Nightlife

Beer blends have gone way beyond the Black and Tan

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J.C. Wooloughan’s at JW Marriott features conventional beer blends like the Black and Tan and Black Velvet, along with more creative concoctions like the Chocolate Strawberry.
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Why choose one beer from the taps when you can have two in one pint glass? Beer blending is basically as old as beer itself, and you’ve no doubt tried (or at least heard of) the traditional Black and Tan. But with so many varieties of brew with which to make beautiful beer harmony, why settle for the go-to Guinness-and-Bass combo?

You can find conventional favorites like the Snakebite (Harp or a light lager with hard cider like Wyder’s or Strongbow) and the Black Velvet (Guinness with hard cider) at most local beer bars and Irish pubs, but many have concocted their own unique blends.

Take J.C. Wooloughan’s Chocolate Strawberry, a blend of Guinness and Belgium’s Fruli strawberry beer. With one stir of the two-tone pour, the milky Guinness smooths out the tartness of the strawberry, while the light and bubbly Fruli brightens up the heavy, creamy stout. J.C.’s also features inventive blends like the Blacksmith (Smithwick’s with Guinness) and the Black and Blue (Blue Moon with Guinness).

With over 100 beers on tap, it’s not a shock that franchise beer-bar Yard House would join the fray. Both the Youngberry Chocolate (Lindemans Framboise with Young’s Double Chocolate Stout) and the Rose Gaarden (Hoegaarden White with Lindemans Framboise) are solid selections.

More variety? Some bars (like J.C.’s or Rí Rá) will float Guinness on top of anything. Or head down to Venetian’s Public House, where the bar’s ever-evolving taps dictate its blends.

So, consider a blend the next time you saddle up to a bar stool. Two beers are always better than one—and sometimes they’re even better in the same glass.

Tags: Nightlife, Booze
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