Anyone who knows Andrew and me is aware that we have a deep love of only two things in this godforsaken world, animals and beer. Now, some genius Englishman has combined the two with a scallop-infused beer!!!
Mmmm...bi-valvo-licious!
Scallop Stout has been created by a brewery named Shepherd Neame, apparently the oldest brewery in England. They make the beer the same way they always would, but throw a handful of scallops into the vat for an hour. While Andrew and I are suspicious that he might have actually gotten the idea from God, the brewer Stewart Main claims to have thought it up while at a scallop festival in the English town of Rye.
"This full bodied traditional stout, brewed with...
"...black rye and crystal malt, gives a rich blend of dark chocolate and roasted coffee on the palate. Then the classic bitterness from generous quantities of East Kent Goldings hops takes over, tantalising the taste buds," says Main on the Shepherd Neame Website.
In this article on Metro.co.uk, Main claims "There's a hint of smokiness and a slight taste of the sea but no fishiness. I can find no scientific reason for why it works, but it does." Nothing better than the slight taste of the sea in your beer, if you ask us.
Where the magic happens...
We would like to put a challenge out to the Shepherd Neame Brewery (we know you're reading this). If you will send us each a complimentary bottle of Scallop Stout, we will happily review it for you and evangelize the brand. Keep in mind, Neame brewers, that we have THOUSANDS of readers in the UK alone, and that we have powerful friends.***
***DISCLAIMER: By "powerful friends," Andrew and Benny Bleiman mean to indicate that they have a total of two friends, those guys at Deep Sea News, who once put a Zooillogix link on their site, and thus are assumed by Andrew and Benny Bleiman to be official friends. Unfortunately, at the time of the writing of this disclaimer, Benny could not remember their names.
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That is so gross. the only thing more disgusting that scallops is scallops in beer. I think i just barfed in my mouth a little....
Using protein to fine beer is an old, old technique. Look up "cock ale." All he's doing is substituting scallops for the chicken that would have been used in the middle ages.
Scallops are, if anything, even milder tasting than chicken, so I doubt that scallop beer tastes like anything other than beer. I would imagine that the "slight taste of the sea" is suggestibility.
It sounds like it might soften the bitter of beer a bit, and taste just fine. But, what do I know? Here in New Mexico people drink tequila with a worm in the bottle.
Sounds tasty to me. Make that two orders please!
The article raises, but does not acknowlege, the most important question - what happens to the scallops after they're removed from the beer? They can send them to me. I could handle marine invertebrates with a slight taste of the brewery.
Reading a post like this makes me really proud to be British! We also do one with chocolate, you know. I live very near the Tongham Breweries in Surrey. They do a fabulous grog called "AOT", which, as all connoisseurs will surely know, stands for "Airs Over Tongham". There's another one called TEA (Traditional English Ale), so Bleiman Brothers, the next time you plan to be in Surrey and feel like some TEA, just let me know and I'll book a brewery tour . . . we aren't that close to the sea, though . . .
the scalop-infested beer: stouts and pub drafts benefit from a hint of "corrupt" taste. That edge that Guiness has is from 5% of sour beer that is made to go rancid on purpose, then added back to make the perfect Guiness. Compare it with Murphy's which is all round respectable product - but without the interesting undertone of sour socks.
Recently, Budweiser took a leaf from the Hispanic market and has started marketing a beverage that is their crummy beer, Bud, with CLAMATO added. Apparently this is something many hispanic people do, although probably 50% of the people I've known in my entire life are hispanic and unless they're drinking this behind closed doors, it was news to me.
CLAMATO.
Being a person already disinclined towards seafood that isn't coconut shrimp and therefor unidentifiable as seafood, clam juice and tomato juice makes my entire tract shudder in fear.
Also, I hope the hops shortage doesn't impact that pleasant British gentleman's revolting sounding beer. I may not agree with what he drinks, but I shall defend to the death his right to drink it.
If you can have Oyster Stout...why not scallops?