An Eyre Peninsula craft brewing company has incorporated a Coffin Bay delicacy into its latest creation – an oyster stout which is believed to be the first for South Australia.
Port Lincoln’s Beer Garden Brewing is preparing to officially launch Angasi, which creator Mark Butterworth says will help showcase the region’s seafood industry.
Mark, a former chemical engineer, says oyster stout has been around for centuries but he believes he’s the first South Australian craft brewer to release the seafood-inspired beverage.
He describes the latest brew as a “relatively smooth, full bodied, English-style stout” with a “pleasant depth of flavour”.
The first batch was made from about 40 dozen Coffin Bay native Angasi and Pacific oysters.
The Angasi stout showcases Coffin Bay’s most renowned seafood – oysters.
Mark says the oyster stout doesn’t have an overbearing fishy taste and that “you won’t be picking oyster meat out of your beer”.
“The process is not too different to a normal brew that we do,” he says.
“When we boil the batch to sterilise the beer, that’s when we add the shucked oysters in a muslin bag, resulting in a smooth flavour.”
“It’s not meant to be drunk cold, but at about 5C-10C. As it warms up it releases a bit of the oyster flavour.”
Mark recently took four kegs of the Angasi to a beer festival in Melbourne and is preparing to launch it officially in Coffin Bay soon.
Beer Garden Brewing owners Janie, left, and Mark Butterworth with brewer Dan Treagus.
He says craft brewers are increasingly experimenting with interesting ingredients.
“There were beers (at the Melbourne festival) that had crushed up snails in it, there was one that tasted like bubblegum and another like Bertie Beetles,” Mark says.
“There are a few extreme ones out there and I guess ours is lumped in that category.”
Mark has been experimenting with oyster stout for some years, and in 2015 “gave it a crack” when he home brewed a batch with half-a-dozen oysters.
In December 2016, he and chemist wife Janie launched Beer Garden Brewing, a brewery that prides itself on sustainable practices and sourcing local products, including Eyre Peninsula grain.
The brewery began with just two beers on offer, and now the oyster stout is one of 10 soon to be slurped up by seafood lovers and craft beer aficionados.
While some might find a seafood-inspired brew unappealing, Mark says those who otherwise enjoy stout would take to the oyster variety.
“We have a coffee stout (brewed with local Eyre Roasted coffee) and people really enjoy that,” he says.
“We’re seeing tastes change on the Eyre Peninsula, people were mainly drinking mainstream beer but in the last 18 months we are seeing people take a liking to craft beer.”
Mark and wife Janie moved to Port Lincoln after working at the Olympic Dam mine near Roxby Downs in the state’s Far North.
Longing for a sea change, the pair had family in Port Lincoln (Mark’s brother works in the oyster industry) and decided the coastal town was the perfect place to raise their three children and pursue their interests in craft brewing.
Visitors can take a tour of the brewery before relaxing with a pint in the beer garden.
The Butterworths are passionate about showcasing the seafood and tourism offerings of their region, and are also dedicated to remaining as environmentally sustainable.
“We have solar panels, we reuse all wastewater from the brewing processes on the garden and the spent grain goes to our head brewer’s cows,” Mark says.
“We want to have as low of an impact as possible.”
Beer Garden Brewing is facing a period of growth, with upgrades to the kitchen to accommodate for greater food offerings for visitors.
It is also upgrading the manual bottling equipment with a packaging line to allow for greater efficiency.
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