Grays Black and Tan

Brewed by Grays Brewing Company
Style: Stout
Janesville, Wisconsin USA

Without a doubt the best black and tan in a bottle...anywhere. Rich roasted , nutty malt predominates, the stout half being by far the most dominant flavor. But the EPA is represented by a lighter floral hopping that plays well against the heavier, more imposing stout. A little thin bodied, but not to the point of imposing demerits. All in all, very nicely done!

12oz bottle. Poured a medium brown with an averaged sized off white head. Aromas of nuts, roasted & toasted malts, and light chocolate. Tastes of chocolate, toasted malts, and light chocolate. Semi-sweet.

Not a bad drink, thick, if a little flat. Dark brown with a meager beige head, it’s got a lightly roasted malt aroma with some bitter nuts added. The flavor is a nutty, roasted malt, slightly sweet, with some earthy hop bitterness in the finish. The Stout definitely overwhelmed the EPA in this mix.

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Purchased at Woodman’s on the west side of Madison. It was easy to drink, but not overwhelming. Good for a bottled black and tan although far better on tap.

12 oz bottle obtained from the Mecca of Wisconsin micros, Woodmans on Gammon Road in Madison (Oct 2005). Pours a clear ruddy amber-maple, with massive slow-decaying fluffy off-white cap...aroma is mostly roasty, nutty (chestnut, pecan), bit of thyme and just a touch of burnt sugar, quite pleasant....body is roasty, lightly burnt and ashy, really gels well with the aroma, toasted nuts showing up late and some nice tarry bitterness with a modicum of very dark chocolate in the finish...body could be fuller but is by no means thin or watery, carbonation level is solid. Along with Berkshire, the best bottled B&T I’ve had.

(12 oz bottle: Obtained in trade with hopdog, thanks Steve!) Pours a murky light brown body with a short off-white crown. Lightly roasty nose, malty, some sweet honey. The flavor starts out okay, with a lightly sweet and mildly roasty maltiness, and it is low on bitterness. As the roastiness fades away, it’s replaced by a modest toasty flavor, but unfortunately, that is short-lived too, and the beer finishes perfumy, cheaply sugar, and a bit floral, and that’s quite a downer for a beer that started out reasonably well. The nose is mostly just toasty, with perhaps a bit of nacho chip aroma. Body is a bit watery for a darker beer, but that seems to plague many black and tans. Carbonation is about average. For a head that starts small, it shows solid retention, maintaining a thin but complete layer atop the beer. Lacing is mainly just a few slashes and one larger patch. This would be an okay black and tan, nothing great, but pleasant and easy drinking, except for the fact that I don’t particularly like the way this beer finishes. In the end, this is just "okay".

Dark ruddy brown with medial creamy tan head. Only a light java nose, and only slight to medium flavors revolving on nutty caramel. Just an avg darkish beer.

Prejudice: I hate bottled B&Ts. This one is watery and thin, red colored and fizzy. Malts are light, tiny caramel and hints of apple. Bitterness is light and thin at the finish.