# Oyster Stout Anyone Done It?



## 270win (8/11/07)

Has anyone ever done an oyster stout? 

I have found info on the net that says oyster stouts were only called that because they are a stout meant to compliment eating oysters.

Other info I found says that you can brew with whole oysters in a batch or just oyster juice added but then I found reference to oyster shells being used as finings and hence calling it an oyster stout.

My thoughts were to maybe get the juice from a dozen or 1/2 dozen oysters and boiling it with water and 1/2 kg of dark malt and then add it to a dry or imperial stout recipe.

Anyone got suggestions or comments?

Cheers.


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## PostModern (8/11/07)

I have never tasted one and could not imagine oyster flesh complimenting the flavour of beer. I would stick to using shells as finings.

If I find an oyster stout tho, I'd give it a go. Really, tho, if it was any good, it would be a more popular sub-style.


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## chimera (8/11/07)

http://www.porterhousebrewco.com/beers.html

click on their oyster stout.

Tried it, admittedly during a bit of a session, tasted pretty damned good


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## brettprevans (8/11/07)

cant say ive ever had one either. I certainly wouldnt be putting anything near a $40-$50 batch of RIS unless I knew it was going to be damn good. Maybe try a normal cheaper stout first 

i remember someone making a recent post about oyster stouts somewhere online


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## bconnery (8/11/07)

I've tried the Porterhouse Oyster Stout and I thought it was brilliant. 
I loved the smoothness that complemented the good roasty flavours. 
It doesn't have to be an imperial size stout. 
I plan to make one someday, but that's a long long list...
There were some posts around of people who have done it, as has been mentioned, and I believe they had some success, whoever they were...


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## craig maher (8/11/07)

From the Brew Your Own recipe archive.................


Black Pearl Oyster Stout 


(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain with bivalve mollusks) 
OG = 1.052 FG = 1.013 IBU = 37 SRM = 60 ABV = 5.0% 

Despite names like Fat Spider Ale, Turkey Stout and Black Kitty Brown, only one BYO recipe has ever featured animals as an ingredient Black Pearl Oyster Stout. Weve been lucky enough to taste this beer, brewed by Joe Walton and Jim Michalk, and its delicious. The beer has a complex dark grain character and a slightly silky mouthfeel. Theres no strong oyster flavor, but you may detect a slight salty/briney character. For best results, use hard water with a moderate to high level of carbonates. 

Ingredients 
9.0 lbs. (4.1 kg) 2-row pale malt 
0.5 lb. (0.22 kg) flaked oats 
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) roasted barley 
0.5 lb. (0.22 kg) chocolate malt 
0.25 lb. (0.11 kg) black patent malt 
10 oz. can raw oysters (and brine) 
1 tsp. Irish moss 
8.6 AAU Fuggles hops (60 mins) 
(1.5 oz./43 g of 5.7% alpha acids) 
4.3 AAU Fuggles hops (20 mins) 
(0.75 oz./21 g of 5.7% alpha acids) 
Wyeast 1084 (Irish Ale) or White Labs 
WLP004 (Irish Ale) yeast 
0.75 cups corn sugar (for priming) 

Step by Step 
Mash grains for 45 minutes at 
152 F (67 C). Boil wort for 120 minutes. Add hops at times indicated. Add oysters and Irish moss with 15 minutes left. Cool wort. Transfer to fermenter, leaving oyster bits behind. (Dont eat the oysters, Joe and Jim say they taste terrible.) Aerate, pitch yeast and ferment at 68 F (20 C). 

Extract with grains option: 
Replace 2-row pale malt with 14 oz. (0.40 kg) Briess Light dried malt extract, 3 lbs. 14 oz. (1.8 kg) Muntons Light liquid malt extract and 2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) 2-row pale malt. In a 3 gallon (11 L) or larger stock pot, heat 1.6 gallons (6 L) of water to 163 F (73 C). Placed crushed grains and flaked oats in a large steeping bag and submerge bag in this hot water. Maintain temperature at 148153 F (6467 C) for 45 minutes. While grains mash, heat one gallon (3.8 L) of water to 170 F (77 C). Remove grain bag from steeping pot and place in colander over stock pot. Rinse grains with 0.75 gallons (2.8 L) of water from brewpot. Combine grain tea and dried malt extract with remaining hot water in brewpot and heat to a boil. Boil 60 minutes, adding hops at times remaining indicated in recipe. With 15 minutes left in the boil, add liquid malt extract, oysters and Irish moss. Stir thoroughly to dissolve extract. (Keep the clock running even though it will take a few minutes for the wort to resume boiling.) Cool wort and transfer to fermenter, leaving oyster bits behind. Add water to make 5 gallons (19 L). Aerate, pitch yeast and ferment at 68 F (20 C). 

