Pairing Eastern Oysters & Some Hazy IPA

"As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans." - Ernest Hemingway

Eastern Oysters From Apalachicola Paired With Free Wave Hazy IPA Non-Alcohol Beer

Pairing Eastern oysters from the Apalachicola estuary , where most of the fishery is concentrated in shallow coastal waters near riverbeds, and the nutrient streams are rich in earthen flavor profiles. The Apalachicola river basin and Gulf of Mexico covers more than 12.8M acres, and the barrier islands create a mixing zone between the fresh, nutrient rich river flow, blending with the saltwater's brine. To make for a delicious, mild brine, grassy, and earthen, with the edge of hops and haze! Paired with some good tasting Athletic Brewing Company's NA - Free Wave ~ Hazy IPA! , can cool a Florida, hot summer day.

July 5th made for a humid day in Port St. Joe, Florida. We fired up the Blackstone to cook up some Red Fish and Gulf Shrimp after a day at the beach. Into the sink went two dozen Eastern Oysters, wild caught. I scrubbed and de-fouled those babies, and shucked my heart out! I love a good oyster knife and some garden gloves to protect my accident prone self from yet another visit to the neighboring urgent care. We were about to indulge in some small, but sweet eastern oysters and Hazy IPA!

I cracked open an Athletic Brewing Company Free Wave Hazy IPA, ripped a lemon and squeezed it onto an icy plate with those Apalachicola Oyster. I pulled the tab on the NA Brew, and tasted the beer first, then grabbed an oyster - sucked it down and followed it with a slug of deliciously cold, hoppy IPA. I smelled the citrus from the aroma of the beer, then asted the briny and juicy lemon flavors of the oyster. The finish was beer forward, leaning into the pine and earthy flavors of the local bay waters. I give this Oyster Profile a 7 out 10! NA brew is here to stay, in my fridge.