Bosco's Flaming Stone Beer
Review Date 3/14/2007 By John Staradumsky
Some people might think that you’d have to have rocks in your head to put rocks in your beer. But not the folks at the several Bosco’s Restaurant and Brewery locations scattered throughout the south. They put rocks in their beer all the time, at least when they make their signature Bosco’s Flaming Stone Beer. And you know, they just might be on to something.
Bosco’s didn’t come up with the idea, of course; credit for that goes to the Rauchenfels brewery in Germany. The idea is to superheat rocks (Bosco’s says they use Colorado granite and heat it until it reaches 700 degrees Fahrenheit). Then the rocks are placed into the brew kettle, where they flash heat the wort to boiling. In the process, some of the sugars are caramelized, adding a distinctly chewy flavor to the final product, and perhaps a little smokiness.
In Germany, the stones will also be placed in the fermentation vessels, allowing the yeast to devour the sugars caramelized onto the rocks, and also imparting an even chewier flavor. Bosco’s doesn’t do this. They do, however, make their stone beer a little differently in Nashville, TN than they do in their Memphis, TN location. In Memphis, they remove the caramelized malt sugar from the stones and add it to the beer after fermentation; in Nashville they leave it on the rocks and roast it the next time the stones are heated.
I sampled Bosco’s Flaming Stone Beer at the Nashville location, and was surprised when the bartender stated it was the lightest beer on the menu. My pint arrived pale gold in color with a soft spritzy head and light malt nose. As I sipped, I got a lot of biscuity malt along with a touch of chewy caramel flavor from the stone brewing. A gentle touch of hops balanced the beer in the finish.
I enjoyed Bosco’s Flaming Stone Beer, but I must say that it was much lighter in body than I expected. I did not really get any smokiness here, and the caramel and toffee I find in Rauchenfels Steinbier (the German original) was not really present. Still, this is an American version of the style, and a rarely made example indeed outside Germany. If you happen to find yourself traveling in the vicinity of a Bosco’s restaurant and brewery, I encourage you to stop in and try it.
Bosco's says on their website:
Boscos Famous Flaming Stone Beer is what is known as a
steinbier, or stone beer. Red-hot pieces of pink Colorado granite are heated
to 700 degrees in Boscos wood fired oven and lowered into the wort
(unfermented beer) during the brewing process. The resulting steam and
sizzle caramelizes sugars in the wort. The result is a sweeter, softer
tasting beer with a caramel undertone.
Boscos was the first North American brewery regularly making a stone beer,
the original being Rauchenfels in Neustadt, Germany. Boscos began brewing
Famous Flaming Stone Beer in 1993. Caramels formed on the granite are
preserved and stored while the beer is fermented. When it is ready to be
filtered, the caramels are rinsed off into the beer, where they are present
in the finished product.
Glad I tried it?
T
Would I rebuy it??
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled, Canned
(D)=Draft
