No Work Today!

ARTWORK BY FRAN GORDON

EXPORT OYSTER STOUT
9% ABV
SEASONS CHANGE

No Work Today! is made using oyster shells from Gigha and Loch Fyne, cacao husks and Belgian dark candi sugar. It’s a confirmed-cockle-warming Winter special. Expect flavours of sea spray, caramel, blackberries, coffee, baked nuts and chocolate. Up front it's like a luxurious block of chocolate sparsely studded with salt crystals. Then that heavy bitterness and charged roasted character permeate the finish. 

Apologies to all vegans and vegetarians as this is our first non vegan friendly beer. But the urge to experiment with the Oyster Stout style became too strong to ignore. What if, I thought, you just add the oyster shells to complement the chocolate flavours, buffer the pH and exacerbate the roasted dryness? Leave out the flesh to avoid a briny body. After all Export Stouts need to have that fiery bite and gritty texture. The result is balanced and successful: a decadently complex Export Stout has been produced. A most fitting companion for the cold snap we’re in. 

Many thanks to @petermckennaglasgow1 and the chefs @crabshakkbotanics & @crabshakkfinnieston for the spare shells that would have otherwise gone to waste. You may also like to know the spent oyster shells after the brew day went to a local allotment where they will be broken down to supplement chicken feed. (From one shell to another the calcium carbonate circle continues!) Another huge thanks to @frangordon_ for the alluring & abstract artwork adorning the shiny label. 

For those still reading, and interested, the name 'No Work Today!’ is a reference to the Disney song adaptation of Lewis Caroll’s poem ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’, where some poor oysters infamously feature. A fitting name for a strong beer released so close to the holiday period. Furthermore, my dear late Glaswegian Grandma had a toy shop in town, back in the day, called 'The Walrus and The Carpenter’. So it all seemed very appropriate.