For this video, we tasted and reviewed Pearl Necklace Oyster Stout from Maryland’s Flying Dog Brewery. The first thing we noticed was the almost funky salt aroma on the beer, which subsided as the foam settled down. But it really did have a hint of that “bay marshes at low tide” kind of smell, which was really cool, but that’s not necessarily what you want your beer to taste like.
Thankfully, the salt isn’t nearly as pronounced in the taste. There is some salt taste, but just a hint carries through from the nose. It had nice subtle flavors of coffee, toffee, and toasty malts. Without the salt, it might just be another pretty good stout, but it’s just enough to make it taste unique. It’s like when I first started seeing “salted carmel” stuff a few years ago. It’s not a combination I would’ve thought of, but it actually works pretty well.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by Pearl Necklace. I thought it would end up going one of two ways- either not enough oyster influence, rendering it a good but unremarkable stout, or too much salt, making it fun to taste but something you would never order a pint of. Luckily, the brewers at Flying Dog got the balance down on this one.
Tapped SJ 