(All-grain recipe from Oyster Stout: A seaworthy stout experiment by Joe Walton, January-February 2004, p. 64.)


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## jayse (8/11/07)

Willie did it with the brewery and brewers at malt shovel king st wharf


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## PostModern (8/11/07)

jayse said:


> Willie did it with the brewery and brewers at malt shovel king st wharf



13 oysters in what a 1500L batch? Is that even an oyster stout?


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## Weizguy (8/11/07)

I tasted that beer at the Squire beerhouse on the King St wharf, and it was quite nice, without discernible oyster flava.

Potters also made one, and IIRC used a 1/2 dozen oysters in 600 litres. I could detect the oysters if I squinted, but others could pick it. Goes to show that you don't need much oyster/beer volume.

Les out


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## captaincleanoff (8/11/07)

there is a restaurant/shop in Tasmania called Marila Bay Oysters, who make their own Oyster Beer. It actually has a mild taste of oysters... but just sorta tasted like beer mixed with sea water to me!


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## n00ch (8/11/07)

I made one 2 weeks ago. Used 3 oysters in a 25ltr batch, Keith said Potters used 6 in a 600ltr batch and it was to many...Why I then used 3 in 25ltrs i don't know (something to do with a drunken conversation with Les I think)... I tried it the other day out of primary and it is quite minerally, not a great deal of oyster taste as such though.

This was going to be my HAG case swap beer but I think this one will need a fair bit of time in the bottle so I'm going to brew something else. 

Hey it might turn into a good beer in 6 months....


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## Keith the Beer Guy (8/11/07)

The Oyster Stout at Potters has been brewed by different people over the last couple of years, it is one of our seasonals brewed as a one-off batch for St Patricks day celebrations.

Two years ago the recipe was as simple as some roast barley and a richly flavoured ale malt, and the oyster quantity was very low. I could not pick out an oyster flavour, but the texture of the beer was fabulous.

This year the malt bill had far more complexity, can anyone say 'layers', and a lot more oysters. It would be inappropriate for me to reveal an exact quantity, but if you took a guess at somewhere between 1 dozen and 3 dozen oysters you would probably be in the right ball park. 

Happy Brewing,

Keith


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## sinkas (8/11/07)

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/scheldebrouwe...terstout/16920/

Scheldebrouwerij Oesterstout

-Filtered over Zealand oyster shells.

often available here in West Oz, bloody nice, cant say the oyster shells seem to do much...


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## goatherder (8/11/07)

And can I say that the most recent Potters Oyster Stout was sooo good. Best. Stout. Ever. (in my best comic book guy voice)


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## Tony (8/11/07)

I will second that....... it was soooooo smooth and creamy. I couldnt really taste oysters but there was something different about it

flavour?
texture?
layers? 


must have been the oysters 

cheers


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## crundle (22/3/09)

I am keen on trying this recipe Black Pearl Oyster Stout recipe

I am thinking of only using one oyster in the brew instead of their recommended amount. I would rather have a drinkable beer that I can improve next time than something undrinkable.

Has anyone made this Black Pearl Oyster stout before?

cheers,

Crundle


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## barfridge (22/3/09)

Tony said:


> I will second that....... it was soooooo smooth and creamy. I couldnt really taste oysters but there was something different about it
> 
> flavour?
> texture?
> ...


Layers? Maybe they added onions


(or parfait)


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## dj1984 (22/3/09)

Dont do it Crundle!!!!!


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## fcmcg (22/3/09)

dj1984 said:


> Dont do it Crundle!!!!!



