One of the best mixers for beer is usually another beer. That rule of thumb certainly holds true for the black and tan, a combination of dark and light beers in a single glass. The result looks fascinating: The dark beer rises to the top while its light counterpart stays at the bottom, creating a two-tone drink which vaguely resembles a Rothko painting. The usual culprits in a black and tan are a dark Guinness stout and then a strong light ale like Bass Pale Ale. However, if you want a lighter-colored beer which goes down more easily than a strong ale, you can try making a “black and blue” alternative.
A black and blue isn’t especially different: this version uses Blue Moon instead for the light-colored beer. Blue Moon is a Belgian-style witbier (which means “white beer”) which is pretty easy to find in grocery stores around the United States. Blue Moon’s most popular drink — its Belgian White — is also an ale, but it’s brewed with orange peels and it lacks some of the more bitter, hoppy flavors that other pale ales sometimes contain. If you’re hoping for a simple beer cocktail you can quickly make with easy ingredients from the convenience store down the street, a Guinness/Blue Moon black and blue should be simple.
Mixing Guinness and Blue Moon beers
To pour the perfect black and tan cocktail — or black and blue cocktail — there’s a strategy to avoid mixing the two beers together too much. The idea is to pour in the Blue Moon first until the glass is half full, and then place an upside-down spoon over the glass and pour the Guinness (or any stout or porter, which are about the same). This will help the drink separate better. The whole reason for this comes down to density: Guinness has a fairly low alcohol by volume of 4.2%, while Blue Moon is slightly heavier at 5.4%. As a result, the dark beer can float on top of it.
Naturally, the drink won’t actually be colored blue, but it will have a citrus kick to it. If you’re not a big craft beer fan, it should be very easy to drink. The beer cocktail’s name can change frequently anyway. It’s called a “half and half” in Ireland, in no small part because “black and tans” were a term for the British military forces who violently clashed with the Irish people during the 1920s War for Irish Independence. The name for the black and blue, reminiscent of the idiom for being badly bruised, arguably also has violent connotations and can be renamed as necessary to match this fairly harmless drink.
