Black-velvet friendly stout

[turbopatrick]

I know that some commercial stouts are better than other to make a Black Velvet (stout floating over cider). For example, guiness works perfectly, and some of the local breweries we have around here make stouts that don't work too well in such a drink. My homemade oatmeal stout has this problem. No matter how careful I am to pour it over a bent spoon on top of the cider, it just mixes completely. I can make awesome black velvets with Guiness, so I know the problem is not with my technique, it really is with my beer.

Does anyone know what is required to make a stout that will float nicely over the cider?


I don't know if a Black Velvet is just a refional thing around here. In case you don't know what it is (then you probably can't help me : you pour half a pint of apple cider. Then over a backward-bent spoon, you gently pour stout in the glass. The result should be a glass filled with cider on the bottom with the beer floating on top. And as you drink it, it starts to mix.

 

[VikeMan]

Does anyone know what is required to make a stout that will float nicely over the cider?

Low FG.

 

[FromZwolle]

Low FG.

this. to have any drink that has a clear separation of two different liquids, they will need to have different gravities. using a very 'dry' stout and a sweet cider will allow the dark layer on top and the light colored cider to remain on the bottom.

if you already have a 'heavier' stout, use a dry-ish cider (like crispin over ice) and pour that over a spoon on top of the stout. it reverses the colors, but they should stay separate if you pour carefully.