Beer: Headstrong Black & Tan
Type: Ale/Stout
Region: USA
Rating: Novice/Intermediate
It's Saturday, a great day for a BBQ and some beer. Today, I bring you a fine concoction from our neighbours to the South, the brewery being Big Hole Brewery in Utica, NY.
It blends two types of beer - ale (a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a top-fermenting brewers' yeast. This yeast ferments the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste), and stout (dark, sometimes bitter beer, think Guiness, the world's most popular stout beer).
Normally, you would take a pale ale and a stout and pour the ale first, with the stout sitting on top, giving it a blended tan (from the bottom) to dark (top) hue. Unfortunately, coming from a can, it is not separated, so you don't get the visual. Mixing two types of beer shouldn't come as any surprise, as wine makers have been mixing grape varieties for years.
The end result of this beer is one that is a dark brown colour with a dense white head. Aroma is vague, with bread and a slight nuttiness. Thin body. In the flavour: caramel, toasted nuts, water leading to a slight grassiness with more nuts and possibly a bit of molasses in the finish. In fact, you could argue that it could be a Guiness Light, in that is has a similar aroma but much more carbonation and not nearly as heavy - but the Guinny lovers would strongly disagree.
May not be for everyone, but worth a try. I actually kinda like it!
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