21st Amendment Marooned on Hog Island Oyster Stout

Hog 21st Amendment Marooned on, Stout brewed with Hog Island Sweetwater Oyster Shells. 7.9% Alc./Vol.

Solid blackness, no light escaping, slim cocoa tinged head.

Aroma: slightly bittersweet cocoa tones hit the nose first, a little bit of roasty-toastiness. Very satisfying aromatics.

Taste: a little chocolate, a little bit of coffee enters the palate, dark malt and just a bit of bitter hoppiness dominates. Smooth and easy, with just a small amount of grit in the texture. Medium mouthfeel, not quite full-bodied. Sessionable, but not spectacular.

I'm going to take a moment to decipher the story on the can copy: "Exhausted by the tedious work and rancid beer, deck swabs O'Sullivan and Fraccia abandoned Sir Francis Drake's galleon. Days later, they washed up on a tiny island on Tomales Bay, where they encountered local oyster farmers John and Terry. Soon, these beer mutineers and oyster mercenaries were feasting on roast pig, fresh oysters and goblets of the Captain's finest ales. They could think of worse fates than being …Marooned on Hog Island."

Another silly, stupid story. And I still not know what makes an oyster stout an oyster stout, or why they say it's brewed with oyster shells, rather than the whole thing, meat and all. What would shells bring to the brewing?  Unfortunately, all that fiction tells me nothing.

What can I say? Good…nothing great.