We have said it before and shall say it again: the Berkshire Brewing Company is an outstanding little brewery offering an impressive range of outstanding brews.  I am typically skeptical of bottled “black & tans” and, as a general rule, prefer to have mine mixed… table side… a private Russian nurse named Tiffany.  To honor the changing seasons, however, I tucked into a bomber of BBC’s Private Stock Shabadoo Black & Tan.  I wasn’t disappointed.

Notes: Bomber at Castle von Brue.

Style: Black & Tan.

ABV: 6.3% ABV.

IBUs: 27

Appearance: Gorgeous rusty, leathery chestnut.  Perfect cascade.

Head: Nice, creamy milk chocolate head with immediate lacing as the bubbles subsided.

Nose: Sweet romas of roast, carmel, and coffee.  Not too complex, but imminently familiar.

Taste: Again, sweet without being cloying… familiar without feeling claustrophobic.  Roasty, milky goodness with a subtle, bitter back.  A liquid hug.

Drinkability: Limitless.  A silky smooth, amazingly comfortable libation that drinks like a lighter brew than it is.  BBC also donates 10% of gross sales of this beer to the Food Bank of Western Massachusetts, so your consumption helps a good cause.

Rating: 3 hops and more than a modicum of amazement that a bottled black & tan could taste so solid.