Topside Oyster Stout
Lift Bridge Brewing Co.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On tap at the Acadia Cafe, appeared pitch black with a short tan head. The body was silky smooth with a mix of cocoa and a gentle roast. Mmmm, I wish I'd have had time for another pint. There's a slight earthy note, that sets the stout apart. It's not hoppy like so many American stouts, but it's a great oyster stout and better mimics the English variety. Check this beer out, you won't regret it.

 

On-tap at the brewery during The Commander release party.

Served in a plastic cup, the beer is a thinner bodied full black color. A trickle of foam coats the top in an oil slick kind of way.

Smells of roasted malts with a touch of coffee and just a wee bit of brine from the oysters.

The beer mostly tastes of roasty malts. Not much of any sweetness present, but there is a coffee presence and a very subtle salty mineral component at the very end from the shellfish. A bit one dimensional tasting, but still good.

Very smooth and quite dry on the back end. I would say this is about medium bodied.

Overall a nice stout. The oysters don't add much, but that's what I've experienced from other beers made the same way. This was a nice roasty stout.

On tap at the Lift Bridge tap room out in Stillwater. Nice place, nice people, good beer. If only it were just down the street, my life would be truly complete.

My wife turned up her nose at the odd oyster stout, but the sample agreed with me, so diving in. Beer shows up dark, stoutish, ruby red along the edges. Dark dirty little head. Smell is probably the quietest of its attributes, touch malty, but of...odd. Oysters, I'll wager.

Topside Oyster Stout utilizes sea creatures in an appropriate manner. First there's a nice, warm, malty stout base, coffee bits. The oyster is there underneath, but subtle, as in I could identify it once it flashed a driver's license, but not sure I could pick it out cold. What sticks with you is a briny, almost salty aftertaste that lingers for a long hour after the last sip. Wild. Nice & smooth, & though I enjoyed it, I think one mollusk-based brew is enough for the night.

Surprise! This is a very good beer. Sticking shucked sea urchines & brine into a brew & selling it to people takes nads, & this one is on target. Nicely done.