Black & tan blends brewers’ Black Hawk Stout with Eye Of The Hawk Ale for dry mahogany-hued ruby-highlighted nonchalance. Ashy mocha-raisin sterility and distant coffee-chocolate creaminess stagnate roasted hop indifference. Robust stout nature lost in transition.

Burnt sienna-hued b & t with soft stout bitterness and easygoing grain fluctuation creating crisp lager flow. Cheap on mocha spicing though barley-roasted caramel creaminess picks up the slack. Neither as rich nor as creamy as better Black & Tans, yet fairly suited to amateurs.

In jug-handled wide-mouth quart bottle, Mud seemingly combines robust English Porter with fine Continental pilsner. Dirty-grained caramel-maple entry, tart fig-date nucleus, and nutty molasses tweak surrender to fizzy metallic soaping. Perhaps the Delta Mud should be thicker, since this goes down too smooth for an otherwise acidic black & tan.

Pairing mediocre Ten Penny Ale with brewers’ signature stout works wonders. Though a bit thin, bitter coffee bean roast fades succinctly into vanilla-sweetened black chocolate finish. Peat, hickory, and soy nuances prickle molasses midst of easily imbibed deep mahogany black & tan.

Diffident amber-hazed lager-porter mix retains initial creamy chocolate-sugared Sugar Daddy frequency as woody hop bitterness softens dry coffee contour and roasted nut mildness for honeyed granola-oats finish.

Soothing pale malt opening softened further by bland mocha and pallid nuttiness fading to acidic finish. Vanilla-chocolate suggestion lacks creamy nuance.

Creamy Irish Stout/ German-style amber lager mixture receives wood-singed toasted hop deepness to complement black molasses sappiness. Receding cola finish allows toffee and almond notes to penetrate roasted barley seam.

Whether or not fully convincing as a surprisingly light black & tan (mixing Drayman’s Porter with Hoosac Tunnel Amber), there’s plenty to appreciate. Chewy vanilla-chocolate sweetness weaves through permeating honeyed wheat spine, brown sugar glaze, milky chocolate souring, and minor hazelnut haze before enduring raisin-prune-fig expansion dominates hazelnut coffee-influenced finish of glowing copper amber curiosity. On tap at Doherty’s, fudgy caramel-burnt brown and black chocolate sweetness as well as mild coffee tones embrace fruit-spiced pale malting.

Short-lived purple hazy stout lager retains powdery chocolate sweetness as roasted overtones and maple sap thicken sugary molasses finish. Unobtrusive hop bitterness firmly anchors creamy coffee-laden resolve.

Strong fruity essence not often associated with Black & Tans. For better or worse, bitter chocolate notes overwhelmed by grainy lager sharpness. Distracting over-carbonation and sour mocha finish are letdowns, but a burst of sweetness coats the aftertaste. As with many black and tans, it loses its natural essence since it’s difficult to create in the bottle and easier to blend on tap when mixed at the time of serving.

In wide-mouth bottle, relaxing Black & Tan leans towards a dirty brown ale due to soft fizzy hopped nose, pleasantly bland chocolate sweetness, and lingered nuttiness. Easy to get bored with before fully consumed, as lager lightness obstructs mocha stout tendencies.