May

26

Saranac Black & Tan

By Andy Murphy

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Ladies and Gentlemen, I think I’ve found a loophole! My “one a day” challenge keeps me focused on individual beers, so the joy of beer tastings and beer samplers are right out of the question; so too are any “mixed” beers, which would technically be blending two or more separate beers.

But the Matt Brewing Company’s Saranac line has done me a favor, blending an Irish Stout with an “all-malt German-style Amber Lager” to create a single beer — Saranac Black & Tan. This stout and lager blend may be the closest I come all year to having two beers in one session.

What is a Black & Tan? It’s a mixed beer, half dark and half pale.

Simple, right? Sadly no — and if I leave it at that, I’ll get hate mail and snide comments, so let me delve a bit deeper.

Traditionally, a Black & Tan is an Irish Stout (think Guinness) with an English bitter or a pale ale (think Bass Ale) — but the rules fly out the window quickly, because there are many light colored beers you can mix with a stout our a porter. But purists would argue that any mixture of stout and lager — such as Saranac’s Black & Tan — is not a Black & Tan at all; rather, it should be called a “Half and Half”. But the last time I ordered “half and half” at a bar, it came in my coffee.

In America, a Black & Tan is usually served as a layered drink (stout floated atop pale); in the UK, the drink is served mixed; and in Ireland, they don’t really serve it at all — why sully the Guinness? There being no obvious choice to the contrary, Saranac’s Black & Tan is quite decidedly premixed.

The beer poured very dark brown, and when held to the light it produced hints of gleaming red. My pour also created a huge, frothy, tan head that bubbled and lingered and looked every bit like a stout.

It was the aroma that first reminded me this beer isn’t a stout. A yeasty lager aroma struck my nose first — followed quickly by milk chocolate, coffee and roasted malt. The sweetness of the malt and that almost sour lager didn’t quite blend perfectly, but the combination was interesting enough to make me want to take a drink.

For taste, this beer comes together nicely. Saranac Black & Tan is malty and sweet, but the roasted coffee and toasted chocolate malt add a pleasant and challenging complexity. The sweet stout is the dominant taste, but the aftertaste is bitter chocolate.

The beer has a creaminess and not-quite-full mouthfeel that, combined with its sweetness, make the beer extremely easy and enjoyable to drink. I found myself three quarters of the way through the glass almost before I knew it!

At 5.3% ABV, this is a beer that encourages a second round. Two bad that loophole isn’t big enough for a second bottle!

Related posts:

1. Highland Brewing Oatmeal Porter
2. Bourbon Barrel Stout
3. The Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout
4. BrewDog Paradox Isle of Arran
5. Brooklyn Lager

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Categories : Beer a Day