Desolation Oyster Stout
Lighthouse Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

650ml bottle. Does the west coast ever look that, well, desolate?

This beer pours a solid black, with prominent cherry cola basal highlights, and three fingers of puffy, densely foamy, and a tad creamy beige head, which leaves a few instances of ocean swell lace around the glass as it slowly sinks away.

It smells of bittersweet chocolate, caramel malt, a briny, fishy sort of sea-air blast, boozy vanilla, a Timmie's double-double, a flinty stoniness, and a bit of dark fleshy fruit. The taste is still big on the thick cocoa-ensconced caramel/toffee malt, followed closely by a soft, acrid, and fresh (ok, maybe not all that fresh) shore side fishmonger's essence, a bit of anise, woody vanilla, over-sweetened black coffee, expired milk, and very faint earthy hops - the booze taking a while to emerge, in concert with the general ambient temperature balance.

The carbonation is quite light and ineffectual, the body a sturdy medium-heavy weight, quite smooth, and even a little creamy. It finishes on the sweet side, barely tempered by background hops and bristling alcohol.

Not a bad imperial stout, irrespective of the touted guest ingredient. The oysters never really show up, other than early on, with that generic sea-side impersonation. And the 9.3% ABV? Aye, but she's a dark shadow, a water hazard, unseen, that is, until ya run square into her.

Lighthouse Brewing's 'Desolation Imperial Oyster Stout' @ 9.3% , served from a couple of 650 ml bottle's purchased for $7 each

A-pour is dark cola brown from the bottle to near black in the glass with a small tan head leaving a minimal lace along the pint

S-fresh wide open PNW sea

T-hints of vanilla at a sweet start , real big booze on the swallow , bit too much

MF-mild carbonation , I assume this will be full bodied , yep , bit too much ABV

Ov-ok beer , a bit too big for it's own good , share with a friend

prost LampertLand

Poured from a 650 ml bottle. Pours a very dark brown, nearly black colour. Huge notes of booze, ocean and mineral. Taste is sweet and boozy, but lacks much oyster taste. Subtle briny notes are overpowered by the big booze and sweet malt notes. Good beer, but doesn’t deliver much oyster flavour.