Choc Lobster is another brew that evolved from our Super Small Batch program that we began at the pub to make weird one-off batches for our beer dinners.
Ben, our brewer, and Dennis, executive chef, had been talking about brewing some sort of oyster beer for long while -- first a stout, than an Apple Oyster ESB, and then with the Chocolate beer dinner coming up, Dennis finally had the idea to brew a chocolate-lobster beer, and Ben said, "Let’s do it!"
Choc Lobster was brewed to pair with a chocolate lobster bisque and white chocolate lobster salad slider. Sam happened to be at that dinner and got a real kick out of the beer, so we decided to brew a big batch for the pub so everyone else could try it.
This scaled-up batch has a robust porter base and was brewed with 40 live lobsters, which were added directly to the boil to cook off for the kitchen. The cooked lobster was then turned into a bisque, which was served as a special at the pub. Along with the lobsters, just over 6 pounds of dark cocoa powder were added to the whirlpool, along with a basil tea that was added to compliment both the chocolate and lobster.
The result is a rich dark ale with notes of bittersweet chocolate and roast, with a slight herbal nuance and a subdued taste of the ocean in the finish. Just like the song goes -- "it wasn’t a rock, it was a Choc Lobster!"
Choc Lobster will be available starting at noon 6/29/12 and be available until it's gone.
