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A Black and Tan takes a little know-how to pour properly.

Any pub worth its stout can pour you a Black and Tan, the classic two-toned beer elixir. But you don't have to the leave the house to enjoy this gravity-defying creation. With the right ingredients and know-how, you can concoct one in your own kitchen, amaze your friends and make new ones.

WHAT YOU'LL NEED

A pint glass l A spoon. A flat, wide tablespoon will work, but for better results use an official Black and Tan spoon, available online. l For the black: One can of cold Guinness Draught. (No substitutes. It must be the can, which employs nitrogen gas for carbonation.) l For the tan: One bottle of your favorite pale ale or lager, such as Bass, Harp or Mirror Pond.

POUR THE BASE

Tilt glass slightly and fill about half full of the pale ale. You're aiming for a decent head.

POUR THE STOUT

Place the spoon over the mouth of the glass. Open the Guinness, and decant slowly, steadily over the top of the spoon. Top off the pint with a half-inch head.

SERVE

Don't worry if you mess up the first time. Practice is half the fun.

MYSTERIES OF BLACK AND TAN

Origins: The concept of mixing ale and stout dates back a hundred years or more -- no fancy layering, just pouring two beers into the same glass. At least a couple of American brewers still produce a bottled version of black and tan. As for who invented the two-layered drink of Guinness over light beer, who knows? You can only marvel at the creativity -- or boredom -- that would lead to such a breakthrough.

Name: The Guinness Web site links the name to a British hunting dog. At some point, it became entwined in Irish politics because the British occupying police were also known for the color of their uniforms -- black and tan. It's said that in some pubs in Ireland it's better to order a "Half and Half" than risk inflaming nationalist passions by uttering the name of the brutal oppressors. That wasn't my experience in Ireland, where bartenders didn't seem to care what you called it. Still, I didn't see any locals drinking black and tans. It made me wonder if this bit of Celtic culture -- like Irish coffees and St. Patrick's Day itself -- had become more American than Irish.

Magic or chemistry? Various Internet theories posit that the buoyancy of Guinness owes to differences in the stout's viscosity, gravity and/or carbonation. Extensive experimentation in my test kitchen confirmed that the nitrogen carbonation has something to do with it. But other factors must be at work. When I poured rival Murphy's Stout from a nitro can, it simply dissipated into the tan beer on the bottom. So let's call it magic, and move along.

Variations: A rainy afternoon of trial and error yielded at least one interesting creation: the raspberry-chocolate float. Pour Young's Double Chocolate stout from a nitro can over half a pint of Lindeman's Framboise, a raspberry lambic beer from Belgium. Other than that, it seems you're better to stick with Guinness and play around with the tan variable. Although Bass Ale claims to be the original "tan," I got more dramatic color contrast from the lighter-hued Harp's lager (also a Guinness product). Another time-tested favorite is Smithwick's, the classic Irish pale ale. Also try Kells Irish Lager from Oregon's Rogue Brewing. Or you could just use a plain old American lager like Samuel Adams.