Fun With Carbs

Harpoon Oyster Stout, brewed with real Island Creek oysters

I’ve been reading a lot about Harpoon Oyster Stout this week – a new, limited-edition dark beer brewed with Island Creek oysters from Duxbury, Mass. And I became a little obsessed with finding it. But it seemed like the tasting events set up to accompany the beer’s release were all located closer to Boston. And if you’ve ever lived an hour or more outside of Beantown, you’re familiar with the “Boston gets everything good” jealous-stepchild mentality. (Or if you’re in Hartford, it’s: “New York gets everything good.”)

But the beer heavens must have aligned, because a rather serendipitous check of Facebook led me to Lattitude’s fan page. Could it be? Yes! The trendy West Springfield restaurant had Harpoon Oyster Stout on tap, paired with Island Creek oysters. Within 45 minutes, my favorite foodie friend Kat and I were seated at Lattitude’s bar, awaiting a pour.

Now remember, I’m new to beer. Though I’ve tried my share over the past year, I keep going back to pale/light/flavored varieties, like Blue Moon. I feared that I wouldn’t enjoy a thick, dark stout. But one taste of the brew proved all my theories wrong. It was smooth, sweet with hints of chocolate and surprisingly light. (Where I’d describe Guinness as a heavy beer dessert.)

Harpoon’s tasting notes describe the beer as “…[having a] rich body and smooth mouthfeel derived in part from a combination of roasted barley and chocolate rye malts. The roasted malt notes blend beautifully with the briny, mineral flavors of the Island Creek oysters.” While I didn’t pick up any shellfish hint in the beer itself, we picked up emerging hints of flavors in the brew once we sampled the bivalves themselves. (I’ve done wine and cheese, wine and chocolate…now beer and oysters!)

Though the concept was new and exciting to me, oyster stouts apparently have a storied history. Read more about them here.

Island Creek oysters

And let’s not forget the oysters themselves. I’ve had Island Creek twice (both times at Lattitude) and they’re pretty freaking fabulous. Large, briny, fresh and perfect with a hint of cocktail sauce and a few drops of lemon juice.

We were having such a good time at our little ‘happy hour’ that we ordered three more plates: smoke-roasted pulled pork tacos, topped with pico de gallo, green chili and cheese; ‘popcorn’ calamari made with crushed Smartfood and topped with seaweed salad and a delectable trio of chocolate mousses. While the calamari lacked some crispness, the pork melted in the mouth and the mousses were topped with a perfect tangy raspberry coulis.

'Popcorn calamari'

Pulled pork tacos

Chocolate mousses (milk, white, dark) served with a raspberry coulis-topped graham cracker

According to Lattitude, they only received two barrels of the stout. So if you’re jonesing to try it, give them a call first to check on availability. But if you can get your hands on a glass, do it. (Then again, there’s always the Mass Pike to Boston…)