How does a black and tan work?

Answer 1

A "Black and Tan" is a beverage served mainly in British Pubs which consists of Guinness Stout and Lager Beer (or Bitter ale, at times). The Guinness, being much heavier, denser than beer, is poured into the glass first. Then, the bartender carefully pours the beer down the inside edge of the glass, on top of the Guiness. Again, the beer being much lighter in consistency, remains atop the darker, heavier Guinness Stout, resulting in a poured glass, the bottom half being very dark brown, nearly black in color (The Guinness) and the top is the beer, a yellow, or "tan" color. Hence, "Black and Tan."

Further: This knowledge was gained as a result of arduous, dedicated, disciplined, painstaking study during my days as a student at University of Cambridge, England.

Cheers, LOL

Thanks to the blokes below for the correction! I'd gotten the top and bottom mixed up!--after all, it's been years since I've seen/had a black and tan...been back in the US since 1998. My memory lapse is probably due to either A) "Senior Moment" or B)Brain damage due to the number of black and tans I consumed at the time!

You are an idiot and know nothing. Do an image search and you will find the pale ale is always on the bottom. Don't believe the hype. Peace.

The first paragraph is correct, except, like the second "paragraph" states, the dark is on top, and the light is on the bottom. The reason for this, and why other "dark" beers don't float on top like Guiness is the unique property; that Guiness is "bubblized," for lack of a better term, using nitrogen. Where as other beers are carbonated, meaning they are "bubblized," with carbon dioxide. Nitrogen is much, much lighter than carbon, hence the Guiness floats on top of the other beers.