black and tan

The term likely originated in England, where consumers have blended different beers since at least the 17th century.{{cite book|last=Oliver|first=Garrett|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gYVLHMmplRcC&pg=PA135|title=The Oxford Companion to Beer|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2011|isbn=978-0-19-536713-3|location=New York|page=135|oclc=706025045}}{{Cite web|title=How to Make a Half-and-Half for St. Patrick's Day|url=https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/black-tan-ultimate-beer-cocktail-020000894.html|access-date=2021-04-12|publisher=Yahoo!|language=en-US}} The tradition of blending beers can be traced to London during the 1700s where beer blends or "three-threads" and "five-threads" were consumed. Each thread was a beer type that was blended into a drink.{{cite book|last1=Mosher|first1=Randy|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=87FrDgAAQBAJ|title=Tasting Beer, 2nd Edition. An Insider's Guide to the World's Greatest Drink|date=2017|publisher=Storey Publishing|isbn=9781612127774|page=334|access-date=16 March 2020}} Three threads was a form of mixed beer alehouses sold to avoid paying a higher tax on beer. By taking a strong beer taxed at a higher rate and mixing it with a small beer taxed at a lower-rate, brewers were able to turn a higher profit. This practice continued from the late 1690s to 1700s.{{cite book|last1=Mathias|first1=Peter|url=https://archive.org/details/brewingindustryi0000math|title=The Brewing Industry in England, 1700-1830|date=1959|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=[https://archive.org/details/brewingindustryi0000math/page/111 111]|quote=three threads.|url-access=registration}} The earliest recorded usage of the term black and tan in the drink context is from 1881, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, in the American magazine Puck.{{Cite encyclopedia|title=black and tan|encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/284627}} {{Subscription required}} The first recorded British use of the term to describe a drink is from 1889.

However, the name "black and tan" is not used in Ireland as a term for a mixture of two beers. The drink is instead referred to as a half and half. In Ireland, the term "black and tan" is associated with the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force, nicknamed the "Black and Tans", which was sent into Ireland in the early 1920s during the Irish War of Independence and resulted in violent outbreaks between the forces and the Irish people.{{cite news|last=McKittrick|first=David|date=21 April 2006|title=Ireland's War of Independence: The Chilling Story of the Black and Tans|newspaper=The Independent|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/irelands-war-of-independence-the-chilling-story-of-the-black-and-tans-5336022.html|access-date=7 April 2018}}

In March 2006, Ben and Jerry's released an ice cream flavour in the United States for Saint Patrick's Day inspired by the drink. The branding of the flavour offended Irish nationalists because of the paramilitary association.{{cite news|last=Peterkin|first=Tom|date=21 April 2006|title=Black and Tan Ice Cream Causes a Chill in Ireland|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/ireland/1516339/Black-and-Tan-ice-cream-causes-a-chill-in-Ireland.html|access-date=10 August 2015}} Ben and Jerry's apologised and a spokesman told Reuters, "Any reference on our part to the British Army{{sic}} unit was absolutely unintentional and no ill will was ever intended."{{Cite web|date=21 April 2006|title=Ben & Jerry's sorry for Irish "Black & Tan" upset|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060421/od_nm/benjerrys_dc|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060424034612/http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060421/od_nm/benjerrys_dc|archive-date=24 April 2006}}

In March 2012, the drink's name was in the news again when Nike, as part of an Irish themed set of designs, released a pair of shoes advertised as the "Black and Tan". This line of shoes generated offense in Ireland for its naming, similar to the Ben and Jerry's ice cream.{{cite news|last=Boyd|first=Brian|date=10 March 2012|title=Nike Puts Its Foot in It with 'Black and Tan' Sneaker|newspaper=The Irish Times|location=Dublin|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0310/1224313106315.html|url-status=dead|access-date=10 August 2015|archive-date=16 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316195158/http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2012/0310/1224313106315.html}}

In Australia, one can order a "Tooheys Recent", which uses Tooheys Old and Tooheys New for the dark and pale beers, respectively.{{Citation needed|reason=Google search for "Tooheys Recent" doesn't return any relevant results.|date=December 2023}}

A black and tan is prepared by filling a glass halfway with pale ale, then adding stout to fill the glass completely. An upside-down tablespoon may be placed over the glass to avoid splashing and mixing the layers. A specially designed black-and-tan spoon is bent in the middle so that it can balance on the edge of the pint-glass for easier pouring.{{Better source needed|date=April 2021}} The "layering" of Guinness on top of the pale ale or lager is possible because of the lower relative density of the Guinness.

Several American breweries currently make premixed black and tan, for example Yuengling makes a drink called Yuengling's Original Black and Tan.{{Cite web|last=Manzullo|first=Brian|title=Is Yuengling beer finally coming to Michigan in 2021?|url=https://www.freep.com/story/entertainment/nightlife/2020/09/15/yuengling-beer-michigan-molson-coors/5809444002/|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Detroit Free Press|language=en-US}}

• Black velvet (cocktail)
• Irish car bomb
• Queen Mary (cocktail)
• Shandy

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{{Cocktails}}

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Category:Cocktails with beer

Category:Two-ingredient cocktails