Porterhouse Oyster Stout

Porterhouse Oyster Stout is and Irish Dry Stout made by the Porterhouse Brewing Company of Dublin, Ireland. The history of “Oyster Stout” as a name and style is up for discussion. Some say stouts go well with oysters, some say processed & concentrated oysters create a thicker beer, and some, like Porterhouse, actually use fresh oysters in the brewing process.


So the question is which was first, oysters in beer or beer with oysters?

However, there’s no doubt that dark beers and oysters have a history. In the United Kingdom the porters, or the workers carried things for a living, had two staples in their diet, beer and seafood.

The most popular beer drank buy the porters was named after them. The cheapest most common seafood was then paired with their beer, oysters. The Porterhouse steak is also named after the cut of meat served at the restaurants that catered to the porters.

Porterhouse is also a Dublin tourist attraction and a grab place to grab a pint. Located in the historic bar and tourist area of Temple Bar, it’s a great place to sample Irish micro-brew.

I bought this at the Pangaea Bottle Shop for $4.99. It has an ABV of 5.2%.

The beer pours a dark black-brown, with a thick, tan head that leaves thick lacings. The aroma is what you want out of a stout, roasted malts, coco, hints of coffee, earthy hops, and sweet. Don’t worry there is no fishy oyster smell. The taste follows the nose, with roasted malts, smokiness, bit of coco and coffee, a background of juniper, and earthy hops. Not sure what the juniper is from, but its distinct and there. The beer finishes with a hint of its name, on a sweet and salty note. The body is medium thick with good carbonation, dry, and not heavy.

Overall this is a good stout. I would prefer others over this, but I highly recommend you Try It at some point. There’s no dominant oyster taste or smell. I would have to agree that the oysters add a nice body and finish.