Black and Tan
Breakside Brewery in Milwaukie, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Strong Ale - American Regular|
Score
7.50
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Our take on this age-old idea veers into some uncharted territory by using BOURBON BARREL-AGED STOUT as the 'black' component. The 'tan' is made from young golden beer and some Bourbon barrel-aged Scottish ale. The 60/40 blend of aged and young beer pops with flavor, yet manages to stay easy drinking. At first glance, this might seem sacrilege. Why would we blend down beer that we've spent so much time aging? It turns out it's delicious. Ever had a whiskey highball or a whiskey soda? You get all the awesome flavors of whiskey and a lower proof experience. The same thing here, this beer has all of the fun layers of a barrel-aged beer with a little less sugar and alcohol. That brings us to the second reason: you don't need to wait for a special occasion to open this beer. It doesn't bust the gut or wallet. This is barrel-aged ale for day-to-day enjoyment.
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8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 8.5
Imperial pint can, 2025 vintage. Rich roasted malt aroma with notes of chocolate, caramel, bourbon, vanilla and oak. Pours deep brown with a thin mocha brown head that has very little retention and no lacing. Starts with rich roasted malt, chocolate and vanilla flavors as well as having a medium body and silky smooth mouthfeel. Finishes quite smooth with caramel, bourbon and oak flavors. Lacks the depth of flavor the higher octane imperial stouts have, but still quite quaffable.
Tried
from Can
from
Newton Wine and Spirits
on 01 Mar 2026
at 07:24
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
20oz @ SF shared with Brian, Phill, and Ryan.
Aroma: American oak, some chocolate, a little sweetness.
Taste: along the same lines, a bit thin, noticeable barrel, some interesting fruity notes (coming from "tan" part probably).
Overall: good enough for a table BBA imperial stout (as per Ianessa, hehe).
Aroma: American oak, some chocolate, a little sweetness.
Taste: along the same lines, a bit thin, noticeable barrel, some interesting fruity notes (coming from "tan" part probably).
Overall: good enough for a table BBA imperial stout (as per Ianessa, hehe).
Tried
from Can
on 20 Feb 2026
at 03:11
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from 1 pint 3.2 fl oz / 568mL can (canned 10/13/2025). Very dark brown with small beige head. Soft bourbon barrel, light woody molasses, nice golden/scotch blend.
Tried
from Can
on 20 Feb 2026
at 03:06
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Can - mostly black pour - moderately oily appearance - medium sweet, with a lot of the whiskey character without the booziness - strong oak tannins - the plum and treacle of the scotch ale comes through in the finish, along with some chocolate - lingering bourbon and oak through the finish - it’s nice!
Tried
from Can
on 09 Nov 2024
at 23:58
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
568mL can, pours black with a small tan head. Aroma is complex, with a wonderful blend of bourbon barrels, English bready malt (can definitely notice the Scottish ale), and a touch of molasses. Flavour is wonderfully blended: still plenty of bourbon, English toasted bready malt, light molasses, and brown sugar. Lighter-bodied, as advertised. They totally accomplished what they aimed for. Excellent.
Tried
from Can
on 12 Oct 2024
at 04:11
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
(Tap) clear, bright, very dark brown colour with a small brown head; aroma of caramel, hint of soy sauce, ; balanced flavour with a long, light bitter sweet finish; smooth palate
Tried
from Draft
on 18 May 2023
at 03:55
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Malzig, Espresso, Zartbitter, recht süffig, süß, sehr hohe Drinkability, kaum Alkohol zu spüren, passt.
Tried
on 10 Mar 2022
at 19:25
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
22 oz. Aroma has notes of toffee, chocolate, nuts, vanilla, bourbon, earth, fudge, coconut. Pours very dark brown to black with a half finger tan head that falls into a ring quickly. Taste is mostly sweet with some fairly high tart acidity and faint bitterness. Not bad, bordering on nearly delicious, but the tartness is distracting and brings it down.
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Dec 2021
at 02:45
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bomber thanks to douglas88! 9/4/21. Near black, thin tan head, decent retention. Aroma of whiskey, chocolate, caramel. Taste is toffee, chocolate, whiskey, mild roast and vanilla. A bit thin. Decent.
Tried
on 05 Sep 2021
at 04:25
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 6.5
Honestly I think this a new type of beer we don't have hear. Black body with off white head. Bourbon and malt aroma. The barrel is backward in the taste with some light malt, some chocolate and some dark malt components. Long finish.
Tried
on 25 Jul 2021
at 22:48