NationStates Jolt Archive

It's a known fact that dark beers (Stouts esp) should be imbibed at room temperature. While many people disagree, the knowledgable (those who have tried) do not. Anyone who thinks otherwise (especially those who drink Guiness cold) are just posturing to try and make themselves seem manly and/or cool.

Light beers (Lagers & Ales) are undeniably served chilled. Almost no-one disagrees with this.

However, Black & Tans (The Yuengline pre-made mix of their lager & stout, not actual and Black & Tan) are kinda both. They look dark, and (IMHO) they taste MUCH better at about 10°F below to room temp than it does fresh out of a fride. I'm not sure if this is officially wrong, or if it's just an acceptable interpretation of the color.

Edit- poll is in place, but with an "e" where there should be a "g." Forgive me.

funny....i would think of a Black and Tan being something rather different...

I stopped drinking Black and Tans when I realized that I was just diluting good Guinness.

Room temp!

But as somebody else said "I stopped drinking them as they lessoned Guiness"

Best Guiness is in Ireland! ;)

It all depends on teh temperature of the room. Here it tends to be 35 C + so chilled is really the only viable option.

I stopped drinking Black and Tans when I realized that I was just diluting good Guinness.

Which is why I have the YG pre-mixed lager. It's 17 bucks a case, whereas Guiness (and Newcastle, my fav light beer) are both 35. Yes, I know you can buy a six pack for $4 for both of those, but I buy straight from the distributor, and his pricing conventions make no sense. He also sells Zima (which might be a "girly beer," if such a thing does not violate the laws of the universe) and flavored Smirnoff Vodka for prices that vary between the hour.

Also, for a proper black and tan, watching them pour it gives you time to contemplate the meaning of the universe. And teaches you another use of a spoon which I honestly never would have thought up.

funny....i would think of a Black and Tan being something rather different...

Indeed. This is probably where we get to shout 'Black Bastards' without getting thrown off the boards by the moderators.

I drink all my alcohol chilled. The hard goes in the freezer, the stouts and lagers and ales and beers and etc all go in the fridge, and kept rather chilled.

I'm a slow but steady drinker; so about half of my Black and Tans are consumed while chilled, half while warming in my hand, and half while room temp ;)

(I drink a fair amount or them chilled actually, for some reason they go down easier.)

I felt this necessary.


I was born on a Dublin street
Where the loyal drums did beat
And those bloody English feet
They walked all over us!
But every single night
When me Da would come home tight,
He'd invite the neighbours out

Come out ye Black & Tans!
Come out and fight me like a man.
Show your wife how you won medals
Down in Flanders.
Tell her how the IRA
Made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes
Of Killeshandra!

Room temp!

But as somebody else said "I stopped drinking them as they lessoned Guiness"

Best Guiness is in Ireland! ;)

Guinness is spelled with two N's, you heathen!

It's a known fact that dark beers (Stouts esp) should be imbibed at room temperature. While many people disagree, the knowledgable (those who have tried) do not. Anyone who thinks otherwise (especially those who drink Guiness cold) are just posturing to try and make themselves seem manly and/or cool.

Guinness specifically states on the bottle "SERVE EXTRA COLD", I prefer Irish Stouts, such as Guinness cold, English stouts are better at room temperature.

It is alright if you dilute Guinness in a Black and Tan because you put the world's greatest beer in it, Bass. It is best served in slightly chilled and with these two beers. If it is served any other way, then it is not truly a Black and Tan.

Which is why I have the YG pre-mixed lager. It's 17 bucks a case, whereas Guinness (and Newcastle, my fav light beer) are both 35. Yes, I know you can buy a six pack for $4 for both of those, but I buy straight from the distributor, and his pricing conventions make no sense. He also sells Zima (which might be a "girly beer," if such a thing does not violate the laws of the universe) and flavored Smirnoff Vodka for prices that vary between the hour.

Also, for a proper black and tan, watching them pour it gives you time to contemplate the meaning of the universe. And teaches you another use of a spoon which I honestly never would have thought up.


Well, therein lies the problem. You should be drinking your Guinness at a pub, in a pint glass, from a tap - not from a bottle.

I'm not sure about this Pennsylvania bottled brew called Black and Tan, but as has been previously mentioned a Black and Tan is Guinness and Bass Ale, or to some, Guinness and Harp (although this is usually called a Half and Half). Anything else is...well, I don't know what it is.

If you are into diluting your Guinness you can also order a Black Velvet, which is Guinness and champagne. But, again, why waste a good pint of the Black Stuff but mixing it with something else?

Take your Vitamin G the way god intended - from the tap, in a pint glass, served at European room temperature (which means a bit chillier than American).