New Amsterdam Black & Tan: When You’re Too Lazy To Pour Your Own
3.90 average, 8 votes
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As I picked up a six pack of New Amsterdam Black & Tan at my local beer distributor, the guy at the counter with the beer gut assured me that this was the best black & tan he sold. And he offered up this information… I didn’t even have to ask.
Now normally I hate when strangers just start talking to me about any freakin’ thing that’s on their mind… people like that are usually just bubbling over with information with nobody to tell it to. But at least it made me figure that this guy… who probably has an open brew under the counter all day long and more than likely has sampled every beer in the place a dozen times over, must know that this is a good black and tan.
It turns out my bloated friend was right. This New Amsterdam is pretty good. I certainly wouldn’t say that it was the best one I’ve ever had, but that’s because traditionally you pour your own black & tan.
The defacto-standard B&T’s are either Guinness & Harp or Guinness and Bass, depending upon who’s pulling the taps and the pub you’re in. Sometimes the Guinness and Harp combo is called a half and half… and whether the drink is sufficiently mixed or poured in layers is also a matter of choice. But basically the drink is always either a stout or porter and a lager or an ale; which mathematically can be defined as (s or p) + (l or a) = bt; with or being a logical connector. But I digress.
The New Amsterdam Black & Tan is a fine marriage of their own amber mixed with some breed of stout that they produce specifically to make their B&T (New Amsterdam’s product line doesn’t include a stout).
It is not as thick and creamy as a true B&T that you could pour yourself with your favorite brews, but it was quite tasty on my tongue and velvety on my throat with just a hint of caramel. And to be honest, I didn’t feel like pouring my own B&T nor did I have the ingredients, so this made my binge move along without interruption.
New Amsterdam is a small Utica, NY company that prides themselves on using natural ingredients and no preservatives.
