Berkshire Shabadoo Black and Tan Ale

Brewed by Berkshire Brewing Company
Style: Porter
South Deerfield, Massachusetts USA

Serve in English pint, Stem glass

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Bottle: O.K. nose. Some that BBC signature with some smokey,roasty notes. Clear reddish/ brown color. Creamy head that stayed for a while. Roasted malts, coffee,carmel with some fruit peachy, berry flavors. Clean drinkin. Smooth with a little roasted malt left on the tounge. Pretty good overall, just not convinced of the B&T in a bottle concept. Plus with Berkshire Ale being an amber color you don't get much distinction from the porter. I enjoy it none the less. Maybe all brewers should stop trying to do this in the bottle.

on tap in my basement for my b-day. Dark hue on the pour, decent off white head, not completely dark however a bit brown hue showing through. Super malty nose, light dusted cocoa. Palate is very smooth, malty forwardness, with minor bitterness by the finish. Flavors are light and fluffy, really nice black and tan.

Bottle at Sander’s place, NYC. Pours brown with a creamy, beige head. Caramel, leaves, burnt toast, cocoa in the nose. Flavor is nice and slightly restrained. Medium sweet with a nice, mild roastiness, with chalky cocoa, some dark fruits, toast, some dark sugar. Medium bodied with incredibly creamy, massaging carbonation. Feels good, friends. Nice finish, some mild sticky bitterness, light roasted malts with cocoa, dark sugar, light bread. A very nice beer overall. Excellent balance.

Draft @ Coalhouse Pizza, Stamford, CT. This is a light and fluffy porter with a smooth milky texture and notes of milk chocolate and sweet tobacco. With nice, thick lacing, this beer has a thin, drinkable body.

From bomber - I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. Nothing special in the nose... dark caramel and a hint of toffee but also this off mineral note. The body is sweet malts with a touch of roast, chocolate, brown sugar and toasted nuts, but on the lighter side of the spectrum. The mouthfeel is quite full. The mineral note comes through as well as some green pepper, but it’s got a really nice black pepper spice at the finish that sufficiently masks the off-flavors.

Not a bad beer. Very simple in aroma and taste. The hops are light and not too flavorful. The porter shines through a bit more then the pale ale. Overall a very drinkable beer.

Sweet caramel aroma, but lacking in any complexity. Pours a nice cloudy dark color with a snowy head. Sweet flavors with little bitterness at all. A refreshing beer that pairs well with salty snacks, but lacks in complexity.

Large bottle. Pours a medium brown with a nice creamy head and great lacing. Good looking beer but unfortunately not big on taste or body. Drinkable but just OK.

Bottle poured into my De Struise glass... Pours a dark brown in the middle, but the outer is a much lighter brown that detracts. A nice light tan head, looks great, good retention and lacing... The aroma is super sweet, tons of molasses, strangely like rootbeer, vanilla, chocolate, a hint of a wet dog finish. Not offensive, just too sweet, not my thing.... The taste is wet dog and alcohol with a hint of coffee on the finish. Lots of malt on this, work like qualities to the taste... The mouthfeel is really flat. This is really bad, to the point of not being drinkable. Big time pass for me.

Bottle, shared by emacgee. I grew up (beerwise) on BBC. Attending Umass, this was the staple local craft brewery. I’ve probably had this beer at least 20-30 times but never poured in a glass. For a porter, its pretty tan. Kind of a dark tan. Nose is lightly hoppy, dusty, light roasted malts, well balanced but not too pronounced. Flavor is a weaker, bland pale ale, with some light roasted and chocolate malt notes. A lot lighter than I remember--not a big surprise there though.

Pours a dark copper brown with one finger of foamy tan head. Nose is what one would expect, a bastardized blend of a sub-par dark beer with a sub-par hoppy beer. Peanut hulls and papery dark malt with some diacetyl. Flavor is meh, bitter grain and hops with some chocolate and coffee and a mild peanut shell flavor. Not sure why you would actually bottle a beer as a black and tan...