National Geographic Traveller (UK)
MONTY’S BREWERY’S DARK SECRET STOUT & MENAI OYSTERS
In 2008, Pam Honeyman, now director and head brewer of Monty’s Brewery, joined a three-week beer-making course, having come up with the idea of opening a brewery with her husband Russ over Sunday lunch. Her first brew knocked the socks off a retired beer critic who tried it in a local pub, and by her third brew, Pam was winning awards. Today, Monty’s Brewery, located in the ancient castle town of Montgomery, Powys, is Mid Wales’ premier brewery. It produces a range of caskconditioned, bottled and keg beers, all made with highquality malts and hops and, of course, Welsh water.
One of the brewery’s range of award-winning ales, Dark Secret, is a rich, full-bodied oatmeal stout that, among other accolades, won three stars at the Great Taste Awards two years on the trot. It’s certified gluten-free and has the classic roasted aroma and coffee and chocolate notes often associated with stouts. Made with malted oats and a mixture of different barleys, it also has what Pam describes as “a caramelly, nutty taste and a good balance of bitterness and sweetness”, the oats contributing “a full mouthfeel and a creamy texture on finish”. She adds, “in wintertime, it’s like a hug in a glass.”
Pam explains that “food and drinks pairings must either complement or contrast with each other in order to bring out the best in both”. Following this rule of thumb, Dark Secret works well as an accompaniment to both sweet and salty foods, its chocolatey-coffee sweetness making it both a wonderful accompaniment to chocolate cake and an excellent partner for oysters.
Shaun Krijnen, who founded Wales’ only commercial oyster farm, Menai Oysters, in 1994, describes how, when the bivalves used to be cheap and plentiful, a pint of stout was popularly served with a plate of oysters. The stout’s toasty chocolate notes contrast beautifully with the salty brine, which in turn brings out the roasted malt and coffee flavours. The crisp citrus sweetness of the oyster, meanwhile, offsets any bitterness in the finish of the beer.
Shaun also points out that salt “initially acts as a flavour enhancer”. His Pacific oysters grow in fullstrength seawater (as opposed to estuary waters) in the Menai Strait, which gives them a sea salt aroma that’s balanced out by the sweetness imparted to them by the algae that bloom there. Between their first salty hit and their sweet finish, Shaun’s oysters also have what one of his customers enthusiastically described as “a whole load of other flavours”. The Shellfish Association of Great Britain characterises these as a combination of “grapefruit, lemon, apples and herbs”, with a finish of “copper and an earthy base reminiscent of a forest floor”.
These flavours develop as the oysters mature. Shaun harvests them by hand — during peak season, some 7,000-8,000 of them a week — once they’ve reached a weight of 80g, at the age of two or three years old, by which time their flavour is substantial. He reveals they’re at their “heaviest and creamiest” in August and September. This year, he says, “they’re exceptionally plump”.
Perfect, no doubt, for pairing with one of Pam’s pints. WHERE TO START: Monty’s Brewery beers are stocked in local delis and restaurants; the full range, including Dark Secret, can be ordered from the online shop. You can also arrange tastings at its visitor centre. To buy Pacific oysters by the dozen, visit Menai Oysters’ online shop. montysbrewery.co.uk menaioysters.co.uk