The good folks at Bass have designed one of the neatest pieces of barware I’ve seen since the muddler became a hit: Called the brolly (British slang for an umbrella), it’s a little gizmo designed specifically for making Black & Tans. (Black & Tan is pint glass half full of pale ale (typically Bass), with stout (typically Guinness) filling up the rest. The trick is keeping the two separate in the glass.)

Making a B&T at home usually means trying to dribble Guinness down onto a spoon so it slowly floats on the Bass, something which is nearly impossible to do unless you make these every day for a living.

Enter the brolly, a triangular wedge that attaches to the top of your pint glass. Just pour in the Bass, building up a nice head, then put the brolly on and pour the stout into it. Tiny holes on the sides ensure the stout is delivered to the top of the ale slowly enough to make it float perfectly. Even though my Guinness can was extra foamy, my results were dead-on perfect the first time out. (It’s tough to see in the photo below, which I realize looks like there’s far too much black and not enough tan, but the layer separation was exceptional in real life.)

Want one? If you live in California, send Bass a check for one dollar to the address on this page. Offer runs until April 30. If you ever plan to make even one Black & Tan in your life, this is a tool you definitely need in your bar. (Sorry folks, the box you see above is just a promo. You only get the brolly tool, which is pictured on top of it.)

My first challenge in this review is not how to describe what saké2me tastes like. It’s how to categorize it in this blog.

saké2me is a blend of sake, natural flavors, and sparkling water. It comes in ready-to-drink bottles 187ml in size and weighs in at a beer-like 7% alcohol, comparable to malt liquor-based beverages like Smirnoff Ice. So it’s a watered-down, flavored rice wine that has about the same kick as beer. Where would you categorize it, considering we don’t have a “wine cooler” section.

That issue put aside, saké2me is an intriguing concept, if a little underwhelming in the execution. In all four flavors, the ricey, alcohol flavor of sake comes through loud and clear. The carbonation is fairly light, considerably less than Champagne or soda, and all the bottles are sugar-sweetened to make them a little easier to drink. Pour a shot of sake into a 7-Up and you’ve got the basic idea here, sans the Asian flavorings.

So, about those flavorings. Well, here’s how they went down, in order of my personal preference. But if you are crazy for sake you’ll probably love all four flavors.

Yuzu Citrus - It looks like Gatorade but it tastes very different, lemony while also being distinctly Asian, with exotic spice in the blend. The sweetest of the bunch, it was my personal favorite. B+

Ginger Mango - The mango is very apparent, though watery. The ginger is less so. Still quite pleasant. B

Green Tea - An outlier in this collection, it really does taste like tea got in the sake along with a little sugar. Also quite pleasant, not bad at all, but very, very different than the other three bottles. This isn’t one to switch to on the fly. B

Asian Pear - Quite sour, like a Japanese radish (and no pear I’ve ever had). My wife (who declared this her favorite of the bunch), said it was “spicy,” which didn’t really register with me. B-

$13 gets you a four-pack of any flavor in those 187ml bottles.

sake2me.com

Dan Gordon (pictured), proprietor of Gordon Biersch, stopped by today with his latest brew, a real rarity in America (or anywhere else, for that matter). Dunkelweizen is a dark wheat beer. The brewing process is basically the same as Hefeweizen, but Dunkelweizen uses 40% dark malted wheat in the malt blend, along with 3% caramelized malted wheat, to give the brew its color and tone. (The remainder is pale malted wheat (25%) and pale malted barley (32%).) Traditionally it is served as a “breakfast beer” in Bavaria. Here, I doubt many will consume it with their bacon and waffles, but it nonetheless makes for a nice, refreshing summer brew.

The deep caramel color is misleading. Those expecting the flavor of an ale based on the appearance of the beer in the bottle or glass will be surprised. The Dunkelweizen has the citrus, apple, and grain taste of a Hefeweizen, but without the sharp acidity that (for me) makes it difficult to drink a lot of. The Dunkel is far smoother, mellower beer, richer in the mouth and quite sweet in the finish. The unfiltered brew also makes for a cloudy experience in the glass that lets you ponder its mysteries in the swirls and whorls.

A- / $7 per six-pack / gordonbiersch.com

This golden lager is a crisp and classic brew, but thicker in mouthfeel than most lager-type beers. It’s got some real weight to it, which makes it pair well with food that has a little spice in it. Czech and German in ancestry, I found it fit perfectly with a seasoned pork chop and asparagus, a dinner that pairing wine with would have proven difficult. Light and golden yellow, it’s on the fruity/grainy side, only very lightly bitter, and overall well-balanced.

A- / $7 per six-pack / gordonbiersch.com

Across the northeastern U.S. you’ll find bars serving Hook & Ladder beer, products brewed by a company with roots in the firefighting biz: The founders are two brothers, one of whom is a volunteer fireman. The beers aren’t widely distributed west of Virginia, but if you should find one, you’re in for a treat. I got my hands on all three of H&L’s brews (including its newest one, Lighter). Some thoughts below.

