Want to brew an oyster stout

Sunfire96

Sunfire96

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Anyone brewed one?

I've only found a few recipes... I think AHA published two in an article from 2014. Found one in a book called "The Secrets of Master Brewers" but it's mostly a hey look at this kooky part of Irish beer history! Not an actual helpful recipe.

I'd like to start with a dry Stout. @Megary @Ward Chillington @Josh Hughes @Nosybear I wanna say you all have some killer Irish stout recipes.

And then add some oysters right? I think for my batch size (3.5 gallons) I only need 6 fresh oysters. I'll shuck them open and toss in all the meat, shell, and brine into the boil. Probably 10-15 minutes from the end to ensure the oysters are fully cooked (I don't fuck around with hepatitis lol, no oyster shooters for me)

Any other considerations do you think I'll need to keep in mind? I know the shells can contribute extra calcium and phosphate and the meat/brine adds salinity. Would I condition the water for a dry stout, or keep it neutral and balanced and let the oysters add what they will?
 
Here are the recipes from Zymurgy:
Good Uncle Oyster Stout.png
Pearl Juice Oyster Stout.png
 
Ward Chillington said:
Wow...that seems like a lot of shellfish for 3.5 gallons...I want to say that Flying Dog only tossed a dozen into their batches of Pearl Necklace ...I dunno...maybe I misheard the tour guide....

https://www.flyingdog.com/blog/pearl-necklace-oyster-stout-now-year-round/#

Let us know...and I use @J A 's recipe...good stuff!
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Thanks! I forgot @J A would have a good stout recipe :)

Hmm yea reading the recipes I posted they seem to use about 6 oysters in various forms...maybe 3 would do the trick for me

My favorite brewpub in my hometown did an oyster stout. I have no idea what their batch size was (not very helpful) but they used a couple hundred pounds of oysters. They've since closed down, maybe I could try to reach out to the head brewer who has moved onto other projects...
 
Here's a nice looking stout recipe. Simple and straightforward, which is how I like my beer recipes.

  • MALTS & ADJUNCTS
  • 20 lb. (9.07 kg) Maris Otter pale malt
  • 6 lb. (2.72 kg) flaked barley
  • 3 lb. (1.36 kg) roasted barley
  • 1.5 lb. (680 g) chocolate malt
  • HOPS
  • 2 oz. (57 g) Nugget, 14.5% a.a. @ 60 min
  • YEAST
  • White Labs WLP004 Irish Ale Yeast
  • WATER
  • Ca 85 ppm, Mg 3 ppm, Na 33 ppm, SO4 93 ppm, Cl 119 ppm

  • Yield: 16 US gal
  • Original Gravity: 1.045

    Final Gravity: 1.012

    ABV: 4.30%

    IBU: 33

    SRM: 34

    Efficiency: 76%
 
I definitely think how you manage your water is going to be key. I usually use a pretty neutral water for my Stout and target a pH around 5.5. I have no idea how the Oysters will mess with your numbers, but if you are unsure, err on the side of caution I suppose. I would probably sample one or two of your Oysters first, just to see what kind of flavor they *might* bring. :)

I think a simple Dry Stout would have the (approximate) 70/20/10 balance of Base/Flaked/Roasted, adjust the Roasted slightly, up or down, based on your roasty preference. The recipes above appear to be adding some Crystal as a way to balance the saltiness from the Oysters, but I’m just guessing here. Seems like a good idea.

Following along, very interested.

Good luck!
 
Denny Conn did that one, I think it's the BYO recipe I saw above.
 
Megary said:
I definitely think how you manage your water is going to be key. I usually use a pretty neutral water for my Stout and target a pH around 5.5. I have no idea how the Oysters will mess with your numbers, but if you are unsure, err on the side of caution I suppose. I would probably sample one or two of your Oysters first, just to see what kind of flavor they *might* bring. :)

I think a simple Dry Stout would have the (approximate) 70/20/10 balance of Base/Flaked/Roasted, adjust the Roasted slightly, up or down, based on your roasty preference. The recipes above appear to be adding some Crystal as a way to balance the saltiness from the Oysters, but I’m just guessing here. Seems like a good idea.

Following along, very interested.

Good luck!
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Thanks! I think I would lean towards the 3rd recipe that I posted that has the chocolate malt addition instead of crystal. Plus it's way more sessionable at 4.3%.

Do you have a favorite stout yeast? I've had success with White Labs lately, so WLP004 Irish ale looks promising to me
 
Sunfire96 said:
Thanks! I think I would lean towards the 3rd recipe that I posted that has the chocolate malt addition instead of crystal. Plus it's way more sessionable at 4.3%.

Do you have a favorite stout yeast? I've had success with White Labs lately, so WLP004 Irish ale looks promising to me
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Any idea what Chocolate Malt is being used in that last recipe? Lots of ranges for chocolate malt. I’d just be concerned with pushing into ashtray territory. :D

I love BRY-97 for my house (American) Stout. Clean, attenuates well, dries out the beer right where I want it, inviting another sip. Not sure how those attributes mesh with Oysters though. Maybe you want to leave some more body as a balance?? I honestly have no idea.
 
Megary said:
Any idea what Chocolate Malt is being used in that last recipe? Lots of ranges for chocolate malt. I’d just be concerned with pushing into ashtray territory. :D

I love BRY-97 for my house (American) Stout. Clean, attenuates well, dries out the beer right where I want it, inviting another sip. Not sure how those attributes mesh with Oysters though. Maybe you want to leave some more body as a balance?? I honestly have no idea.
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I assume the chocolate malt is british and not pale lol that's all I know :) it's in the medal winning recipes on the aha website, not a ton of details provided...

https://www.homebrewersassociation.org/homebrew-recipe/deep-focus-irish-stout/
 
Here's my water report from the tap. I would probably add a bit of Calcium chloride but leave the gypsum out. Maybe aim for light and malty in case the minerals from the oysters are more than I anticipated


Ca+2 25.0
Mg+2 7.0
Na+ 35.0
Cl- 15.0
SO4-2 57.0
HCO3- 79.155
 
So your plan is to add the whole Oyster, not just shell/brine? I think I’d eat the Oyster, and throw the rest in. :p

I like the recipe above. You can brew this and tweak this until you get it just perfect, no matter how long it takes. When it’s right where it needs to be, then maybe I’ll have a go. ;)
 
Megary said:
So your plan is to add the whole Oyster, not just shell/brine? I think I’d eat the Oyster, and throw the rest in. :p

I like the recipe above. You can brew this and tweak this until you get it just perfect, no matter how long it takes. When it’s right where it needs to be, then maybe I’ll have a go. ;)
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Haha thanks for the vote of confidence! ;)

I think I might try one after I transfer the wort off after the boil and it's fully cooked :)
 
Last edited:
Sorry, meat (even just a bivalve) in beer just doesn't compute for me.

Although, maybe a sausage pizza beer???
 
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