Here we are at Rochester’s Tap and Mallet, where we shall experience the exquisite marriage of oyster and oyster stout. Harpoon Oyster Stout, to be exact. Dry, medium-bodied, with explosive flavor and just a touch of maritime, mineral flavor, this exploration of an underappreciated style demonstrates why sometimes it’s worth studying your brewing history.

Traditional oyster stout, you see, is made with oysters. A quantity of the labiesque little mollusks (or whatever they are) get thrown into the barrel to suffuse the beer with their essence. The result is, well, pretty much what I just described above, and it goes extremely well with a quantity of those little buggers on the half shell.

In a sec, they’re gonna whip some out and shuck them. Let’s see how greedy I can be.