Recently, a bivalve-o-phile by the name of Patrick McMurray, champion oyster shucker and proprietor of Toronto's Starfish Oyster Bed & Grill, released a highly attractive and informative book called "Consider the Oyster." Since Patrick is a friend and World of Beer is principally about beverages rather than bivalves, I'll not embark here upon a review, save to suggest that it really is a book well worth buying. Instead, I'll use Patrick's efforts to kick start a topic close to my heart, specifically the pairing of oysters and beer.

     It's a partnership that began quite organically. Back in the day, oysters were plentiful in the dockland pubs of London, England, where they were often served cheaply, or even as free bar snacks. Since porter was the beer style of choice at the time, it's hardly surprising that many a pint of this roasty, ebony ale ended up being downed alongside teeming plates of oysters on the half-shell.

     Happily, the relationship made gastronomic as well as economic sense. Roasted malt tends to have a slightly salty taste to it, which of course gives it a character complementary to the brininess of a raw oyster. Further, the dry or off-dry and only mild to moderately bitter taste of a porter or dry stout provides a palate-cleansing counterpoint to the creamy, delicately fruity character of many bivalves.

     The harmonies continue. It is suggested that, at one point, brewers used beds of crushed oyster shells as filtering agents, a practice that ultimately led to the addition of whole oysters and/or their liquid to the conditioning beer. Although it might sound odd, the flavour impact is actually quite wonderful and produces a silken, vaguely briny and fruity-sweet delight, as anyone who has sampled Starfish's trademark Patrick's Oyster Stout will attest.

     For those lacking a passion for stout, the Germanic black lager known as schwarzbier makes a perfectly acceptable substitute, although the light fruitiness of a stout or porter will be sacrificed. And if you are, indeed, afraid of the dark, consider a lightly-hopped golden or amber ale, along the lines of a kölsch, a proper American-style cream ale, a light-bodied brown ale or dubbel, or one of the fruitier, less bitter versions of the tripel style.

     And while we're on the subject of fruitiness in beer, I should add that some fruit beers can also work well with bivalves, but care must be taken to avoid overly sweet versions. Something like the children's cough syrup-sweet Belle-Vue Kriek, for example, will simply overwhelm the oyster and leave you wondering why you paid $2.50 apiece for your selections.

     On the "what to avoid" front, I'd advise staying away from any beer that is overly hoppy and bitter, from German-style pilsners to pale ales and India pale ales. Bitterness can seriously conflict with the minerally taste of some oysters and turn their flavour metallic and off-putting in your mouth.

     Finally, just for fun, it's worth venturing occasionally to the other side of this column's mandate and enjoying a whisk(e)y with a plate of oysters, sweeter Irish whiskeys with delicately-flavoured oysters of the species Crassostrea sikaema and salt air influenced Scottish malts with bolder, cold water Crassostrea virginica oysters. And don't ask me what kinds of oysters are in those two families; it's all in Patrick's book.

• Considering Oysters & Beer April 2007
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• A Year in Beer & Food January 2008
• Cooking Up My Last Supper December 2007
• The Best of Beer Fests? November 2007
• My First Visit to Oktoberfest October 2007
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• Time to Kill the Cold May 2007
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• Turning St. Patrick on His Head March 2007
• A Tale of a Tasting February 2007
• Twelve Months of Beer January 2007
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• Why Can't Somebody Explain this Beer to Me? October 2006
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• Tallking Tin May 2006
• Consider the Cocktail April 2006
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• Looking Forward in 2006 Janaury 2006
• Gifts for the Gourmand December 2005
• Beer Tasting 101 November 2005
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• The Empty Words of Beer October 2004
• A Visit to the Griffin Brewery September 2004
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• Perspective on the Premium Beer Market November 2003
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• Random Reflections at Summer's End, September 2003
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• The Case for the Complexity of Beer, June 2003
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• Oregon Brewers Festival 2002, August 2002
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• Smell Your Beer, September 2001
• Travel Karma, Great Beer and the Oregon Brewers festival, August 2001
• Switzerland after Samichlaus, July 2001
• A Tale of Three Bus(c)hes, June 2001
• Announcing a New Great Canadian Beer Guide, May 2001
• Beer Belongs at the Table, April 2001
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• Why Craft Beer is Here to Stay, February 2001
• Y2Beer -- The Year in Review, January 2001
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• The Downside of Beer and Brewing, August 2000
• So Why Do You Drink Beer?, July 2000
• The Summer Joy of Wheat, June 2000
• In Defense of Beer, May 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Part II, April 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Part I, April 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Introduction, April 2000
• A World of Stout, Mar 2000
• The Glass From Which We Drink, Feb 2000
• The Year As It Was: Brews, Fests and Damn Foolishness , Jan 2000
• New Years Eve, Dec 1999
• Beer in the Land of Stout, Nov 1999
• Visiting the World's Best Beer Fest, Oct 1999
• The Secretive Charm of the Bière de Garde, Sept 1999
• The Mixed Marriage of a Beer and a Cigar, Aug 1999

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