Adnams Oyster

American microbreweries have been very diligent at unearthing the rarest, most esoteric beer styles of Europe and recreating them in the Untied States.  For example, Vienna lager is a popular choice for American craft brewers and homebrewers alike....even though the style has been extinct in Vienna for a century.  Until recently I could think of at least one European beer style that hadn't been widely imported to the U.S.: oyster stout.  I say "until recently" because in the past year or so, this rare yet treasured dark brew has become one of the latest fads in the craft brew world.    

Oyster stout was born in the British Isles in the 1700s.  The pairing of stout and oysters arose from a combination of luck, timing, and convenience.  Oysters were a staple food in the taverns of coastal England during the 18th century.  They were cheap, delicious, and (at the time) abundant.  Around the same time, brewers in London, Dublin, and other cities began marketing a new type of beer known as stout porter.  Tavern owners started brewing and serving their own versions of this popular style. Patrons soon discovered that the stout beer happened to go excellently with a meal of oysters.  "Oyster stout" thus became a generalized name for the rich, homebrewed stout that was commonly served along with oysters at roadside taverns.

By the late 1800s and early 1900s, however, the oyster beds of England were dying out.  Oysters were no longer a cheap, readily-available bar snack. (But don't feel too bad for the tavern-going public: "fish and chips" became widely popular and easily obtainable during the late 1800s.)  The popularity of stout beer also waned during this time.  However, the once-popular "oyster stout" style lived on in some of the taverns England and her colonies.  During the early 1920s, in a shining display of British gastronomy, a few breweries in both England and New Zealand decided to cut out the middle man by simply brewing oysters into the beer itself.   


For a long time, I labored under the delusion that Adnams Oyster was brewed with its namesake bivalve.  However, like many modern oyster stout brewers, Adnams does not actually put oysters in its beer.  Instead, the "Oyster" designation simply salutes the tavern stouts of 18th century England while also suggesting an ideal food pairing.  But this is not to say that all modern oyster stouts are oyster-less.  In fact, many of the recent American versions of this style employ the classic technique of adding oysters to the boil.  Flying Dog, out of Maryland, recently released its Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout, which is brewed with local Rappahannock River oysters.  Both Harpoon and Dogfish Head have also issued limited-release "true" oyster stouts in the past year or two.  However, the consensus seems to be that these brews don't actually taste like oysters:  the molluscs disintegrate in the boil and add protein, which contributes to body and mouthfeel but not flavor.

In addition to (sometimes) the addition of oysters, oyster stouts can be generally distinguished from other stout beers by a few key traits.  First, they are very thick and very heavy ("chewy," as my friend Grant would say).  They tend to have a distinctively nutty flavor and a dark, coarse head.  Authentic oyster stouts are cask ales, in the classic British ale tradition.  As such, they are often unfiltered, lightly carbonated, and served at relatively warm temperatures.  They are are in the low-to-middle range of alcohol content -- around the same as a "draught" stout (like regular Guinness), but less than an "extra" stout, and much less than an "Imperial" stout.  Many oyster stouts (including Adnams Oyster) are seasonal brews, casked and sold only during the winter and spring.

Adnams Oyster is by no means the only fine English oyster stout on the market.  I'm willing to bet that the American editions are good too.  However, if you can get your hands on it, I highly recommend trying Adnams Oyster.  As I have probably mentioned somewhere in this blog, Adnams is my favorite English brewery.  (This is probably because my all-time favorite pub in England, the Castle Inn on Castle Street, Cambridge, is an Adnams joint.)

The brewery is located in Southwold, Suffolk, on the coast of eastern England.  The brewery was officially founded in 1872, when brothers George and Ernest Adnams purchased a run-down operation called the Sole Bay Brewery.  According to the folks at Adnams, people have been brewing on the Sole Bay site since the 1300s.  Adnams is committed to honoring its local heritage: Oyster is made with local East Anglian barley and Goldings hops from southeastern England.  Until six years ago, the brewery still made its deliveries to pubs in Southwold via a horse-drawn cart. The brewery currently offer a wide range of classic English ale styles, including an awesome bitter called Adnams Broadside.