The weather is cooling down, oysters are showing up on more menus, and for many lovers of the Louisiana seafood delicacy, nothing goes with the raw critters quite like an ice-cold beer.  So how about oysters IN your beer?  One local brewery thinks that's a worthwhile combo.  Abita Brewery calls it "Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout." 

"It's dark, it's strong, it's eight percent alcohol, and we added oysters to it, and we used real Louisiana oysters," said brewmeister Mark Wilson.  "We also used some of the saltwater as well, the oyster liquor."

Wilson said you don't really taste the oyster, but it does impart a full-bodied flavor upon the stout.

"When you taste it, you're not going to taste oysters in it," Wilson said.  "But it'll definitely have a more filling mouthfeel, and that comes from the salts that are in the oysters and in the liquor."

The idea for an oyster-filled brew came to Abita from home-brewer Kerry Yoes, of Zachary, who submitted the recipe in Abita's home brewing competition. It won, so Abita is making small batches and shipping it to select Abita tap locations.

To find out who's serving Abita Imperial Louisiana Oyster Stout, click here and choose "select" from the pull-down menu in the "Find" field.