Bellarine Brewing down Geelong way do a lovely oyster stout...i reckon it's worth a try...actually i've just finished bootling and kegging my oatmeal stout and was thinking what it'd be like to make an oyster stout...so i reckon go for it


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## Tony M (23/3/09)

Crundle, talk to sinkas (half a dozen posts back) He made one for the Sandgropers Xmas swap and it was a ripper. I have spent most of my entire life on, in or at least within earshot of the ocean and Sinkas definitely captured a little of it and expertly combined it in his stout.


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## glennheinzel (23/3/09)

As per general advice, start by using a small amount of oysters and fine tune your recipe from there.

FYI - I had the Porterhouse Oyster Stout over Xmas. It was the second beer of the day and the taste (like oyster sauce) stuck with me through to the next morning.


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## crundle (23/3/09)

Rukh said:


> As per general advice, start by using a small amount of oysters and fine tune your recipe from there.
> 
> FYI - I had the Porterhouse Oyster Stout over Xmas. It was the second beer of the day and the taste (like oyster sauce) stuck with me through to the next morning.



Don't tell DJ1984 that, I am trying to convince him that it will taste alright!

Crundle


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## sinkas (23/3/09)

scheldebrou oesterstout clone

A ProMash Recipe Report

Recipe Specifics
----------------

Batch Size (L): 40.00 Wort Size (L): 40.00
Total Grain (kg): 11.40
Anticipated OG: 1.075 Plato: 18.27
Anticipated SRM: 44.8
Anticipated IBU: 49.7
Brewhouse Efficiency: 85 %
Wort Boil Time: 90 Minutes

Pre-Boil Amounts
----------------

Evaporation Rate: 15.00 Percent Per Hour
Pre-Boil Wort Size: 51.61 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.058 SG 14.36 Plato

Formulas Used
-------------

Brewhouse Efficiency and Predicted Gravity based on Method #1, Potential Used.
Final Gravity Calculation Based on Points.
Hard Value of Sucrose applied. Value for recipe: 46.2100 ppppg
Yield Type used in Gravity Prediction: Fine Grind Dry Basis.

Color Formula Used: Morey
Hop IBU Formula Used: Rager

Additional Utilization Used For Plug Hops: 2 %
Additional Utilization Used For Pellet Hops: 10 %


Grain/Extract/Sugar

% Amount Name Origin Potential SRM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
83.3 9.50 kg. Weyermann Munich I Germany 1.038 8
8.8 1.00 kg. Weyermann Caramunich II Germany 1.035 63
7.9 0.90 kg. JWM Roasted Malt Australia 1.032 609

Potential represented as SG per pound per gallon.


Hops

Amount Name Form Alpha IBU Boil Time
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
50.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Whole 4.75 15.8 60 min.
50.00 g. Wye Challenger Whole 7.50 24.9 60 min.
20.00 g. Goldings - E.K. Pellet 4.75 3.5 30 min.
20.00 g. Wye Challenger Pellet 7.50 5.6 30 min.


Yeast
-----




Mash Schedule
-------------

Mash Type: Single Step

Grain kg: 11.40
Water Qts: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions
Water L: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions

L Water Per kg Grain: 0.00 - Before Additional Infusions

Saccharification Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Mash-out Rest Temp : 0 Time: 0
Sparge Temp : 0 Time: 0


Total Mash Volume L: 0.00 - Dough-In Infusion Only

All temperature measurements are degrees Celsius.
*
all runnings through spare kettle full of rinsed oyster shells (5kg or so) on way to *kettle ask your local fishmonger


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## glennheinzel (23/3/09)

crundle said:


> Don't tell DJ1984 that, I am trying to convince him that it will taste alright!
> 
> Crundle



:icon_offtopic: I'm sure that I just had an off batch...


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## crundle (23/3/09)

Thanks Sinkas, will give it a crack - and a good excuse to eat enough oysters to filter the wort through!

cheers,

Crundle


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## sinkas (23/3/09)

JUst go to your local fish monger, they throw away the top shell after shucking, my local was happy enough to freeze a 20 l bucket for me.


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## crundle (3/4/09)

Knocking up an oyster stout this Saturday, based on Sinkas recipe. Will post up pics on this thread and recipe when I work out how to get it from beersmith. I have been looking forward to this for a while now, and despite the pleadings of DJ1984 that it is just wrong, it is all teed up and ready to go at 8am tomorrow.

