Grace And Darkness
Half Full Brewery

 

From the tap, in a pint glass, black to coffee brown in color, cream colored head, coffee and chocolate notes on the nose, roast marshmallow mostly on the pallete with hints of the sea and maybe plums too(?), maybe should be stronger on the briny factor for an oyster stout

Excited to try this. Chocolate brown pour leading to a black body with a nice finger of beige head in the Thulsa Doom chalice.

Aromas of milk chocolate, roasted barley, slight anise, slight smoke, slight coastal fish house.

The flavors are absolutely rich, decadent, smooth, and beautiful. Chocolate silk pie, delicious fudge, pie crust, smokey oyster, milk chocolate. Slight tootsie roll and cola at the end. Very delicious. Wow.

Feel is creamy, smooth, rich, clean, and sticks around like a french silk pie.

Overall, mind blown. Incredible offering. Will be pining for more.

 

 

 

 

Sampling a 12 oz can poured into my snifter at cellar temperature. The beer pours a cola dark brown with a creamy beige head foaming up 1.5 cm and fading to a dense tightly packed in edge layer and light wisps on the surface. No real lattice forming after each sip or swirl.
The aroma of this beer is malt through and through with roasted notes, some dark chocolate, a little burnt wood and some chalk or mineral notes, makes me think of concrete. It works with the beer so dont be turned off by that descriptor.
The first sip reveals a thinner body than expected, but still average with a silky texture. The carbonation is tingly and bold on my palate. This tingliness increases the feel of the beer dramatically in my mouth.
The flavor is roasted malt and again some burnt wood effect. I also get a bit of sweet tanginess like a dark chocolate wrapped around a drop of caramel. There does appear to be a hint of salt and no hop presence on this beer. I also dont get any hint of the surprisingly bigger 8% ABV on this one. The beer drinks very easy and does share some of the oyster shell character with the consumer.
A well made collaboration and good promotion of local small aquaculture. Worth a shot if you like malty brews!

On-tap 3/24/2017 at Doherty’s Ale House in Warwick, RI, served in a tulip glass.

A: The beer is a deep dark brown color, with a large tan head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma contains roasted malts, coffee, chocolate, oysters and a touch of hops.

T: The taste starts out sweet with flavors of chocolate and coffee. Then a hearty roasted malt character comes in along with a small but balancing salty bite of oysters. The hops presence is mild but complementary and brings a good balance. The after-taste is slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp and smooth, medium body, medium carbonation, finish is slightly sticky.

O: A little tasty, goes down ok, not too filling, good kick, good representation of style, this is a decent beer to drink for a while.

Via a 12 Oz. can. One of the best Oyster Stouts I've ever had. Released by Half Full on 2/24/17 and made in limited production. Made with locally sourced ingredients including the oysters which are Blue Points from Copps Island off the coast of Norwalk, CT via Norm Bloom & Sons Oyster Co. This oyster stout was made with the whole oysters being added to the boiling wort. The head develops a nice rich coffee like color. The nose is clean and crisp but muted with a note of crushed rocks. There is gravity to this beer and you feel it on your tongue with a relatively high 8% ABV and it has a nice minerality to it that you wouldn't get with a regular stout. Likely not carbonated with Nitrogen, as the bubbles are large on the tongue and thusly it does not have a creamy mouth feel. It has a slight sweetness to it as well which is quite pleasant. I highly recommend this beer.

12oz can. Pours a black color with over an inch of medium brown head. Lots of lacing. Roasty aroma with some chocolate, espresso, earth, and charred wood. The taste is slightly smokey with roasted malts, char, earth, black coffee and a hint of salt. Finishes with a salted chocolate flavor and some more char. Body is a bit lighter than expected. Lots of carbonation. A pretty solid, lighter Oyster Stout I could see drinking a fair amount of in the warmer months for a change of pace from the hoppier brews.