Catawba Valley Bier de Clam

Brewed by Catawba Valley Brewing Company
Style: Dry Stout
Glen Alpine, North Carolina USA

Tap @ Barley’s Taproom - The name and description kind of grossed me out. I honestly don’t know why I got the beer. I kept thinking about the water being filtered through clams.

A dark brown pour with a light vbrown head and lace. A sweet malt aroma and a slihght hint of choco and coffee. A unique flavor that reminds me of a smokey oyster bar with a big presence of coffee and the oysteriness of this beer is incredible especially the smoke. Smooth carbonation that is a big plus for me but the palate is just a tad thin. A unique4 drinking experience to say the least. My compliments to the chef

Draught. Pours a black-ruby color with a dark tan head. The aroma is significantly roasty with suggestions of nuts, walnuts and almonds in particular, espresso, cacao. The flavor has a pleasing level of roastiness. A bit of chocolate balances things out while the finish is quite drying like peanut skins. Also sweet flavors of vanilla wafers are present. All in all, it’s a nice beer though some weird gummy flavors come out. Maybe that’s the oysters. . .it’s a nice dry stout anyway.

Draught at Barley’s in Asheville. Pours very black with amber extremities and tan head. The aroma is espresso, dark chocolate, toffee, and raisin. The flavor is espresso, wood, slight bitter chocolate, and maybe some earthy hops. Toward the finish it gets a bit of a salty kick, along with some charred wood. The oysters become evident in the aftertaste, and get slightly more noticeable the more I drink. I loved this one. Quite good.

On tap @ Barley’s in Asheville. I must say I’m glad I tried another Catawba brew after having the underwhelming Farmer Ted’s Farmhouse Ale. The tap list said something about this being filtered over oysters, which I had heard of being done before and was curious. The beer was jet black and had a nice dense creamy tan head. The aroma was mildly nutty with sweet roasted malt notes and an additional earthy quality that reminded me a little of brine. This additional quality defintely added a nice subtle touch to the nose as well as the taste. The taste started off with a light nuttiness with a real unique sweet roast taste that is creamy all the way down. Extremely satisfying, very drinkable. I really liked this one.