Oyster Stout!

That must be why I’m so dumb.

But not dumb enough to eat an oyster?
(Kidding. I eat clams and mussels, just not oysters. I’m sure they’re fine)
 
Donoroto said:
That must be why I’m so dumb.

But not dumb enough to eat an oyster?
(Kidding. I eat clams and mussels, just not oysters. I’m sure they’re fine)
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just ordered a large tray of clams casino for my Christmas Eve party. Going serve a fresh keg of Brew cat IPA. Will have to do because I didn't get my Oyster stout brewed. Will have to do
 
Back in the mid- 2000s in New England, you could find oyster stouts pretty reliably in the winter. It seems to be a lost style, so I am always happy to see one on a menu. When I went to oxbow in Portland a few years ago, they had a beer with lobster and it was quite good. I wish I could remember more about it, but I think it was a Gose and didn't really taste overly strong of lobster. Glad to see folks are still experimenting!
 
They apparently sell the oysters we used for about $5 each in the restaurants. Crazy.

I'm not a seafood person. I will eat sushi but that is just different.
 
Brew Cat said:
fantastic. It is my favorite stout as well. I use more oysters per gallon and don't taste salt which is good. I f you taste the salt you used to much. The salt will enhance the malt flavors more. Instead of hammering the shells you can just use more. I've got everything I need except the Oysters. I get them local but we have been getting a lot of rain lately so the beds were getting flooded with sediment and stuff so they had to pause the harvesting.
Your in Georgia? Never had them down there thought the water was to warm. I've had them as far south as the Chesapeake Bay they were alright but nothing like Cape Cod in my opinion
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We used to have them up north in Apalachicola until some of the communities in Georgia decided that had to have more water and they got overharvested anyway. Oysters from the Gulf Coast are tasty. The places down here mostly get them from Louisiana or Texas these days.
 
Bigbre04 said:
They apparently sell the oysters we used for about $5 each in the restaurants. Crazy.

I'm not a seafood person. I will eat sushi but that is just different.
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Yikes! I remember getting them back in the 80s for $10 a bucket. I still have not had a chance to go to the local place, but the last time I was there, it was around $50/bucket. It might be more now. $5 each is getting toward California prices. Crazy. That is one expensive Rockefeller recipe.
 
I get Washington oysters for $1.50 each from a reputable local fish market. These are good, but when available, I prefer the oysters from Netarts Bay, Oregon. After shucking and slurping, the empty shells go in our garden. Maybe tonight I will enjoy a bottle of my stout with the 3 oysters left over from last night.
 
yeah $1.50 - $2 to shuck yourself , $2 - $3 shucked in a sit down restaurant and some times a buck a shuck at happy hours here in CT. But I,m close to the beds.You can actually lease oyster beds from the state fairly inexpensive but then there is work involved. Had a friend who did it. The grow them on beds here I know many places suspend baskets. The place in my video does both. You can buy them and they harvest and ship them for next day delivery and even then its not $5 a piece. Ill check their rates and edit this post
 
Buck a shuck up the road from me
 
dont quote me on that price, but that is what i was told. That might be a fancy version/presentation? i have no idea what they should cost as i dont eat them.
 
Bigbre04 said:
dont quote me on that price, but that is what i was told. That might be a fancy version/presentation? i have no idea what they should cost as i dont eat them.
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No I believe it. I've seen those prices around. Mostly in houty touty places
 
Bigbre04 said:
So i spoke with several local brewers, the consensus is generally not to use the meat. The only thing that adding the actual shells brings to the table is some salt, calcium, and shellfish allergy hazard. For scale and repeatability I am gonna use just a handful of shells(think 6 shells) for a 2bbl batch and salt it to taste post fermentation. I will likely not add them on a large scale batch, i need to do more research on that.

My reasoning(confirmed the brewers who i spoke with about this):
-I dont want more calcium then i currently have(beach town water w/o filtration)
-This will hopefully be scaled up for distribution(30bbl batch contracted brewed).
-Contamination with shellfish requires a full cleaning of the brewhouse. I am not sure what the TTB(feds) will require for labeling if we have shellfish in the beer. Plus this will add an extra cost for the contract brew.

recipe wise, I think that i am gonna lean towards the Oatmeal stout vs the Dry stout. I have a stout on draft right now so maybe ill bring in some people and salt it and see how it goes, if it goes well i might just run my normal stout recipe????

alot of things to consider, likely several versions of this guy in my future before we scale it up.
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Bigbre04 said:
Hey all,

I was tasked with working up an Oyster Stout recipe. I have never brewed this style. I have been reading all over the place about this (including @Sunfire96 post a few years ago https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/view/1239019/beginners-oyster-stout). Personally I am leaning towards just salting it to taste post fermentation, but i may be required to actually include oysters...this is a pilot batch that would eventually be worked up to a 30bbl contract batch.

This is where i am at with the recipe
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1526364

I love my current stout. So I used it as a framework, reducing the ABV and the amounts.
https://www.brewersfriend.com/homebrew/recipe/embed/1437455

I have SO many questions...
Oysters or just a salt addition post fermentation?

Dry Stout or a more standard american stout?

IF i do end up using oysters(very much not my first choice) i assume that i would add them into the kettle and boil them?

Oyster shells, meat, brine????? Seems like a lot of variables. PLUS Allergy risks.


Any and all opinions would be appreciated!
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I've yet to brew one myself, but plan to. Most places that carry oysters around here (Gulf Coast) also sell just Oyster Stock, which is water the sacks sit in prior to hitting market. (Meat is also held in water and packed in it if shucked, and some of that water is available as 'stock') I plan to use that instead of the actual Oysters or shells when I finally brew it. (in the boil) It is an excellent umami addition for any Gumbo or Stew, so I can't imagine it would be terrible in a Stout. If you buy it, it is usually filtered so there are no shells/sand, but of course, it would qualify as a 'shellfish' warning product.
 
Sandy Feet said:
I believe it too up there.
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never seen those prices for local oysters but some places serve some fancy west coast oysters so I guess there is shipping. I'm not sure why when you can get them fresh local for about a buck.
 
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