IN THE DRINK

BY PAUL ANTROBUS In the drink With Paul Antrobus

Oyster Pairings

When the world is your oyster… stout is your beer.

September is the month when oysters are back on the menu after the four months with no ‘R’ in them, respite for these amazing molluscs to fatten up and spawn.

Once the food of the poor gleaning along the banks of the tidal Thames, and latterly an expensive treat and the reason for oyster bars in London’s West End and at major airports.

According to Thames Conservation, British native oysters have been in serious decline over the last 50 years as a result of overfi shing, habitat loss and contamination by, amongst other things, antifouling paint.

The oyster is known as an ‘Ecosystem Engineer’, fi ltering water and providing food and habitat for coastal wildlife. Under the umbrella of the Zoological Society of London, local conservation organisations are taking part in oyster regeneration projects around our coastline, notably along the East Coast and Solent, restocking with cultivated British natives and protecting the beds. The Solent collaborative project is aiming to restore fi ve million natives to the Solent waters.

Oyster drinks What to drink with these native treats? Champagne is recommended by oyster bars but stout, and in particular oyster stouts made with fresh oysters in the mash, are the traditional authentic accompaniment.

A good place to start is West Mersea, Essex, historically supplying some of the top London oyster bars and at the heart of the Blackwater Estuary regeneration project. Island Oyster Stout is made by the Mersea Island Brewery, a family business which includes the brewery, vineyard and spirits production, a tea room and B&B.

Three dozen freshly shucked oysters are added to the beer towards the end of the boil. Chocolate, roasted malts and oats create the thick dark body and rich fl avour, with a creamy head. At a healthy fi ve per cent abv, it won a Gold Medal at the 2019 CAMRA East Anglian beer competition. See the range of their beers and wines at www.merseaislandvineyard.co.uk, call 07970 070 399 or email mark@merseabrewery.com.

Still on the East Coast, Whitstable, Kent, is another oyster regeneration centre. The Whitstable Brewery’s Oyster Stout (4.5 per cent) goes back, they claim, to the 18th century as a drink to go with a plate of Whitstable oysters. Deep chocolate and mocha fl avours. It is available in pubs in the south-east and London including the brewery’s own pub, The Corner Tap, Faversham. Production in bottles was disrupted thanks to covid but is due to resume this month.

In the west, the Mumbles Brewery, Swansea, Wales, founded in 2011, wins my prettiest-label contest with their Oystermouth Stout. Offering 4.4 per cent, black body, creamy white head, dark roasted fl avours and a touch of the sea due to real oysters added in the brewing mix.

If you would still prefer wine with your oysters, go for a Muscadet. Dry, slightly citrussy, with a taste of the sea salt air of the Loire Valley, France. A perfect match for all shellfi sh.

Oyster gin The Llanfairpwll Distillery on the island of Anglesey, Wales, has collaborated with Menai Oysters to produce Menai Oyster Gin by distilling with fresh oysters, lemon and juniper to give, they say, “a smooth and creamy gin with gentle taste and aromas of the sea”.

At 40 per cent, it is quite pricey at £32 for a 50cl bottle from llanfairpwelldistillery.co.uk. Plus you get the full name of their village, the longest in the UK, written around the bottle: Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.

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