Royal Doultan, the famed English china company, has only been around since the mid-1800s. In longevity terms, Bass® is more English than Royal Doultan. That’s pretty darned English. More reason why the Irish are not exactly keen on the idea of their beloved Guinness® commingling with Bass® Ale…and adding insult to injury, calling that mix a Black and Tan. It's pretty much considered an obscene gesture waved by England to anyone Irish. 

But...Guinness® is a key component to a beloved tasty beverage. What to do, what to do. Enter:

Blacksmith, Irish Black and Tan...Tomato, Tomahto.

In the Republic of Ireland (and many bars and pubs in Chicago and Boston) Smithwick’s® (an Irish ale) is often used instead of Bass®. I learned the Smithwick’s version of two beers in one glass as a “Blacksmith.” I like that name and it made me feel "better" about serving this politically charged drink to what could be a politically/ancestrally sensitive crowd. But I notice sometimes patrons call it as an Irish Black and Tan or even just a Black and Tan with the presumption being that since Smithwick’s® is on tap in that particular establishment the beverage will be all Irish. I dunno. To me it will always be a Blacksmith. 

A few words about the Half and Half. I learned the Half and Half as: Harp® Lager on the bottom with Guinness® on top . (a “Black and Tan” with Harp® instead of Bass®.) (Harp is a Guinness® brewed lager.) However, in the UK I’ve heard a Half and Half referred to as: A pint filled with half Guinness® at room temp and a half chilled Guinness®. Easy enough to manage with bottles/cans of Guinness® - chill some bottles, keep others at room temp. But what about tapped Guinness®? I’m not entirely clear on how that pour is made from tapped Guinness®. Half chilled tap Guinness® with half room temp bottled Guinness®? Two keg rooms at different temps to pour to two different Guinness® taps? That seems like a lot of architectural jiggery pokery for what is basically: A pint of Guinness®.

Whew.

Whatever you want to call it, here’s how you pour a drink that’s two types of beer, usually one light and one dark, in one glass. Since it’s St. Patrick’s Day we’ll respect our Irish friends and go all Irish.

Blacksmith/All Irish Black and Tan

1 part Smithwick’s® Ale
1 part Guinness Stout® 

Pint glass

Fill pint glass half full with Smithwick’s. Next pour Guinness over a spoon slowly until glass is full. If done correctly the Guinness will stay on top and the Smithwick’s on bottom giving a layered (shhhh *black and tan* shhhhh) presentation.

There is an art to building a light/dark beer drink. The proper sized/shaped spoon is a must. They’re called “pouring spoons.” They are not to be confused or replaced with the long handled, slim cocktail spoons used in building layered shots. “Pouring spoons” have a round (instead of oval) well, and they have a larger diameter and a more flatish well than cocktail spoons. They're easy to procure, any liquor emporium, kitchen supplier or online retailer will have several from which to choose. Several versions are available. A popular style has a "handle" that fits over the edge of the pint glass. I don't love this style because the spoon portion rests too low in the pint glass and gives too much room for error when removing the spoon to serve the beverage. But, some people swear by this style. If you're going to pour a lot of light beer/dark beer pints, practice with a few different pouring spoon styles to see which works best for you and your bar.

Guinness® has long employed marketing tactics to hawk their beer and make money beyond beer. So it's not surprising that they make, distribute and sell special spoons meant to aid in the proper building of the “two beers in one glass” drinks. Guinness®' spoons generally do not have the ladle type of handle, forcing the bartender to dedicate one hand to the spoon while pouring a half light/half dark beverage. Guinness® offers a lot of "suggestions" about their beers and how they should be served, and hey, it's their brew and they're the experts. And they are masters of marketing and presentation, so, you know, when in Rome. Or Dublin, as it were. 

It takes a little practice and finessing to perfect the spoon technique. The well of the spoon needs to be as close to centered over the pint as possible. Uneven cascading (more beer on one area of the spoon than another) can result in too much Guinness® (dark) penetrating into the lighter ale. So...

Irish Chastity Belt/Robocop Gamer

There’s also a contraption I call the Irish Chastity Belt. It’s actually called a “Black and Tan Turtle.”  (But feel free to use my terminology.) It looks like a Robocop version of Gamera**. (Again, feel free to use my terminology.) The turtle rests on top of a standard pint glass and forces the absolute even distribution of Guinness® into the pint glass and prevents the Guinness® from penetrating the lighter beer and maintains the lighter beer's purity. Since the Irish Chastity Belt rests on the rim of the pint glass it frees the bartenders hands to hold the glass and pour the Guinness® and keep a better eye on what’s going on in the glass. Assuming the Guinness® is poured at an appropriately slow rate of speed, the Irish Chastity Belt pretty much guarantees a successful light/dark beer presentation. Many purists don’t approve of the turtle, claiming that "real" bartenders only use the pouring spoon. I kind of felt that way, too. Until I started using the turtle (and started calling it the Irish Chastity Belt) and got used to using it  (read: remembered to use it) I didn’t want to go back to using a pouring spoon if for no other reason than it allows hands free regulating of Guinness®. Hands-free = stress-free = happy bartender.

Okay, once you've chosen and procured your pouring spoon, you're ready to pour and serve a two beers in one glass drink. 

Pour half a pint of the lighter beer. Set the half full pint glass flat under the Guiness® tap (or flat on the building area of the bar if pouring Guinness® from a bottle). Hold the pouring spoon so that the circular well is centered over the top of the pint glass. Slooooooooowly pull/pour Guinness® over the center of the spoon, keeping an eye on what’s going on in the pint glass below the spoon. Guinness® recommends that the pouring of a pint of Guinness® should take 119.53 seconds. Presuming we’re pouring half a pint, the Guinness® portion of the half light beer/half dark beer pint should take 59.77 seconds. At least. The Guinness® should evenly cascade over the pouring spoon into the glass, the liquid resting on top of the lighter beer already in the glass. Do not attempt to rush this process. If the Guinness® starts to blend with the lighter beer immediately slow down or even stop the pour. Slow and steady wins this race. If you try to rush it you and your guest/patron will be disappointed in the results and you will most likely have to start over.

*There are tons of versions of the Black and Tan. Some are even fully blended. 

**A fun cocktail for St. Patrick's Day (because it's green...to my knowledge Ireland remains a Godzilla-free zone...and in honor of my misspent childhood cheering on a giant fire breathing roboturtle...)

The Godzilla

2 oz. Midori

2 oz. Coconut Rum (Malibu)

2 oz. Saké
1 oz. Orange Juice

1 oz. Pineapple Juice

Ice

Martini or rocks glass

Cherry garnish

Mix all ingredients in a shaker. Martini shake. Strain contents into chilled martini glass.

OR

Pour ice into a rocks glass. Mix all liquid ingredients in shaker. Pour over ice.