The food-loving folks at Flatbush's The Farm on Adderley are pairing up locally-brewed stouts with some briny bivalves at their Stouts & Oysters event, which began this week. In our experience, oysters go great with an icy martini or glass of bubbly, so we were curious about this unexpected (from our experience) pairing. We spoke with Tom Kearney, the Farm's chef, about why oysters and stouts are perfect partners and the right way to sip and slurp.

What makes stout a good pairing for oysters? I think the creamy texture of a stout marries well with the silkiness of oysters in general. Oysters really like sparkling beverages. Champagne and oysters is pretty classic. Some brewers are using oyster shells in their beers like in an oyster stout.

What flavors do you look for in the beers? How do they mingle with the oysters? There are a lot of compatible and contrasting flavors at work. Sometimes you get an oyster that is sweet and creamy and that can play into a contrast pairing with a bitter, malty, or smokey stout. Sometimes you get an oyster that is showing bitterness and the bitterness in the beer cancel each other out. When that happens it brings out all of the complexity of that was lurking behind that bitterness.

When tasting the two together, do you sip the beer then slurp the oyster or vice versa? You know that's a good question. For me I like to eat the oyster first. Probably need a couple oysters to test it out. I'd say that's part of the adventure of discovery. I've heard of people actually pouring some beer right into the shell of the oyster.

Is there a big flavor difference between East and West coast oysters? East coast oysters tend to be brinier and have a more springy texture. The Atlantic Ocean's higher salinity content makes them a bit more salty. West coast oysters more creamy in texture, sweeter.

The Farm's event continues through the end of the month, with four super local stouts and four varieties of oyster from both coasts. Check out the lineup below and get slurpin'.

OYSTERS
Barcat (Chesapeake Bay, Virginia)

Cedar Island (Point Judith Pond, Rhode Island)

Deer Creek (Hammersby Inlet, Washington)

Fanny Bay (Baynes Sound, British Columbia)

STOUTS
Small, Dark and Handsome (Other Half Brewing Co., Brooklyn, NY)

Carton of milk stout (Carton Brewing, Atlantic Highlands, NJ)

Morticia (Barrier Brewing Co., Oceanside, NY)

Natas (Finback Brewery, Ridgewood, NY)