…a chocolate milkshake?
I sure as heck thought so. I mean, the only Guinness I’ve tasted that did not have the mouthfeel of a nitro pour is the bottled Extra Draught. Otherwise from the widget to every bar I’ve ever been to, it’s always looked and felt like nitro to me.
Actually that’s a Poor Man’s Black Velvet. A proper Black Velvet is Guinness and champagne.
Entrails?
Sorry.
Wow - I just had my first Black & Tan a few days ago & was quite delighted by it. Now I have so many more new ideas!
I’ve heard that many Irish bartenders and their patrons really dislike the term Black and Tan, due to other connotations of the name. I’m not sure what to call it instead, but I’d hesitate before ordering it anywhere where I heard more Irish accents than American.
I think as said above this is a “half & half” but I don’t know anyone who drinks it regularly. Here you could ask for a pint with half x and half y and you’d be fine.
A “black and tan” might get you puzzlement or a knowing nod and your required beverage depending on where you asked for it.
So then be sure to order one at a time as a singular noun.
Okay…
About the nitrogen. It isn’t controlled in any sense by the tap.
The kegs are pressurized with gas, which forces it out and through the lines to the tap. If it’s normal beer, they pressurize them with CO2 tanks, and if it’s Guinness or Kilkenny etc, they are pressurised with a nitrogen mix.
When you see a bartender doing that thing where he pushes the tap forward instead of pulling it down, he’s using the slower pour method. There’s essentially two speeds, although if you pull the tap back gently, you can pour at that speed too.
As far as the nitrogen widget is concerned…I am not impressed. I have always poured from a can the way I’ve poured from a tap, until one day someone told me you’re supposed to just dump it right in. That still sucked, IMO.
As far as I can tell, the reason why you don’t pour it all in one go, is because it makes the head end up being TOO big. The taste is the same. The point at which you stop pouring on the first pull is the determining factor of head size. The closer to half-way, the less head. The bartender can adjust this ratio depending on how the guinness is coming out that particular day.
I should also add that above when I said “the closer to halfway” I mean the closer from the top of the glass, not the bottom. If you stop it below halfway, I’d imagine you’d end up with a pitiful head providing you slowpoured it from there to the top.
I agree with the poster above. Guinness is pushed by a CO2/Nitrogen ‘beer mix’. The only way to control how much nitrogen goes into that tank, and when, is to be the guy who fills it initially. The bartender and tap cannot do anything to affect that.
I would really hesitate before ordering an Irish Car Bomb under such circumstances.
Or vanilla vodka.
Interesting, I’ll have to try that the next time I’m at a brunch. Maybe have one of those instead of a Mimosa.
After some thorough testing last night I can attest to the tastyness of a Black Cow.
Just wanted to chime in that I’ve always heard Poor Man’s Black Velvet called ‘Guiness Snakebite’, ‘Black snakebite’, or ‘snakebite with guiness’, snakebite being the name for a mix of beer (lager, usually) and (hard) cider.
Joey, if you really want to treat yourself, then go buy a bottle of Rogue Chocolate Stout and a bottle of New Glarus Raspberry Tart. Mix about 2/3 stout with 1/3 tart–or to your liking. It’s like a chocolate covered raspberry with alcohol behind it. Also, Raspberry Tart or the New Glarus Belgian Red over vanilla ice cream is to die for.
FTR I have a Woodchuck promo poster in front of me (I sell Woodchuck).
Snakebite “Half Lager, Half Woodchuck”
Smoothie “Half Stout, Half Woodchuck”
I think I’ll take a pass on that. I’m not a huge fan of Raspberry and the last time I tried a chocolate stout, it kinda grossed me out.
[irrelevant hijack/]
Spotted Cow is the best camping beer ever made for the simple reason it’s cheap and in an environment where ice is like gold Spotted Cow happens to be great warm.
[/irrelevant hijack]
Camp in winter. 