Emerson’s Southern Clam Stout

Brewed by Emerson’s Brewing Company (Lion Brewing)
Style: Stout
Dunedin, New Zealand

Serve in English pint, Shaker, Snifter

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I can handle shellfish and I can also handle stout. I’ve had oyster stout before and I’m grown up enough to give this a try: This beer is about as black as you can get without lobbing in lumps of coal. There was a mocha head that was noisy and bubbly and then subsided into a film that clung to the sides of the glass. The aromas veer toward dark chocolate, so you have to really delve into the glass to pick out a salty note, but it is there. Powdered dutch cocoa also apparent on top of stouty charry notes. This beer is full bodied, creamy and has a tingly carbonation about it. It gets creamier and thicker as is settles on the tongue, spreading that charred character and an additional something else that if I had sampled blind I wouldn’t have known was like seafood chowder, but as I know better I can pin that on it. It isn’t overt and coarse, but soft, silky and full. The finish is on-going and gets saltier as it goes on, along with a whiff of smoke and hickory. This is a very good beer.

500ml Bottle. Big and stouty. Pours jet black, thick brown head. Roasty aromas as you’d expect. Deep roasted barley, dark chocolate, dark roast espresso flavour. Smooth, velvety mouthfeel. Got that slightly astringent aftertaste stouts can have that just makes you want another sip. As a shellfish hater glad to say not a hint of clam or brine that I could detect - which is a good thing.

Tasted in Dunedin at Eureka. Sort of a fruity aroma, with elements of smoke... Lots of coffee in the flavour, with the bitterness of a black coffee. This one gets a bit fruitier as you let it warm up. A good stout, although I was slightly put off by the tangy, acidic taste I was experiencing, and it was slightly watery. I could imagine it being awesome when bottle conditioned.

UPDATED: SEP 2, 2009 My beer of choice on the BrewNZ Awards night. Just about the perfect stout - the dryness and roast spot on. This has got to become a staple!

Hand-pulled from the cask at Albar in Dunedin. The bar was dim, and this appeared pitch black with a low, thick, brown head. Very roasty aroma, slightly vegetal. Rich, creamy, full-bodied roast flavour, coffee, vegemite, and bitter chocolate. After the palate adjusts to the assault of flavour and richness, a subtle sweetness becomes evident (maple, vanilla) as does a slightly tangy brine in the bitter finish. They received this in cask just yesterday, and the freshness and smoothness add to an already very impressive brew. Outstanding!