Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Poured a nice Imperial Black & Tan....

Obviously more than you if your actually talking about the beer cocktail.



The specific gravities relative to each other allow for the stout to float on the ale. So yes it’s a density layering thing.

I had a few pineapple and vodka’s at the Coupland Ballroom last night. Danced a bunch, moving slow today.

Sorry, but it is about viscosity... the more viscous beer is poured over the less viscous... it can be variably dense in either direction and work. It must be a more viscous beer on top.

Yeah, yeah......gravity, viscosity, divinity, hydrocephaly, whatever. Some servers can keep it separate some can't. The can't part includes me. There's a knack to it I just don't have. BUT my black & tans are black and tan because the liquid body is black and the foamy head is tan. It all gets mixed up in the end anyway. And, yes, I'm sure this is joke material for some.

As far as what dark brew to use I'll say Guinness is one of the least truly desirable brands to use these days unless it's tradition you're after. And if it's just a straight up mug of good, dark, heavy brew you want Guinness is way back in the pack. Way, way back. When craft breweries were a mere hope for the future Guinness was one of few darks readily available and I thought it was great. Referred to it as beer you can chew. No more. It's a weak ancestor to today's grand versions. Even today's good porters easily outdistance Guinness. Founders Porter comes to mind; a 6% or 6.5% ABV. Very, very good and would work well for the dark half of the pour. Guinness in no way compares. But then today's Imperial Stouts readily available, usually 7% to around 9% ABV, dark and heavy malty brews, give Guinness back to the Budt Light crowd for when they want a "heavy". And I won't even get into the Bourbon Barrel aged stouts like Dragon's Milk, the wife's favorite. Matter of fact she won't touch a brew that's not heavy enough to pour upright into only the shadow of a frozen mug. One and done for her.

Today's really good IPAs compare almost in the same relationship with Bass and Harp. Those two are still nice ales but not to compare with a multitude of craft IPAs the the Limey Men of the Queen's Military in the tropics would have given their second concubine for. A few come to mind such as Voodoo Ranger Imperial, straight Voodoo Ranger, Sierra Nevada's Torpedo and a handful of it's special releases, Hop Nosh from Uinta Brewing, and 2X IPA from Southern Tier (make a fine 2X Stout as well), and many,many others. The old school ales are nice to remember but there's much better brew to drink.

Hey FieldGrade:


Sometimes just a plain old beer is what you need. And that ain't milla lite.

Miller lite......

teaching wimmen to drink outta the bottle since '75. Class act.

Weak for one so learned on craft beer nuance and history.

It takes viscosity, period, to properly hold the division.

OMG. This is like the double mocha latte over cats pee and dog slobber...


Just gimme' a cold day beer.

Haven't tried such a thing, but it seems odd to take allegedly carefully crafted brews and then mix or layer them, thus upsetting the designs of the makers. But if YOU like it, rock on. I'll stick with my Newcastle (now brewed in Holland, WTF) or Pilsner Urquell. Not averse to a good stout or other chewy brew on occasion, if I can find one here in the semi-sticks.

I drink beer for flavor. If all you want is alcohol, just swig some Everclear. I never understood the idea that higher alcohol makes a beer better. If that's why you rate Guiness lower (it has a fairly light alcohol content) then you and I do not think alike.

That's why I call them half & half. Guinness and Smithwicks works well.

I had a couple of Bud Lights before supper and a couple of Bourbon and Waters after. Never heard of mixing beers,

Specific gravity, or the ABV is what creates the division, and a careful pour (thus the spoon to gently pour the Guiness on the top of Harp). Harp is 5.0% ABV and Guiness draught is 4.3% ABV. If you chill the Harp colder than Guiness, it makes it easier to get a good pour.

Give up on that one WyColoCowboy with that poster. Sitka is a specific gravity denier.

ABV is an element in Specific Gravity, but far from the only one. They are not the same thing. Having a denser beer at the bottom helps, but is not required.

But it is viscosity that allows the pour to work. Colder beer is more viscous.

Believe what you like, but you are attempting to ignore physical laws by doing so.

But I am very much a believer in basic physics...

No, abv doesn't tell the whole story at all. Just generally the more malty the stout or porter the higher the alcohol content from my limited experience and I prefer that malty component in a dark beer. Guinness to my taste is just lighter than I like a stout to be. But the Founders Porter I mentioned is really rich and only in the 6% range, not very high at all. The 'maltier', if that's a word, IPAs are tastier to me too. The flavor as you said is the key but the tasty malt brings the alcohol along. As far as drinking for effect I limit myself to an enjoyable level. Drunk or a heavy buzz isn't isn't fun for me so I don't do it.

I'll take that poke and grin since we both know I ain't very learned at all. And it takes a smooth steady hand on top of the differing viscosities to make it work. I'm doing good to make oil float on water.

That's a shame because if ever a beer needed mixing with something it's Bud Light.

Zing!!!