Rauchenels Steinbier

Review Date 8/6/2003 By John Staradumsky

Sorry friends, but this beer begs the question...why get drunk when you can get stoned?

DISCLAIMER:  Of course, the above line is merely a play on words. The author does not recommend getting stinking drunk or stoned. The true enjoyment of a well-made beer is the appreciation of its flavor, something that is best accomplished in moderation. Of course, it is OK to throw caution to the wind and get a little bit of a buzz going from time to time. Just remember to surrender the keys before you do so.

The preceding was a public service message from your friendly neighborhood Bruguru.

Ahem. Now, back to the beer. Very well, dear readers, I have a proposition for you. What do you think about putting rocks in your beer? No, I don’t have rocks in my head, as you may be thinking right about now. And I don’t mean you should go pour yourself a glass of your favorite brew right now and drop a few stones in it, either. No, I’m talking about brewing with rocks. Allow me to explain.

Long ago, in the days when brewing was done in wooden rather than metal vessels, heating the brew kettle could be a difficult proposition indeed. You couldn’t very well light a fire under it, since the wood would burn and then poof! There goes your beer. One of the ways that you could get around this was to apply heat directly inside the vessel instead of outside, using a medium such as rocks. The rocks would be super-heated in a fire, and then added to the brew, which would be raised to boiling temperature. The result: Steinbier.

That was great back then, you might say, but today we have all sorts of modern means to bring our brew to a boil without throwing rocks at it. Very true, but sometimes the old ways have a charm all their own, and one brewery in Franconia, Bavaria has resurrected the old method of brewing with rocks. I’m talking about the Rauchenfels brewery of Bamberg, now part of the Franz Josef Sailer brewing conglomerate.

Here’s what Rauchenfels says about their beer on the label:

Geboren durch Feur und Stein, nach einem der altesten Brauverfahren.

Allow me to translate:

Born through fire and stone, through one of the oldest brewing methods.

Pretty impressive words for a beer, after all. But Rauchenfelser Steinbrau (stone brew) is no average beer. The use of stones imparts wonderfully smoky, toffeeish notes to Steinbrau that are incredibly unique and extremely delicious. When the hot rocks are added to the brew kettle (which is made from metal these days), some of the malt sugars will be caramelized right onto the stone surface. The stones, heated in a beechwood fire, will impart their own smokiness to the beer.

Removed from the brew and allowed to cool, the rocks are later placed into the lagering tanks, where the beer is naturally carbonated and the yeast can feast upon the caramelized sugars. This will add even more rich dark caramel notes.
Rauchenfelser Steinbrau pours to a dark amber brown color with a light head formation and a smoky caramel nose. The palate is full of toffeeish, slightly sweet dark caramel notes and a permeating but not overpowering smokiness that hints lightly at hickory. To be sure, the smoke flavor is a major component of this beer, but it’s not as overpowering or dominant as in, say, a glass of Schlenkerla Rauchbier.

In the finish, Rauchenfelser Steinbrau is nicely balanced by a lightly grassy, slightly bitter kiss of hops. Along with the smoke flavors, the hops provide for a surprisingly dry finish given the beers smooth and slightly sweet at first caramel body. Sold in half-liter swing-top bottles, Rauchenfelser Steinbrau is a world-class beer that I think every serious beer enthusiast should experience. Given the opportunity, you should definitely try it. It’s sure to rock your world.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

 

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