Help! I can't pour a Black and Tan!

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HalfPint

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Alright, I've got a pale ale and a porter on tap, but I can't quite seem to pour a black and tan without them mixing.

I have my psi set to 12 and they pour perfect by themselves, but I think it pours too fast even with my ten foot lines.

Do yall think I need to pour into seperate glasses and then into one?
 
Alright, I've got a pale ale and a porter on tap, but I can't quite seem to pour a black and tan without them mixing.

I have my psi set to 12 and they pour perfect by themselves, but I think it pours too fast even with my ten foot lines.

Do yall think I need to pour into seperate glasses and then into one?

Are you using a spoon?

You need to pour the beer with the highest relative density first. Guinness has a lower relative density than Bass. A lot of porters have a higher relative density than a lot of pale ales.
 
Do you have an FG for both? What were they?

OH, I didn't know that.

The porter is Ed's Robust and the the Pale Ale is Ed's Haus

HAHA, I like Ed's beers!

Og

Pale 1.045
Porter 1.070

FG

Pale 1.011
Porter I'm not too sure I fermented with nottingham, so I imagine it's around 1.016? I was just too lazy to take a reading.

I guess I need to pour the porter first.

Makes sense
 
FG is final gravity. Either those are starting gravities or you make the biggest beers ever. :D

And use a spoon. :)
 
FG is final gravity. Either those are starting gravities or you make the biggest beers ever. :D

And use a spoon. :)

Yeah, I edited my post after you read it probably. I wasn't really thinking.

I also do use a spoon. Its just a teaspoon bent backwards.

Have you ever poured these directly from your taps? it's hard to do. Do yall pour each into separate glasses and then slowly pour into one?
 
Indeed - lowest FG on top. Here's a "snakebite" with apfelwein and Guinness:

snakebitea.jpg
 
Did you pour it straight from the tap? How did you do the pour? What's your psi when pouring?

I have 12 psi and 10 ft lines. It doesn't come out extremely fast, but too fast for this application I think. Should I transfer from one glass to another?
 
I poured the Guinness from a bottle (Foreign Extra), and the apfelwein was from a 10 psi tap with a 9 foot line. Try pouring the second beer from a pitcher and see if that helps.
 
I love that glass. Seen 'em at ACE and gotta have some. I think that Guiness with nitrogen/co2 mix is much easier to layer. Seem to beermember reading about this somewhere but my beermemory is not that good. Good luck
Cheers, Tim
 
Alright, I poured one, but it didn't come out like your snakebite. The porter is definitely a higher FG than the Pale and it should be on the bottom, but it still seems that it mixed a bit. It's quite late now and I think I'll only be able to have one tonight, but tomorrow I'll work on perfecting this.
 
Naw man. It works with co2, it all depends on the por and fg (like said before). I poured one last night and it looked like a black and tan after I let it sit for a minute.
 
Ok, that's it! After work tonight, I'm making a black and tan. I have oatmeal stout (FG 1.020) on one tap, and IIPA (FG 1.012) on another. I'll try to remember to take a picture.

I have one of those "turtles" that Bass sent out for free last year, and I've yet to master it.
 
Yoop,

I am with you on the mastering thing. It's not near as easy to pour it from the taps as bartenders typically do. I'm pouring about 11 oz of porter in a pint glass and then poring about 5 oz of apa in a glass measuring cup. After that, I slowly pour the APA on top. I let it sit for around 3 minutes or so and it looks like the pics of a black and tan you typically see. I can't por it straight from my tap even though I'm now at 10 psi with 10 ft lines. I'ts just too rough of a por for this application.
 
Yoop,

I am with you on the mastering thing. It's not near as easy to pour it from the taps as bartenders typically do. I'm pouring about 11 oz of porter in a pint glass and then poring about 5 oz of apa in a glass measuring cup. After that, I slowly pour the APA on top. I let it sit for around 3 minutes or so and it looks like the pics of a black and tan you typically see. I can't por it straight from my tap even though I'm now at 10 psi with 10 ft lines. I'ts just too rough of a por for this application.

I think using that "Brolly" will help disperse the IIPA though, so it should float. I have to be at a work meeting from 11:30 to 2:15 today, otherwise I'd try it right now!
 
How much head are you getting on your bottom beer? I've never done a black and tan from a tap, but from bottles I've never been able to get it to work unless I do a vigorous pour on the first been and get a lot of head on it. The foam works kind of like a cushion and when you add in the spoon to slow down the pour for the top layer it gives you a nice solid line between the layers.
 
It'll work, it just takes some practice. Your FG's could be too close to each other which would make it a lot harder to do. Here's a crappy pic of mine from my kegerator.
100_0167.JPG
 
I did it! Look:
One picture is without flash, so the IIPA looks very dark, but it's actually very light colored. I'm happy I learned to do that! Thanks!
DSCF2154.jpg

DSCF2152.jpg
 
LOL

I got home tonight and my APA keg is frozen. It's pouring straight foam!! Last night I was messing with the temps on my kegerator and figured it would be good closer to 34-35 F. I was wrong!! I guess it got a little too cool lol. My porter is pouring amazingly, but the APA is crap.

I turned the fridge down and I'll be trying this tomorrow I guess.
 
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