Like Cabbages and Kings

As we continue our trudge through the cold, dark, winter months, I continue my frolic with cold, dark, wintry beers (you see what I did there?). I know it seems that this blog has turned into a week-by-week exposition on stouts, but as I have spent the last few months rekindling my love affair with dark beers, I feel it is incumbent upon me to share the love with all of you. How thoughtful of me.

Today’s featured stout is a mysterious one, both in how it came to be and in the fact that many beer people have never even heard of it. It is a sub-style of stout that many people cringe at merely the mention of, and as a result, has enjoyed a rather underground success in the States. Of course, I’m talking about the Oyster Stout.

Not as odd of an ingredient as you think.

Oysters in the beer? Are you crazy?

I assure you the answer to both of those questions is yes, but those answers are independent of one another.

An Abita Brewing Co brewer adding oysters to the boil!

Before you give in to your natural urge to say “yuk,” hear me out, and give the oysters a chance. Oyster stouts are quite simply stout porter ales that have either oyster shells or oysters themselves thrown into the boiling wort to add additional flavor notes to the brew. There are no oyster chunks or other oyster shenanigans floating in the beer at the point consumption. In fact, most people agree (myself included) that Oyster Stouts don’t actually taste like oysters, but rather they taste like stouts that are a touch saltier than usual.

So the obvious question is, “where did this take on stout porter ales come from and who in the world thought of such a thing in the first place?” Believe it or not, they’ve actually been around for a while, going back more than a century to Victorian England. In those days, many pub-goers ate oysters on the half shell while drinking their favorite stouts, whose bittersweet toasty flavors complemented the briny tasting flesh of the oysters quite well. In fact, the term “oyster stout” was more of a marketing campaign that referred to a pub session at which oysters were downed between sips of beer, as opposed to a particular style of beer.

The story of how oysters found their way into the beer itself is much more of a mystery. It appears that in the late 1800s, brewers discovered that oyster shells, which were rich in calcium carbonate, served as a good clarifying agent for finished beer, and they began pouring their finished product over heaps of crushed shells. Later still, some unknown brewer went even further and added the shells during the boil, along with the barley and hops, to recreate that flavor note. With that, oyster shells had become an ingredient in brewing. As for who first added the slippery oyster meat itself into the boiling beer wort, it remains a mystery — but many sources say it first happened in New Zealand in late 1920s. Thus, the transformation from happy-hour marketing term to experimental beer sub-style was complete.

These War Shore oysters get to go swimming in
Port City beer... lucky them!

The style remained fringe through most of the 20th century until it was revived in many craft breweries during the craft beer resurgence of the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. Today, as craft brewers strive for acknowledgement and uniqueness, the Oyster Stout has been dusted off and become a well-recognized style among craft brewers. Many breweries make Oyster Stouts, some with just the shells and others with the whole oyster. In many cases, these delicious beers never leave the brewpub taproom, amounting to just an experiment reserved for on site patrons, but not always.

A few Oyster Stouts that I've managed to get my hands on, and I highly recommend you do the same, are…

Port City Brewing Company’s Revival Stout from Alexandria, VA: This one is made in the British and Irish tradition with oysters from War Shore Oyster Company in Vienna, VA. Port City steeps War Shore’s Chesapeake Bay oyster shells in the brewing water to add mineral content and then add the oysters and their liquor to the brew during the boil. The oysters add a subtle whiff of a sea breeze, a slight briny character and a smooth textural element to the beer. Additionally, five percent of the sales of Revival Stout will be donated to the Oyster Recovery Partnership to support their efforts to revive the oyster population in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Good for them!

Worse fates indeed.

21st Amendment Brewery’s Marooned on Hog Island from San Francisco, CA: This oyster stout packs an imperial punch at 7.9 percent alcohol by volume, and is made with sweet water oyster shells from the local Hog Island Oyster Farm near San Francisco. It is a rich and chewy stout with a silky, salty finish.

Flying Dog Brewing Company’s Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout from Frederick, MD: At 5.5 percent ABV, this one, made with whole oysters from Rappahannock River Oysters, in Virginia, is a traditional, roasty, toasty, delicious and malty stout, with a lovely butter-toffee finish. And just like Port City, Flying Dog donates a portion of the proceeds to the Oyster Recovery Partnership. Good beer and good people.

Helping the environment and beer world at the same time.

Since it remains a fringe style, availability is not always ensured, so if you are hunting Oyster Stouts, I would either call ahead or check the interwebs for availability. Then again, the best way may be to simply fall into them, and let them be a pleasant surprise. Whatever the case, if you see an Oyster Stout, don’t shy away from it… they really are delicious, and you won’t be sorry you through caution to the wind and let this unique style of beer impress you.

Here’s to craft-brewed happiness… Cheers!