Steinbier is German for stone beer. It’s a traditional method of brewing beer in Bavaria and parts of Scandinavia that uses super-heated granite stones to boil the wort.
The quick caramelization when the rocks are dropped into wort, or the wort poured over the hot rocks, creates a smokey, slightly sweet and malty beer.
German brewmaster Sebastian Sauer, of Freigeist Bierkultur in Cologne, recently visited Steel & Oak Brewing Co. in New Westminster, to share this old-world brewing technique.
MARIO BARTEL 