A beer stein for a stein beer

Last weekend Tonya Cornett, brewmaster at Bend Brewing, flew down here to San Diego to do a collaborative brew with Tomme at Port / The Lost Abbey.

Both Tonya and Tomme are last year’s World Beer Cup champion brewers (Tonya for the small brewpub category, Tomme for the small brewery category), so the beer they brewed would no doubt be good.

Turns out they decided to make a Stein Beer, which is an old German method that involves placing super-hot rocks into the wort. (“Stein” is German for “Stone.” And thanks to Tony Guntharp for pointing me to this article on it at Brew Your Own.)

When Tomme told me what they were brewing I recall thinking it was curious because Tomme is generally dismisses German beers styles as too limiting for his tastes. (Only four ingredients? Where’s the fun in that?) But I figured Tonya had twisted his arm into agreeing to brew it and let it go at that.

This past Wednesday Beer Molly went over to the brewery and emailed me a bunch of photos from the brewing process. Then I understood why Tomme wanted to make a Stein Beer.

Turns out it’s a lot of fun. (Keep in mind that this is the same guy that uses a flamethrower to make certain beers.) So I took Molly’s photos and made a little slideshow for your entertainment. Check it out (Clicking the slideshow will take you to the still photos):

I have no idea what they’re going to call the beer or when it’ll be available, but I’ll be sure to let you know when I do.