Thanks for the input Sinkas and others, this should be a great winter warmer!

cheers,

Crundle


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## newguy (3/4/09)

I'm halfway tempted to do an escargot stout. Anyone attempt this before?


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## Katherine (3/4/09)

newguy said:


> I'm halfway tempted to do an escargot stout. Anyone attempt this before?



And the point of doing that??? escargot are quite bland without garlic... though I have heard of garlic beer before!


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## newguy (3/4/09)

Katie said:


> And the point of doing that???



Pretty much just so I can say I did it. The wife bought a tin of them some time ago so she could make stuffed mushroom caps with escargot. I got the idea as soon as she opened the can because it reminded me of smoked oysters.


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## dj1984 (3/4/09)

crundle said:


> I have been looking forward to this for a while now, and despite the pleadings of DJ1984 that it is just wrong, it is all teed up and ready to go at 8am tomorrow.




:lol: just have a stout with oysters on the side or if you feel the need slide one in the glass, but not in the kettle!!!!! :icon_vomit:


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## Tasered (3/4/09)

At Hunter Beer Co they've been doing it as a seasonal for a few years now - I'm actually dropping this year's batch off to the Sydney Local Taphouse today (should be on tap some time next week). It was my turn to brew it this year and I brewed a Smoked Oyster Stout - put in a bit of Rauch malt and without doubt turned out sensational, in my opinion... but now you guys can taste for yourself @ The Local.

So if you have a bit of Rauch put in 5 - 10% of the grist.

Oh and not too many Oysters or you might as well lick a bottom of a ship. We use 12 for 5Hl


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## crundle (4/4/09)

The brew day went well, but I had to go to work when it was done, so I didn't get a chance to put up the recipe and photos yet, hope to do that tomorrow. It is in the cube now and should be ready to pitch yeast in it tomorrow arvo. Rather than 'filter' the stout over the oyster shells, I ended up putting the oyster shells in by Swiss voile bag and immersing them in my urn at the end of the boil for about 2 minutes, then took it out so I could cube the beer straight from the urn.

There is no discernable smell at all in the hot wort, so I think that this will be drinkable, and hopefully there will be just a hint of 'something' different with it when it is ready. I didn't test the gravity yet, so will have to do that tomorrow once I dump it into the fermenter. Hopefully I managed to hit the target SG this time, I was stirring madly every 10 minutes during the mash instead of my previous 'dunking' technique. 

Will be interesting to hear reports about the smoked oyster beer on tap, was that 12 smoked oysters in 500 litres?

Not too sure about escargo beer, but then again, why not, its only a little step on from oysters I guess! (Run it past dj1984 - LOL)

cheers,

Crundle


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## dj1984 (4/4/09)

Anything that is alive or was alive does not belong in beer apart from yeast!!


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## JonnyAnchovy (4/4/09)

dj1984 said:


> Anything that is alive or was alive does not belong in beer apart from yeast!!



barley? hops?

just being a pedantic bastard....


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## Tony (4/4/09)

I made a stout years ago and after the boil i found there were several slugs in the kettle when i filled it. They were now cooked meaty lumps on the bottom of the kettle.

It was a great stout.

Litteraly slid down the throat 

cheers


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## dj1984 (4/4/09)

Tony said:


> I made a stout years ago and after the boil i found there were several slugs in the kettle when i filled it. They were now cooked meaty lumps on the bottom of the kettle.
> 
> It was a great stout.
> 
> ...



ohh dude im gonna chuck, :icon_vomit: SLUGS!!!!


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## Tony (4/4/09)

Yep true story!

50 liters of it and it was tops!


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## Tasered (6/4/09)

crundle said:


> Will be interesting to hear reports about the smoked oyster beer on tap, was that 12 smoked oysters in 500 litres?
> 
> cheers,
> 
> Crundle



Yeah like Keith said it has varied in the past from 12 - 36 in 500. The year prior - not sure how many but to me it had a nice little "olive" character definitely from the Oysters. I backed down and you can definitely pick up a slight mineral aroma but then the malt grist takes the front seat in flavour. Dropped the keg off at The Local and will be on tap probably around Wed or Good Friday - appropriate for a seafood eating day...

