Beer Review - Black Velvet Blend

A Freshly Drawn Pint of "Black Velvet"

Real beer talk!

I love the Rose & Crown Pub. The theming and service are fantastic. But the taps are generally all imports that can be found in most liquor stores and many grocery stores in the United States. It’s a selection lacks adventure.

With that truth in front of us, when I want something different or challenging I can’t just order a regular pint. Instead, I look to the blends, where the beertenders expertly combine two beers. I recently was feeling a little adventurous and ordered the blend which felt the most challenging, the darkest beer on tap with the sweetest offering you could pour into a pint.

“Black Velvet” is a combination of “Guinness Stout” and “Strongbow Hard Cider.” The two are very traditional English pub offerings with “Strongbow” often serving as a key ingredient in English blends. With “Strongbow” think boozy apple juice, a bottle I first enjoyed on a train from London to Cambridge. I really thought out of everything on the menu, this had the best chance of being weird by smashing the dark malty brew with the fruity light liquid.

And weird it was not. Honestly, the “Strongbow” overtook the first sips, even with the “Guinness” layer on top. The first sip was really a big apple fruity punch of flavor. As the pint went down, it kept sweet flavors, but the “Guinness” with its creamy mouth feel balanced out the sweetness and honestly made it very mellow as a sipper. I really really liked it. It was a great reminder that despite its dark color, “Guinness” is a super approachable ale. The flavor was more natural and fruity than many fruit-infused stouts that I have sampled in the past. “Black Velvet” is a nice way to try out stouts.

An Adventurous Lunch!

 

Now it was lunchtime, and I paired my “Black Velvet” with a bag of Jelly Babies I grabbed in the Sportsman’s Shoppe. I will admit I am a bit of a nerd and I had seen Jelly Babies on TV quite a bit on an English-imported TV show as a kid. For those who know, is it officially part of the Disney family now! The Jelly Babies felt hollow as I bit into them and they collapsed on a gel that I did not expect. They were soft chewy gummy candy that was super sweet. And as a pairing, sweet complimented sweet. I may not have gotten buzzed from the beer but I did get a sugar high. I will admit, I could not finish the bag. I also am not likely to create this pairing again.  

Who Drinks This? We all should be looking for pints at the Rose & Crown Pub. Those who drink this are looking for a challenging but surprising pint. The results for those happy drinkers who select “Black Velvet” will be a sweet fruity glass, that shouldn’t be paired with candy!