Black and Tan is a drink made from a blend of
pale ale, usually Bass
Pale Ale, and a dark beer such as a stout or porter, most often Guinness. Sometimes a pale lager is used instead of ale; this is usually called a half and half. Contrary to popular belief, however, Black and Tan as a mixture of two beers is not a drink commonly consumed in Ireland. Indeed, the drink has image problems in parts of Ireland and elsewhere due to the association with the Royal Irish Constabulary Reserve Force which was sent into Ireland in the early 1920s and nicknamed the Black and Tans.
In the Republic of Ireland a Black and Tan is normally made from a half pint of
Smithwick's topped off with Guinness. This version is also sometimes referred to as a "Blacksmith" or a "Light and Bitter". During the summer months stout drinkers may order a
black and tan due to its lighter texture. Likewise ale drinkers may order a Smithwick's with a
Guinness head. This is an ordinary pint of Smithwick's with the last inch or so topped off with Guinness.
Example (A Great Irish Song): I was born on a Dublin street where the Royal drums did beat,
And the loving English feet walked all over us;
And every single night, when me
father'd come home tight,
He'd invite the neighbours outside with this chorus:
Chorus:
Oh, come out you Black and Tans;
Come out and fight me like a man;
Show your wife how you won medals down in Flanders;
Tell her how the
I.R.A. made you run like hell away
From the green and lovely lanes in Killeshandra.
Come, tell us how you slew
Them ol' Arabs two by two;
Like the
Zulus, they had spears and bows and arrows;
How you bravely faced each one,
With your sixteen pounder gun,
And you frightened them poor natives to their
marrow.
Chorus
Come, let us hear you tell
How you slandered great
Parnell,
When you thought him well and truly persecuted,
Where are the sneers and
jeers
That you bravely let us hear,
When our heroes of sixteen were executed.
Chorus
The day is coming fast
And the time is here at last,
When each shoneen will be
cast aside before us;
And, if there be a need,
Sure my kids will sing "Godspeed!",
With a bar or two of Stephen
Behan's chorus.
Chorus
