Beer – #712 – Liberty and Hallertau – Matakana Imperial Oyster Stout
A collaboration, a stout, what is it all about! You’d think that as it is summer that it’d be something lighter but this has been sitting in the fridge forlornly and so I give in and to be fair I’m looking forward to it. Collaboration beer, collaboration music, collaborating on numbers and a celebration collaboration
This is a 500ml bottle of a 10% ABV beer, making it 300 calories a serve size, and 4 Standard drinks worth in NZ
A beer brewed by Liberty Brewing Co in the style that is Imperial Stout
Auckland, New Zealand
Summer Stout – it could happen
Liberty Matakana Imperial Oyster Stout was brewed usig 1000 oysters collected on the auspicious occassion of a solar eclipse on a king tide.
Enjoy the glorious result.
A great desert beer and at 10% a Super Beer
So, what could possibly go wrong?
Well I’m not really a fan of oysters. so there is that.
Aroma has a chocolateness about it, but I’m not picking anything else, say for instance brine or shellfish, perhaps, I don’t know what I was expecting.
Pour is an deep black oily thing, withe a head f significance appearing, lucky for me I’m a professional and it all stayed in the glass.
Left to itself the head settles into a much smaller almost film, but there is lots of lacing from where it settled in the side of the glass.
Aroma in the glass seems to have faded, and I get a hint of fresh cut grass.
Taste is really nice, enjoying a warm sugary base with an over layer of stronger darker bitterness, but what I’m not really getting is anything shellfish or salty or soy sauce like. I’m not an expert in shellfish though, of the oyster kind. I though it was rather pleasant.
I might at this point venture that this is a beer that I might have finished with, rather than started with, it has that heavy and luxurious sipping quality that you sometimes get, even if, in this case, the same beer lends itself to a supping. Which I remind myself not to do, the supping, and should focus on the sipping. It isn’t easy.
As it warms slightly I’m picking more of that expecting salty brine type of note, which isn’t at all unpleasant irritating or out of place.
The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 9 of its things from the thing. I found myself smiling and musing when drinking this, it has some qualities that appear slowly and quietly and it is only by paying attention that you notice them. It’s just rather good beer, that is pleasant to drink and keeps you interested. I might have liked more aroma and slightly more mouthfeel that would have pushed this forward a bit, however it is a bit excellent and a bit good, and I’m sorry you missed out.
The double dip review
- Am I enjoying it? Gosh yes, it really is a bit good.
- Would I have another? I would, but I’m not sure that it was a big batch run, or a brewers standard, so rare as rocking horse dung I would imagine.
- Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? I would so bring this to share, or one each if I’d known. Looks brilliant, taste is brilliant, drinkability is excellent, it is to sum it up rather excellent.
Music for this : ” Victories at Sea ” ” Everything Forever ” on of course Spotify . Victories at Sea are from Birmingham England and have steadily, patiently been evolving into something quite entrancing. Essentially a post-punk group though, perhaps with a bit of pop.
They’re a bit unexpectedly good!
Imperial stouts are usually extremely dark brown to black in color with flavors that are intensely malty, deeply roasted and sometimes with accents of dark fruit (raisin, fig) or milk sourness. The bitterness is typically medium and often the low sie of that. Imperial stouts are strong and often exceed 8% by volume.
A life just as ordinary 