I have this memory, probably built on over the years, of a Black and Tan where the bartender twirled a bent spoon and made the Black swirl throughout the Tan and when I drank it I recall some tastes in parts of my mouth, some in others. It was very good.
I forgot all about that when I started brewing. Then thought of it on occasion, but never did anything about it. Then, a few months back, I bought another kit on CL for $10 that included an LBK, ten 25 oz bottles, a Classic American Light (yuch), and an Irish Stout. Pretty good deal. I decided to make a true Black and Tan, and sought the advice of Mr. Beer's current brewmaster, Josh. Two questions - 1) How do I turn CAL into something I might drink and 2) What's the trick to keeping the levels separate, vs. blended?
Josh gave me a simple steeping grain list to convert the CAL - with two goals. First, make it taste ok. Second, make the final gravity HIGHER than the Irish Stout so that the Tan sinks while the Black rises. I added 1/4 pound of Carapils, 1/2 pound of Crystal 60, and a pound of light LME. And I used Windsor yeast instead of the Mr. Beer yeast, so I would get lower attenuation and a higher FG. For the Stout I added a pound of LME and used the Mr. Beer yeast. CAL ended up with an FG of 1.019, and the Stout ended at 1.015. Yesterday was 3 days in the fridge after 4 weeks in bottles.
I also bought a device designed to make a true Black and Tan called The Perfect Black and Tan Layering Tool.
Yesterday was D-Day, so I opened one of each and proceeded to fill 1/2 of each glass with the Tan, then use the layering tool to pour the black. The result - 90% mixed together... FAILURE.
My son and I sat there drinking them and speculating. Maybe the Black should be on the bottom? Maybe we poured too fast through the tool (shouldn't matter, holes are holes). So for the next round, we filled one glass 1/2 way with Tan, and one 1/2 way with Black, and tried again. This time SUCCESS! The secret was pouring the Tan with a head on it to cushion the Black (I've also read that if the Black is warmer it works better too).
Here is the result:
- Black and Tan.jpg (251.04 KiB) Viewed 387 times
or just drink them one at a time, or one then the other, or......... well the possibilities are all good 
