"Never Order a 'Black and Tan' from an Irishman."

This St. Patrick's day order a "Half and Half."

Do yourself a favor this year on St. Patrick's Day. If you're wearing a "Kiss me..." shirt, well... O.K. but when you go to order your half Guinness and half lager/ale call it what it is... a "half and half," not a "Black and Tan." Then do everyone else a favor and explain why...

I was at a Guinness tasting last night and was surprised at their hyping the Black and Tan. I was in Ireland a couple of years ago and was repremanded repeatedly by Irish gents telling me emphatically, and in earnest, that a Black and Tan is "a dirty word" or "never order a black and tan from an Irishman." I asked the Guinness-shirt-wearing-folk the deal and got a big "I dunno..." The promoter eventually explained that the Black and Tans were British prisoners who were pressed into fighting against the Irish... which is not exactly true. With some digging I got the scoop...

To supress the Irish in the early 1920s the Brits recruited lots of young men but were without enough uniforms. There were not enough pants to go around... no kidding. So with their black coats and (what else) tan trousers they became known as Dúchrónaigh or... Black and Tans. Considering their role in fighting against the Irish it's no surprise that:

If you're in England you order a Black and Tan.
If you're in Ireland order a Half and Half. 

And get it with Smithwicks (pronounced Smith-icks). It's a great ale that went missing for a the past few years but now is being marketed by Guinness in addition to Harp lager. I generally prefer a lager to an ale but not only do I find Smithwicks better, my wife does too!

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Comments

[sully]

interesting bit of trivia,

[Nikudada]

Just thought I'd let you know

I'm half english-spent 13yrs in the motherland.

Black and Tans are a mix of stout and lager
Half and Half are a mix of stout and ale.

That is the difference. The reason Irish folks get pissy (rightfully so) is because a good stout should never be mixed. Plus the black and tan and half and half phenomena didn't orginate in Ireland.

[josh]

That's what the Irish said that the English say. (seriously) I got glares from the locals where I was staying in Athlone and then this explaination... Do note that it doesn't make me right. Also these are the same people that crank called my Aunt in Chicago (from Athlone) as the evening continued.

Another angle is that the Guinness and Bass (Black and Tan) is a blend of English and Irish product where the Half and Half is both Irish...