Steinbier: Can I cheat?

[ocwo92]

In about two weeks, two of my brewing friends and I are going to brew Steinbier:

We'll heat rocks in our garden fire and use them to boil the brew. Also, we're going to heat some smaller rocks that we place in a mesh, which we'll raise and lower into the wort a few times so the sugars caramelize on the heated rocks. These rocks are put aside and dumped into the fermenter during secondary fermentation.

We're going to cheat a little, though, by performing the mash in the regular, controlled fashion rather than playing with hot rocks.

But, for future Steinbeer brews, I'm wondering if I can cheat a little more: I'm guessing that perhaps boiling with hot rocks will cause only limited caramelization, so maybe the caramelization effect can be achieved with just the smaller rocks that I lower into the wort and add to secondary.

Or perhaps I could simply take some amount of the wort and caramelize it in a skillet, thus doing away with the rocks entirely.

Any ideas whether this would produce the same flavor as the one that characterizes genuine Steinbier?

 

[m1k3]

Or perhaps I could simply take some amount of the wort and caramelize it in a skillet, thus doing away with the rocks

This is the same idea as running off a little bit and then boiling it really hard before running off completely. I like the idea of using a separate skillet or pot.

BTW- Some rocks have a tendency of cracking and exploding. Be careful.

 

[porterpounder]

Our club did this last last fall. It took a really long time and a LOT of back and forth from a hardwood fire to get the wort to come to a boil. When we did it boiled off quite a bit more than we expected and we had little to no caramelization on any of the rocks at any point. Granted most of the stones went back into the fire, but even the ones deemed unworthy to return to the flame weren't even slightly sticky when cool. We used granite cobblestones. No explosions, but most cracked at least a little bit. Get that fire HOT.

 

[ocwo92]

It took a really long time and a LOT of back and forth from a hardwood fire to get the wort to come to a boil.

That's interesting. When I read about it from a group who had done it several times, I got the impression that about ten pounds of rock should suffice for a 5 gallon brew. How much did you brew, and how long did it take to get it to boil?

I was actually planning to place the pot on my burner as a back-up so we could get it to boil the traditional way if the rocks became too much work.

 

[madscientist451]

Looks like an ambitious project. I think it would be worthwhile to have some buddies over this weekend, crack a few beers, get a fire going and do a test run and boil some water with hot rocks.

 

[Spartan1979]

If you want to do this, why do you want to cheat?

 

[ocwo92]

If you want to do this, why do you want to cheat?

Because I'm interested in that special caramel taste that characterizes Steinbier rather than the authenticity of the process.

 

[porterpounder]

We did a 5 gallon batch. Took about an hour of back and forth from fire to kettle to get from mash temp of about 150 F to a boil. After that it was hard not to get it to boil over. Ended up with about 4 gallons after all was said and done.

That's interesting. When I read about it from a group who had done it several times, I got the impression that about ten pounds of rock should suffice for a 5 gallon brew. How much did you brew, and how long did it take to get it to boil?

I was actually planning to place the pot on my burner as a back-up so we could get it to boil the traditional way if the rocks became too much work.

 

[mattd2]

...Or perhaps I could simply take some amount of the wort and caramelize it in a skillet, thus doing away with the rocks entirely...

I have done this on a Scottish ale and it seemed to work ok - took some of the first runnings and poured it into a hot saucepan and then reduced it down. Don't know if it would mimic the hot rocks though.

 

[ocwo92]

I have done this on a Scottish ale and it seemed to work ok - took some of the first runnings and poured it into a hot saucepan and then reduced it down. Don't know if it would mimic the hot rocks though.

If you reduce it and allow it to caramelize, I think it would. But merely reducing it to a concentrate probably won't.

 

[mattd2]

If you reduce it and allow it to caramelize, I think it would. But merely reducing it to a concentrate probably won't.

Yeah - it was only about a litre from memory so reduced down to somewhat of a syrupy consistence - but also I had the saucepan nice and hot before pouring the first runnings in to hopefully get some caramelising from that initial contact.
It would have been good if I had done a split batch - one with the reduced wort and one with out to see if there was actually a difference.

 

[wilserbrewer]

..........so maybe the caramelization effect can be achieved with just the smaller rocks that I lower into the wort and add to secondary.



?

I would be concerned with infection or wild yeast on the reserved fermentables?

 

[ocwo92]

I would be concerned with infection or wild yeast on the reserved fermentables?

I think the risk is very low. I intend to place them in a sanitized pot while they're still very hot. Also, by the time the rocks are put into the fermenter the yeast should have won the battle for the wort.

 

[wilserbrewer]

I think the risk is very low. I intend to place them in a sanitized pot while they're still very hot. Also, by the time the rocks are put into the fermenter the yeast should have won the battle for the wort.

You are likely correct, I know my hydrometer samples spontaneously ferment if i allow them to "hang around" for a few days....

 

[ocwo92]

You are likely correct, I know my hydrometer samples spontaneously ferment if i allow them to "hang around" for a few days....

If they are hydrometer samples from the fermenting wort, then certainly they'll ferment, too. If you're referring to the OG samples before yeast is added, I'd expect my samples to start fermenting (or rather, get infected) within a week, too, if they're exposed to open air for an extended period.

I intend to store the hot rocks in a sealed, sanitized container in the fridge, though, so I expect the exposure to wild yeast and bacteria will be negligible.

 

[dzlater]

I'm certainly no expert on Steinbeir.
But I can't imagine adding the rocks to the secondary will add anything.
Is this something you thought up yourself? Or have others done this?

 

[ocwo92]

I'm certainly no expert on Steinbeir.
But I can't imagine adding the rocks to the secondary will add anything.
Is this something you thought up yourself? Or have others done this?

I got the idea of adding the rocks to secondary from a book on brewing so it seems others have done it before.

It turned out that our "plan B" of using smaller rocks that we dipped in the wort multiple times, allowing the wort to caramelize on the rocks between each immersion worked. The rocks accumulated visibly thicker layers of caramel, and there was a strong smell of caramelized sugars in the air.

I expect the taste to become noticeable in the final brew.

 

[dzlater]

Cool, I never heard of that before.
Sounds like it's working.
How are you storing them till you put them in secondary.
Seems it would be a source for contamination?

 

[ocwo92]

How are you storing them till you put them in secondary.
Seems it would be a source for contamination?

I disinfected a pot and its lid a few hours earlier in the stove. So I simply dropped the still very hot rocks in the pot and put the lid back on, then sealed it with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge once it had cooled down. I think this should minimize the risk of infection significantly. Also, at the time I put the rocks in the fermenter, the SG had dropped to about 1.013 so any contamination of the rocks would be subject to a somewhat hostile environment.

 

[ThatVideoKid]

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