Steinbeer

Okay, so I can't be the only one who read the BYO article this month and thought making a Steinbeer sounded cool. For those that didn't read, it involved heating rocks in a fire, and using them to bring your wort to a boil. Stein is German for stone, I believe. It instantly caramelizes some sugars, so should provide a unique flavor. I kind of like doing ancient brews/methods, so I thought this sounded like a fun idea to try. Has anyone else done this before? The article in the current BYO didn't provide a recipe, but I found this old one (from 2001) that did.

I just picked up some Munich Helles yeast this afternoon for this exact project. I'm converting a Vienna lager recipe.

Awesome! Sounds like you'll be ahead of me then. I won't be able to try for at least a month or two. Are you following any other directions, or just using the BYO article? Also, granite or volcanic rocks?

I have a very outdoorsy friend who made a sweat lodge and heated it using red hot stones. I bet she would be very interested in this style of beer. What kind of base recipe is traditional for this style?

According to the article I linked to, it would be German beers, since this was a German thing. Although, it would seem to me that others would have used it too. I know that survivalists use this method to boil water for drinking, when you don't have a metal pot handy.

Oh, that article also explains the process in better detail. It's not just the recipe.

reverendj1 said:

Awesome! Sounds like you'll be ahead of me then. I won't be able to try for at least a month or two. Are you following any other directions, or just using the BYO article? Also, granite or volcanic rocks?

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After some research, I've decided on fine-grained meta-quartz-monzonite. Also known as Stone Mountain Granite.

Dark rocks will rust slightly (high iron content), so you'll want to stay away from something like basalt. If there was an easy source for andesite, I'd use that. Use as light a color, as fine a grain, and either igneus or metamorphic. Sedimentary rocks may explode.

As far as process, I'm using Michael Jackson's The Beer Hunter as my muse.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=pCqPSoTMcV4#t=388s

interested to see how this turns out. post back here with ur results!

Good luck!

there was a thread on here a year or so ago with photos detailing his process/brew day - i'd still like to try it eventually

not sure if it can be found where you are but Port has a Hot Rocks lager that uses this method - tasty

was it me or did the article kind of do some double speak with the granite. I don't have the article with me now but it said something like "Granite is a good choice with it having moisture content and can easily explode" explode when heated and good for brewing did not make sense to me but i was having a beer at the time of reading it. re-read it and let me know if i missed something

Stein beer is amazing! Granite is the rock of choice. It wont explode because its not very porous. I did my stein with kolsch yeast and dry hopped with cascade. Its an amazing beer.

Hockeyhunter99 said:

was it me or did the article kind of do some double speak with the granite. I don't have the article with me now but it said something like "Granite is a good choice with it having moisture content and can easily explode" explode when heated and good for brewing did not make sense to me but i was having a beer at the time of reading it. re-read it and let me know if i missed something

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I believe the quote you are referring to is

Granite is the best choice for homebrewers as any moisture trapped in the rock will become superheated in the rock and cause the rock to explode.

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Yeah, it is worded poorly, but I think they are saying the moisture trapped in *other* rocks would become superheated. My dad didn't believe the old wives tale of not using river rocks for fire rings, and had one explode. This was after several years of use.