Hope the brew day went well - feel free to bring a bottle up to the Hunter...

Craig


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## PostModern (6/4/09)

Tasered said:


> Dropped the keg off at The Local and will be on tap probably around Wed or Good Friday - appropriate for a seafood eating day...



Damn one day too late for the Darlo Ale-Stars tomorrow night. I'd like to give this a taste!


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## crundle (7/4/09)

BeerSmith Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Oyster Stout
Style: Sweet Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (35.0) 


Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Batch Size: 20.00 L 
Boil Size: 28.71 L
Estimated OG: 1.057 SG
Estimated Color: 31.1 SRM
Estimated IBU: 38.8 IBU
Brewhouse Efficiency: 65.00 %
Boil Time: 90 Minutes


Ingredients:
------------
Amount Item Type % or IBU 
4.75 kg Munich I (Weyermann) (7.1 SRM) Grain 83.33 % 
0.50 kg Caramunich II (Weyermann) (63.0 SRM) Grain 8.77 % 
0.45 kg Roasted Barley (300.0 SRM) Grain 7.90 % 
20.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.20 %] (60 min) Hops 9.9 IBU 
20.00 gm Northern Brewer [7.70 %] (60 min) Hops 18.1 IBU 
10.00 gm Northern Brewer [7.70 %] (30 min) Hops 7.0 IBU 
10.00 gm Goldings, East Kent [4.20 %] (30 min) Hops 3.8 IBU 
0.50 items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 15.0 min) Misc 
2.00 kg Oyster shells (Mash 0.0 min) Misc 
1 Pkgs Nottingham Yeast (Lallemand #-) Yeast-Ale 



Mash Schedule: Full volume Single Infusion, Medium body, Mash Out
Total Grain Weight: 5.70 kg
----------------------------
Full volume Single Infusion, Medium body, Mash Out
Step Time Name Description Step Temp 
60 min Infusion Add 28.00 L of water at 69.4 C 66.0 C 
20 min Mash Out Heat to 78.0 C over 10 min 78.0 C 

Notes:
------
Lacking a way to 'filter' the hot wort over the shells, I put the shells into a Swiss voile bag and put them in the boiled wort for 1 minute before removing.


Got it fermenting today, and it smells good, no overly noticeable odour. Will let you know how it tastes in a few weeks when it is ready to keg.

cheers,

Crundle


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## crundle (11/5/10)

Hmm, seems I didn't get back to it after all, but here goes....

It had a minerally taste to it for the first 6 weeks it was in the keg, but then eased up and became quite drinkable, with a hint of 'something different' about it.

I think the mineral taste came from the shells.

I had one of these last week that I had bottled from the keg, and it was a great drop. I will revisit this again I think, especially as I now know a bit more about how to make up a recipe for stout, so this one shouldn't be as harsh as the last one, as it had far too much roasted barley in it.

Crundle


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## Cortez The Killer (11/5/10)

I had the oyster stout at Potters about a month ago when passing through to Singleton

Can't say I picked up any oyster flavours at all

The stout was most excellent though

Cheers


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## MHB (11/5/10)

Keith kindly put it on tap late in the day when we were up there for a brew day Sunday before last.

Lovely stout, the oyster is just a hint and the smoke didn't dominate the beer, lots of big roast and chocolate notes and just those subtle hints of kelp/iodine and smoke.

Anywhere anytime I'll have another.

MHB


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## neonmeate (11/5/10)

the three boys oyster stout (from nz) at the recent anzac day thing at local taphouse was pretty bloody good, and it had real oysters apparently. great wild brininess it added, like the sea breeze whipping in off christchurch harbour. lovely thick roasty malt presence too


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## Kingy (17/5/10)

i had an oyster stout at potters on the weekend, had a good shine off 2 schooners then checked tap label and it was 6.9% alc looked like i wasnt driving. Convinced the misses into having a coffee in which i used that time to drink some bock. Her coffee was that good she wanted another. " Yes" i thought, time for another bock or 2 lol.
Big arse steak sandwich with chips during the beers and was loaded for the ride home. always impressed with my visits to potters brewery.
However there was a cranky old lady working there this time who was basically looking for trouble amongst the patrons. Not a good look!


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