Pouring a Back & Tan

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BansheeRider

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I am having a hard time accomplishing this. I think the problem is both my brews are the same gravity. My irish stout and EPA are 1.013 gravity. I tried straight from the tap and that wouldn't work. I tried pouring from a separate glass and that didn't work. The beer keeps mixing together, however it still tastes delicious. Does anybody have experience with this? Any tips on how to pour this wonderful beer?
 
Im no bartender but when ive ordered one at a bar the bartender poured the ale first then the stout over a spoon... Ive never done it tho

That's what I've been trying to do. The beer keeps mixing together, no separation of the two beers.
 
I think the whole point is that the higher gravity beer keeps the lower gravity beer on top. If the are the same gravity they will mix. Right?
 
Maybe give the ale a aggressive pour to give it a nice head.... That may help keep it separated

Tried that...

I think the whole point is that the higher gravity beer keeps the lower gravity beer on top. If the are the same gravity they will mix. Right?

That's what I'm thinking. I should have looked at the gravity of each beer before making them. I made these two beers just so I can make black and tans.
 
BansheeRider said:
Tried that...

That's what I'm thinking. I should have looked at the gravity of each beer before making them. I made these two beers just so I can make black and tans.

Well now they are just mixed like Black and Tans in the UK.
 
I got a hankering for a black and tan a few weeks ago and searched around for good homebrew B&T combos. From what I saw, the final gravities are usually at least .005-.010 different, and usually more. So if you want a dark beer on top (the traditional method), you have to go with a dry stout or something similar. I had just brewed a sweet stout with lactose (Deception Cream Stout) and it was too high a final gravity to be on top of most anything (1.020). I guess I could put a dry cider on top, though I think that's called something else. Now that I mention it, EdWort's apfelwine has been on my "to-brew" list for a while...
 
I got a hankering for a black and tan a few weeks ago and searched around for good homebrew B&T combos. From what I saw, the final gravities are usually at least .005-.010 different, and usually more. So if you want a dark beer on top (the traditional method), you have to go with a dry stout or something similar. I had just brewed a sweet stout with lactose (Deception Cream Stout) and it was too high a final gravity to be on top of most anything (1.020). I guess I could put a dry cider on top, though I think that's called something else. Now that I mention it, EdWort's apfelwine has been on my "to-brew" list for a while...

Dry stout is what I made. How can we control what the FG is? The yeast will do what they want to do.
 
Are you brewing with extract or all grain? With extract you are limited in options, you could add some less fermentable specialty grains. If you're brewing all grain mash temps can play a huge part in your expected FG.
 
Are you brewing with extract or all grain? With extract you are limited in options, you could add some less fermentable specialty grains. If you're brewing all grain mash temps can play a huge part in your expected FG.

I brew with extract. Haven't made the jump to all grain yet.
 
I say drink em blended if it tastes good. Are you pouring with a turtle or a spoon?
 
You can control the final gravity of extract beers by adding corn sugar. The alcohol lowers the final gravity. Add it as primary fermentation slows down though. Any other simple sugar can be used as well. I usually add honey or dark brown sugar depending on the beer.
 
I say drink em blended if it tastes good. Are you pouring with a turtle or a spoon?

I used a big upside down spoon.

You can control the final gravity of extract beers by adding corn sugar. The alcohol lowers the final gravity. Add it as primary fermentation slows down though. Any other simple sugar can be used as well. I usually add honey or dark brown sugar depending on the beer.

Good tip, thanks! But isn't corn sugar 100% fermentable therefore adding more alcohol while drying out the beers flavor?
 
I think the whole point is that the higher gravity beer keeps the lower gravity beer on top. If the are the same gravity they will mix. Right?

Right.

I have a "turtle"- it's a fancy spoon to pour black and tans. The higher FG beer goes on the bottom, and then you put the turtle on the glass and put the lower FG beer on top. They don't mix that way.

And yes, corn sugar does thin and dry the beer. That's why subbing a pound of sugar for a pound of extract helps to create a beer with a lower FG- it's more fermentable than malt extract.
 
The Brooklyn Brew Shop book has a "black & tan" recipe. Unfortunately, I screwed it up and spilled some of the "tan" wort which seems to have brought the FG closer.

However, I found a way to make it work. I use plastic bottles with a screw cap, which allows me to open the bottle just a little. First I pour the "tan" from high to encourge a lot of head. Then I give the "black" bottle a shake so it gushes when open. However, I only open it until the point where the foam starts escaping and drop that foam on top of the "tan" foam. When the foams die down the two mix a bit but because it's all foam it ends up being a pretty thin layer that mixed.
 
Maybe adding caramel malts to your recipe will give them a higher FG. It will also sweeten it up though. Which one goes on the top? The stout? I don't understand :D
 
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