Black And Tan is a beer cocktail composed of one part bitter, amber ale, pale ale, or pale lager and one part stout or porter. It is traditionally poured at the bar so that the two beers layer, often with the darker beer in the top half of the glass. “Black and tan” is also a term used by more than a dozen US breweries for bottled products that consist of similar blends. Examples include Yuengling Original Black and Tan, Saranac Black & Tan, Mississippi Mud Black & Tan, Hoppin’ Frog Bodacious Black and Tan, and Michelob Black and Tan.
The fact that beers have different densities creates the opportunity to layer two beers in a glass as showcased by the traditional Black and Tan pour. Draught Guinness Stout is often used as the dark beer because its low specific gravity or density allows it to float on top of many other beers. A spoon (often specially fashioned for the job) facilitates the layering when placed with the round side of the bowl facing up to deflect and spread the top beer. This prevents churning and mixing of the two beers during pouring.
The term “Black and Tan” undoubtedly originated from England; the Oxford English Dictionary cites its first use to signify the drink in a slang dictionary in 1889. The drink is rarely seen in Ireland, where some may take the term “Black and Tan” as a reference to the uniforms of British paramilitary forces who opposed Irish independence in the 1920s and were widely known as black and tans. Because consumers in England have ordered blends of ales in pubs and alehouses since at least the early 1700s, similar mixtures under various names have no doubt been common for hundreds of years. The Black and Tan is one of the few to survive to the present day, if largely as a vaguely amusing bartender’s stunt.