Miasmatic Review

Yuengling Black and Tan

Last weekend at Fort Obie my friend Will brought me another beer by Yuengling to review. This time it’s Yuengling Black and Tan.

He made sure to get me a nice 12 oz brown bottle so I didn’t have to review on a can after all of you complained. It has a black oval label with the name of the company and the beer on it. There is the Eagle logo for the company at the top center of the circle. In a gold ribbon at the bottom it says America’s Oldest Brewery. The label says this is a combination of the Dark Brewed Porter and Premium beer.

There wasn’t much to the smell. After much consideration I figured it had a scent of roasted malts with a fruit undertone. Nothing that was very complex like one would expect from a Black and Tan. The taste was a very mild malt flavor. There was not much depth at all, it was very simple. Again with a Black and Tan there should be a bit more to it.

It is a very smooth beer. It’s light bodied and very easy to drink. However it was almost like drinking water. The body didn’t really hold any mouth feel at all.

Okay, first off I have to pick this beer apart. This really isn’t a black and tan, this is a half and half. A Black and Tan generally is Stout or Porter and Ale. A Half and Half is a Stout or Porter over a lager. A proper black and tan or half and half are layered. Generally they pour the lighter beer (ale or lager) first and then using a spoon pour the darker beer (stout or porter) over it in a pint glass. When you look at the glass you should be able to see the two different layers of the beer, the dark on top and the light on the bottom. When this poured into the glass it looked much like their Porter only slightly lighter in color. This is just Yuengling mixing their Porter and Premium lager together in hopes of marketing on a pub trend. If you want to know what a real Black and Tan is like I suggest going to a reputable pub and ordering one. I’d suggest Guinness over Bass.

As much as I know I’m about to bring the wrath of many loyal readers upon myself, I’m not overly impressed with this beer at all. I can see where it would be good with pizza or pub food, but nothing that makes me want to go out of my way for it. It’s really a dark beer for people that don’t like dark beers. I give it 4 out of 10.