Who Put a Sea Urchin in My Beer?

Out of all my years being a self-proclaimed "beergeek", 2012 was probably the most adventurous of the 17 plus years since the first time I sipped a Shipyard Prelude. It also helped working at the Growler Station for most of the year. I learned about so many different beer styles, and tried most of them, that sometimes I feel I could give The Bros at BA a run for their money. That's not true, of course, but I really did try a whole world of beer.

Thankfully some of the rarer styles I had a desire to consume became something of a trend to recreate in the craft world, like the oyster stout. The oyster stout has been something I had been dying to try for years, but was never to get my hand on a bottle, due to it being unavailable or my own forgetfulness. At this point I've tried half a dozen, and stouts brewed with oysters are one of my favorite dark ales. The combination of animal and beer in one is one of the lost glorious things I've ever put my lips to. It makes me wonder what other types shellfish could make the nectar of the gods taste better.

I wasn't to surprised to find out a few weeks back that my question is being put to the actual test. Burnside Brewing of Portland aka Beervana has teamed up with a local restaurant to brew a beer that includes sea urchin as an ingredient. Like most of the American craft innovators that are constantly raising the bar, Burnside opted to put their own spin on it and ditch the British tradition of pairing shellfish with stout. Instead they chose yet another style of beer that almost died in obscurity by has since been making a comeback, the Gose. The Gose is one of two styles of traditional German sours that is brewed with salt and coriander, a no-no by traditional Purity Law standards. With the addition of tomato water, Burnside has brought something completely different to the world of beer.

Unfortunately, like Wynkoop's take on the oyster stout, the availability on said brew is extremely limited, meaning while I'm still living in Brooklyn my chances of coming across it are zero to none, unless I for some reason am blessed with an all expense paid trip to Portland I the coming month.

For now, I am eager to hear and read others thoughts on the beer and hoping that if it works out for Burnside, production wot be so limited the second time around.


http://www.thrillist.com/drink/portland/or/97209/pearl-district/urchin-ale_great-beer-selection_bizarre-food_seafood_type/cuisine_type