LAKEVIEW — DryHop Brewers will debut its first in-house "Brewer & Chef" collaboration this week: an oyster stout made with fresh West Coast oysters and crushed shells.
"It's an obscure, but traditional English-style beer," executive chef Joel Pillar said. "What we're trying to get is more of the brininess out of the oysters than the actual oyster flavor itself."
Pillar partnered with head brewer Brant Dubovick to craft the strong (6.7 percent alcohol by volume) stout, aptly named Oysterhead.
The duo got oysters from Goose Point Family Farm in Willapa Bay, Washington. Freshly shucked oysters were added to the boil, with crushed shells mixed in.
"When the beer was originally brewed in Ireland and England, [oysters] were used to filter the beer," Dubovick said. "Oyster shells are rich in calcium carbonate, which helps lower our pH."
So what does oyster stout taste like?
"It's going to be a little briny from the oysters," Dubovick said. "We also use a lot of chocolate malt and roasted barley, so you're going to have some espresso notes and some rich dark chocolate notes. It should have a nice creamy mouth to it."
Oysterhead was produced as part of DryHop's "Brewer & Chef" series.
Since the brewery at 3155 N. Broadway opened last summer, it's worked with restaurants like iNG and Kuma's Korner to craft limited-run beers inspired by a dish at each restaurant.
This time around, DryHop partnered with its own kitchen.
Pillar, who'd been itching to work with the brewery, pitched the collaboration and created a "'po' boy style" oyster bruschetta with marinated oysters, cajun remoulade, tomatoes, romaine, pickles and onion on a toasted baguette.
"It's essentially all of the components you want out of a fried oyster po' boy," Pillar said, "but in more of a bar-snacky cold preparation than a sandwich."
DryHop Brewers is hosting a launch party starting at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Oysterhead will be available while supplies last.
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