SweetWater Brewing Company 420 Extra Pale Ale should be ashamed of itself

[Shermann]

This is not a bad tasting pale ale, on the contrary. However, it is not dense enough to properly support Guinness in a black and tan. So, your black and tan becomes just...a brown. Where's the quality control? Is there even a proper testable requirement in place?

I've moved on to the Sugar Creek Brewing Company Pale Ale. Now this is a proper black and tan, but quite bold in flavor.

The traditional go-to pale ale in a black and tan is the Bass Pale Ale which gives a mild bitterness to the flavor. However, those seem to be hard to find of late.

Guinness is actually weak in terms of ABV (4.2%), and a proper black and tan kicks it up a notch while still giving you that great Guinness flavor on top.

[Hugh_Lebowski]

1. Your criteria for assessing ales seems quite stringent, I must say

[Clash City Rocker]

2. My favorite is Guinness and Smithwick's

Sometimes called a Blacksmith. The flavors really complement each other, I think.

[Shermann]

9. Not sure I've seen those

Their pale ale won't kick up the ABV as much but might be a solid choice.

[mactire]

10. Half n Half

“Blacksmith” is a good name for the combo though never heard that term used before. It was offensive to order a “black and tan” in Ireland because of the connotation the term had with the notoriously brutal and abusive auxiliary regiment with that name, sent by Churchill to quell the rebellious Irish in 1920-21. The mixture with Stout and lager(usually Harp)known as a Half n Half was what was often served. The occasional “ hotel bar patron” from the US invariably started using the term black and tan and were usually corrected on the terminology, but their preference was to mix the Guinness with Smithwick’s ( Dublin pronunciation is Smidix more or less). If one were to order a Black and Tan in a true non-touristy Dublin pub you’d get a glance, if not a polite explanation as to why that name is frowned upon. The stout was poured second, the flow from the tap over a spoon to gently guide it to keep the two styles of beer from becoming a cloudy mix, thus keeping the appearance of a half and half. A proper Irish coffee has fresh cream, not whipped, gently poured similarly over a spoon into the sweetened, whiskey infused coffee, in a similar way to the beer mixture.

[TreasonousBastard]

3. You are forgetting that this is what they want. Corporate America...

discovered years ago that their customers don't consider taste high on their list of wants.

[relayerbob]

4. A - The word is "flavor"

B - You don't know much about Sweetwater Brewery

[Shermann]

5. I'd like to try their American Lager

The 420 is the only beer of theirs that I've tried. I do like lagers, they are great "daily drinkers".

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Found This About Bass

Unfortunately, it looks like it's more than "hard to find".

A sad day for Bass Ale fans and Black and Tan lovers in the U.S.A. Anheuser Busch InBev has discontinued production and plans of importing this classic Ale.Jun 21, 2022

[Shermann]

7. Oh snap

I didn't know that. Well, that explains it.

Sugar Creek is the frontrunner at the moment, but it skews the balance of flavors a bit. I might try Dale's Pale Ale next as those are readily available.

[ProfessorGAC]

8. I Didn't Either

But, after you said it was tough to find, I started thinking "Have I seen it lately?"
I bought it once in a while in the past.
I drink zero beers now, after several years of buying NA beers. I enjoy the taste of beer, don't care for the buzz. So my solution to wanting more beers was to drink the kind you can't get buzzed from.