A centuries old beer recipe is being revived – and local oysters are the star ingredient.
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Shane Buckley from Wapengo Rocks oyster farm has delivered 60 dozen oysters to the Sailors Grave brewery in Orbost.
Brewer Chris Moore will use them to make about 5000 litres of oyster stout, a traditional British brew.
“It’s one of those things that has been lost in history, even though the recipe has been around for hundreds of years,” Mr Moore said.
To get the most of their flavour, the oysters are added to the batch whole.
“It all goes in, shell, flesh and brine,” Mr Moore said.
“We’re trying to capture that subtle mineral essence, that smell of the ocean you get from opening a fresh oyster.”
Mr Moore said that the salt from the oysters will accentuate the other sweeter flavours in the brew.
He chose to brew with Wapengo Rocks oysters after a number of recommendations.
“We had only heard good things, and Shane was really enthusiastic about being a part of the project so it felt like a perfect match,” he said.
Mr Buckley is glad his produce was selected for the job, and he’s looking forward to trying the beer.
“I like oysters and I like beer, so I can’t see how I wouldn’t like it,” he said.
As well as using local produce, the beer’s marketing team has tapped into the local maritime history.
Sailor’s Gave illustrator Joe Lyward made a sketch of Old Tom after a visit to Eden’s Killer Whale Museum, which will feature on the beer bottles.
The beer is called ‘Law of the Tongue’, named after the practice of feeding killer whales the lips and tongues of smaller whales they herded for whalers in Twofold Bay as their share of the kill.
The beer will be launched in Melbourne on August 26. Wapengo Rocks oysters will be served alongside the beers during the first tasting.
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