Golden Ale - This is H&L’s signature brew, a classic American ale that is nicely polished, rich with flavor but not too bitter. It’s a beer that fills your mouth and comes across as almost heavy, but it goes down so smoothly that it ultimately reveals itself as a real thirst-quencher that will leave you wanting another one immediately. A

Backdraft Brown - A lot like the Golden Ale, but (obviously) brown in color and more bitter, more full of hops. It’s a deep brown ale, but not nearly as bitter as the color would indicate. The roots are clearly in the Golden Ale with this one, but if you want something a little meatier it’s a good choice. I prefer the Golden, but this one works just fine. I’d take it over Newcastle any day. A-

Lighter - H&L’s entry into the light beer business won’t send the Silver Bullet marketing team into a panic. At 94 calories, it’s as watery and tasteless as any light beer I’ve tried. I couldn’t tell the difference between this and Miller Lite if you put a gun to my head. (Please don’t. I’ll drink the beer if it comes to that.) D+

Each $7 per six-pack / hookandladderbeer.com

Longboard Lager really is made in Hawaii. The Kona Brewing Company churns out 190,000 gallons of beer a year, in fact, with a staff of six people. It’s amazing, then, that Kona beers seem to be so easy to find here in the States, at least on the west coast.

Longboard is the company’s flagship brew (the company has five in bottles and more in kegs), and it’s a real winner. It’s a light, golden lager, with a nice blend of bitter, malt, and spice. There’s a nice aftertaste here that reminds me of a crisp Mexican beer: Flavorful but very refreshing.

A- / $7 per six-pack / konabrewingco.com

Organic beer: OK, I’m in!

Peak Organic brews three beers out of its Portland, Maine headquarters, using organic barley and hops and, of course, 100% organic water. Can you taste the difference? Well, depends on what you compare it to.

I tried all three of Peak’s beers. Here are some comments.

Amber Ale - This is a very clean and traditional amber ale, probably my favorite of the three thanks to its nice balance and toasted notes, plus a sweetness that makes it really easy to drink. This is a nice beer on its own or with food. A-

Nut Brown Ale - More bitter and less smooth than the Amber. The Chocolate Malt doesn’t work as well as it should here, but it’s still plenty drinkable. Frankly it tastes a lot like the Amber. B+

Pale Ale - Imagine someone trying to knock off Bass and you’ve got this brew. Tastes like an IPA, with a strong orange flavor in it. Good. B+

Overall there’s not a whole lot of distinction among these three brews. I’d love to see a broader range of beers from Peak rather than just spins on ale preparations. Still, you won’t be disappointed with any of these beers. They’re all worth drinking and, hey, they’re organic, so they must be good for you, right?

Oh, and Peak: The cheesy customer-submitted pictures on the labels have got to go.

$8 to $9 per six-pack / peakbrewing.com

Apple and spice in the beer? You bet. Leinenkugel’s Apple Spice seasonal brew is loaded with apple and cinnamon to the point where it tastes more like a cider than a beer. I found it incredibly sweet and difficult to drink much more than half a bottle, but my wife was a big fan and kept bugging me to make sure it was OK to drink the bottles in the fridge. If you’re a cider fan, you’ll definitely want to give this beer a try (if you can find it in your neck of the woods); it really is something different.

Leinenkugel’s suggests the beer be served either cold or, get this, hot, like a hot, mulled cider. I didn’t go that far, nor did I experiment with the delicious-looking dessert that Lienie’s created (that’s it in the picture, next to the beer), involving apple pie filling, vanilla ice cream, graham crackers, and half a bottle of Apple Spice beer whipped into a meringue. I’d be happy to try it, though…

B / $7 per six-pack / leinie.com

With an alcohol level of 27%, served at room temperature, and not carbonated, Samuel Adams’ Utopias is not your father’s can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. With 8,000 bottles produced — some fetching up to $600 (though a still-insane $175 is a little more standard) — it’s definitely not PBR, no.

So, what is it?

Utopias tastes closer to tawny port than anything else. It’s got a strong chocolate and raisin flavor, coating a light, herbal bitterness and malty aftertaste that is the only aspect of the drink that will remind you of beer in any way. The alcohol has a real kick to it. Those hoping to gulp this down like a Miller Lite will be sorely disappointed. Utopias is perhaps the only “after dinner beer” I’ve ever tried. Try sipping it with ice cream or a big chocolate cookie instead of downing it with a taco. (That said, I’d still prefer to simply drink an inexpensive port over this. Major league beer fans will probably feel differently.)

I would be remiss without mentioning the collectible decanter it comes in, a copper number designed to look like an old-style brew kettle. Two little shutters open to reveal the Sam Adams portrait logo in a sort of etched glass. Whoever designed this thing was either a genius or as high as a kite.

B / $175 / samueladams.com

Merry Christmas, fellow drinkhackers. In the spirit — nay, the flavor — of the season here’s a short beer review.

Saint Arnold heralds itself as Texas’ oldest craft brewery, and they put out about a dozen types of beer. Their Christmas Ale has been in production since 1995, and it’s apparently quite popular at holiday time. It’s easy to see why: This light amber has a surprising sweetness atop its light hoppiness. Nothing complex here, but at 7% alcohol by volume, you likely won’t care for long.

P.S. Sorry for the cameraphone pic (courtesy of beer purchaser Josh Pipes). Also, sorry for the system downtime… something’s rotten at the webhost.

B+ / $7 per six-pack / saintarnold.com