Stone & Wood to release limited seasonal Stone Beer 2019

Brewed using wood-fired stones in homage to brewing history, independent Northern Rivers brewery Stone & Wood will release its annual winter limited release, Stone Beer 2019, across select venues and outlets around Australia from Monday 10 June.

The tradition

Every year, Stone & Wood invites its close friends from the brewing community to its brewery in Byron Bay, NSW, to help them prepare the annual batch of Stone Beer.

On the event, called Stone Brew Day, the team heats stones on an open fire before adding them to the kettle, a practice followed by brewers in as early as the seventh century across Europe.

The beer

This year’s Stone Beer is a decadently dark wood-fired porter, with rich aromas and flavours of well-roasted barley, dark chocolate and coffee finished with kettle-hop and black-malt bitterness.

• ABV: 7.2%
• Malts: Maris Otter, CaraMunich 2, CaraAroma, Carafa, Cherry Smoked Malt
• Hops: Galaxy, Tettnang
• Yeast: Windsor ale yeast

Availability

Besides pouring at Stone & Wood’s brewery in Byron Bay, Stone Beer 2019 will be available in limited volumes on tap and in bottles in select venues and outlets across the country, plus sold in cartons on the Stone & Wood website. The stockist listing will go live on Monday 10 June.

Barrel-aged Stone Beer 2018

As part of this seasonal release, Stone & Wood will also release its barrel-aged
Stone Beer from last year, a small batch of Stone Beer 2018 aged for 12 months in port and second use whiskey barrels.

This ageing complements the beer’s full-bodied roasted caramel and cocoa flavours with velvety chocolate and vanilla and pushes the ABV to 8.8%.
Barrel-aged Stone Beer 2018 will be available on tap in select venues and
in vintage crocks in select outlets, with the stockist listing live on Monday 10 June.

For news and updates about Stone Beer, readers are encouraged to
visit Stone & Wood.