Oyster Tompkins
Three Magnets Brewing

In the world of Tompkins it seems I prefer oysters to coffee!

 

I really like the Tavour app & their CANtinued opportunities for me to score new & different CANs in furtherance of The CANQuest (tm).

From the CAN: "Town Series"; "brewed in collaboration with Hama Hama"; "imperial oatmeal stout brewed with hama hama oysters'.

I Crack!ed open the vent & began a slow, gentle Glug as my response to its being a brimful craft Pint CAN. Even so, I got some dribbling happening as the result of the cylinder CANtaining so much liquid. Once I got it started, though, I let it run pretty freely since I could see that it was already doing a pseudo-cascade. It eventually settled into two-plus fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, deep-brown head with great retention, leaving modest lacing in its wake as it fell. Color was stygian Black/Opaque (SRM = 44), allowing ZERO light penetration. Nose was very chocolaty, a mix of Devil's Food Cake, fudge, baker's chocolate, light smoke and brownies. It was chocolaty without being sweet or cloying. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium-to-full, not quite creamy, but close. The taste was mostly dark, bittersweet chocolate with a light smokiness. Finish was semi-dry and while it was enjoyable, its relatively high ABV left it a one-and-done for me.

 

 

This beautiful dark brown stout pours thick into the glass with a lovely tan head. It has a bit of a sharp smell over the usual chocolate scent: perhaps something of sea salt. Its taste is a bit more bitter than milk chocolate, though I'm not sure I could place it as oysters. The slippery thickness of the drink is a delight to feel down one's tongue.

 

 

Jet black body; little head, mostly wispy blots skirting the top of the beer with a thin ring around the glass. Deep, charred grain aroma; dark roasted coffee. The flavor mimics the aroma with additional elements of bitter chocolate; mineral-like quality; a bit boozy. Heavy, hard and coarse body; warm; very dry finish.

This beer is so close to be extremely exceptional. Too bad there is very little head on this thing, and the aroma, although complex, is somewhat subdued. But once you get to the taste and mouthfeel, man-oh-man, what a treat! Never the less, this definitely is a beer to try if you like big, dense, and dry stouts. The flavors linger long and wonderfully while the dry yet tasty mouthfeel also leaves a long lasting, favorable impression.

So close to black, but not quite. Clean onyx face to it with a rich brown head that settles in to a fanciful fuzz and leaves a veil of lacing as the liquid level recedes.

Chocolate and toasty char lead the way. Black acrid coffee, but not really coffee-y.

This is going to shock everyone, but the flavour follows the same notes. Crazy, I know. Bitter char and and roasty notes come together with that same cold-black-coffee-but-good-in-a-beer-way acridity. There's some dark dark chocolate that imparts a touch of sweetness and maybe a faint hint of salinity, but I feel like I have to look for it.
The medium bodied sip passes my lips incredibly velvety smoothe but then (I'm trying to think of a descriptor here that doesn't make my immature side giggle, but failing) erupts in a thousand pins and needles of carbonation across the tongue. As this fades the finish is dark chocolate and char with a subtle minerality that could slip into some combination of ashy/chalky/earthy. Alcohol is hidden incredibly well. I kept forgetting this is double digits. Would probably describe it as on the dryer side of things?
I'm still not 100% certain what exactly oysters bring to a beer (I've only had a couple of oyster stouts previously, and am curious to do a side by side of an oyster stout with its base beer foundation just to try and pick out some differences), but I suspect that's where that last touch of mineral ashy component comes from. And as I let the finish linger I do get a slight sense of that saline puckering I've noticed before.
All that aside, this is an incredibly enjoyable stout, and I now find myself motivated to track down any of the other Tompkin varietie as well as the base beer since i enjoyed this one so much.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a very dark mahogany brown, appearing nearly opaque black in the glass with a half finger dark khaki head with good retention and lacing. Aroma of dark toasted malt, cocoa, a hint of vanilla and a mild mineral note. Flavor is dark, well toasted malt with moderate char, dark chocolate, hints of caramel and vanilla with a nice, rich chocolate malt and smoky char finish. There is the mildest suggestion of sea salt, but an earthy, full bodied component that must be the oyster shell contribution. Nice medium body with moderate creaminess, sharp carbonation and excellent mouthfeel. I think I felt this way about the last Tompkins, but this is my favorite so far. A great charry malt base with good chocolate handles the mild slightly mineral and sea salt oyster flavors well. There is a light savory flavor that adds some depth and complexity to the other flavors. I think this would be excellent just from the base stout, but the entire package here is very flavorful. The big ABV is well covered.