An oyster in one hand while leaning over the bar of your favourite craft beer joint, looking at the endless selection of IPAs, stouts, pale ales, porters, session ales and more, just wondering what to pair your oyster with.
We’re here to help you answer that question.
We experimented with lots of oysters and lots more beer (we may have gotten a bit carried away with the beer) and came up with three pairings that you should definitely try for yourself!
1. Tragheanna Bay (Ireland) x 2 Brothers Kung Foo Rice Lager
These smaller “nuggets” are named after the pristine bay where they are grown. Young, sweet and satisfying with a good meat-to-shell ratio, the sweetness of this oyster is followed by a slight saltiness with a very savoury taste. To pair a beer with this oyster, 2 Brothers Kung Foo Rice Lager is the best way to go. Its soft malt profile, low bitterness, citrus hop characters along with its crisp finish compliments the sweetness and light saltiness of the oyster.
2. Orford Rock (England) x Brewdog Punk IPA / Hakwers Stout
Grown by 2nd generation oysterman and fisherman Bill Pinney up the Suffolk coast from West Mersea. Meaty with a delicious distinctive sea vegetable flavour, and a succulent, mineral finish. An IPA or Stout would be an amazing drink to go with this oyster. Some might argue that the harsh nature of the flavours from an IPA or a Stout might cut through and kill off all the flavours from the oyster, but on the contrary the bitter, hoppy kick from an IPA goes hand-in-hand with the oyster’s mineral finish. So does the toasty malt flavour from a Stout.
The IPA that we would recommend would be Brewdog’s Punk IPA. As for the Stout, we would suggest Hawkers Stout. You could give Rogue’s Hazelnut Brown Ale a try as well. The result may surprise you.
3. Fine de Claire (France) x Shneider Weisse Tap 7
Finished in the famous shallow clay ponds on Frances’ Atlantic coast, these green-gilled slender oysters are juicier, but less meaty. Woody and herby, with big earthy flavours to finish. For this delightful oyster, a wheat beer is what you should go for and where else to turn to for wheat beer than Schneider Weisse - the masters of brewing wheat beer. Wheat beer’s distinctive banana and light vanilla flavours harmonises brilliantly with this oyster’s earthy tones. We recommend Schneider Weisse’s Tap 7.
Give there pairings a try and let us know what you think! Or better yet, come up with your own pairing! Doesn’t sound like a bad idea, does it? It’s a good to head down to the bar with your mates anyway.
A pot of gold, leprechauns, four-leaf clovers and the colour green are just the few things that come to mind when St. Patrick’s Day is mentioned. But, the number one thing that usually pops up in our mind when the Saint’s day is mentioned is the iconic Guinness Stout.
So, we thought that we should give this day a craft beer twist by listing out a selection of craft stouts that you should try this St. Patrick’s Day.
We’re sure the good Saint won’t mind.
1. DARK LORD IMPERIAL STOUT
Beer Style: Russian Imperial Stout
ABV: 15%
Rated 100 on RateBeer, the Dark Lord Imperial Stout is what hell on Earth should taste like. Brewed with fiery passion, this epic beer is only available one day a year at Three Floyds Brewing Co., Indiana, making it one of the most sought after beers in the world.
Brewed with coffee, Mexican vanilla, and Indian sugar, this beer is an explosion of flavour - roasted malt notes, sweet and boozy dried fruits, balanced with vanilla, light honey and a tart finish.
2. MIKKELLER BEER GEEK SERIES
There are 7 unique beers with different flavour variations in the ‘Geek Series’ brewed by Mikkeller from Denmark, but the beers that really stand out to us are:
Beer Geek Vanilla Shake,
Beer Geek Dessert, and
Beer Geek Brunch Weasel
2.1 BEER GEEK VANILLA SHAKE
Beer Style: Imperial Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 13%
Adding a truckload of vanilla and coffee into a beer may sound like a bad idea. But hey! Fortunately, this was one idea that ended up tasting amazing.
2.2 BEER GEEK BRUNCH WEASEL
Beer Style: Imperial Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 10.9%
This imperial oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees! There’s no going around the fact that the world’s most expensive coffee is made from the bean-containing droppings of a weasel-like civet cat (the Vietnamese variety cà phê Chồn). Trust Mikkeller to come up with such crazy and tasty brews.
2.3 BEER GEEK DESSERT
(Available at Taps Beer Bar while stocks last)
Beer Style: Imperial Oatmeal Stout
ABV: 11%
A beer that tastes like a dark chocolate vanilla cake? Truly a dark and daring dessert in a bottle.
3. OLA DUBH 18 YEARS
(Other variations available at Taps Beer Bar while stocks last)
Beer Style: Barrel-Aged Old Ale
ABV: 8%
Harviestoun’s Old Engine Oil porter is aged in mature Highland Park 18 Year Old Single Malt Whiskey casks. In true St. Patrick’s tradition of dropping a shot of Jameson whiskey into a pint of Guinness Stout, try an Ola Dubh instead. It’s the best of both worlds - whiskey and stout. Need we say more?
4. EXTRA PORTER WITH GUATEMALAN COFFEE
(Available at Taps Beer Bar while stocks last)
Beer Style: Porter / Stout
ABV: 7.4%
Waking up to beer is possible with this flavour-packed porter brewed with Guatemalan coffee beans, cacao nibs, and vanilla beans. So, so delicious.
Have a St. Patrick’s Day with a craft beer twist this time around. You won’t regret it. Cheers!
