Last week when I was at an LCBO in Toronto I came across Headstrong's Black & Tan for the first time. For those who don't know what a black and tan is, check out this Wikipedia article. This combo seems to be something new brewers are trying. A couple of weeks ago I reviewed Alexander Keith's Dark Ale from the White & Dark pack. The can of black and tan costs $2.10 CAD, which is on the low end of the cost scale, something that I absolutely love about the Headstrong products.
The beer is deep walnut brown/red in color and pours with almost no head, just a tan ring. Unlike straight up stouts, the aroma coming from this brew is more subtle. It still bears some of the characteristic coffee and chocolate notes, but they have been weakened by the added pale ale. The ale itself brings some pleasant malty and hoppy notes as well as some dried fruits. The pale ale and stout aroma combination is quite nice actually, only not very intense. The taste is pleasant with almonds and chocolate at the start and coffee at the end, but a bit weak. The finish is medium, slightly hoppy and a little dry with a touch of dried fruits. Overall this is a pretty good mix if you are too lazy to do it yourself and at $2.10 per can you will not regret this purchase. For those who think stouts are too strong, the added pale ale mellows out the intensity of the aroma and flavour so you should definitely give this a chance.
Scores:
Cost - $2.10 CAD for a 473 mL can
Taste - 7.6/10
Overall - 7.6/10...not bad, but I prefer Headstrong's Pale Ale on its own
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