Brewing in the Stone Age
From the start Stone Brewing Company has been driven by a bigger-than-life personality. Its beers are big and aggressive. Its marketing has a sharp edge. This is a company that has earned an international reputation for its huge hop bombs while taunting beer drinkers by proclaiming “You’re not worthy” right on its beer bottles. From the start Stone followed its own path. The result of over a dozen years of big attitude? Stone has garnered a place as one of the fasting growing craft breweries over the last decade as well as gaining a cult-like status among beer fans and homebrewers.
In many ways Stone operates with the swagger of a cocky homebrewer. When you listen to co-founders Greg Koch or Steve Wagner describe their approach to creating new beers, it feels like you’re at a monthly homebrew club meeting. “We make beers for ourselves. Beers we like first and foremost,” Wagner says. “If other people like it, great. If they don’t, it’s their loss. This has always been our guiding principle. It might be foolhardy, but it has worked for us.” Koch adds, “We keep true to ourselves. True to who and what we are. And that means aggressive beers that are amazing. What do we like as beer geeks? That will be our guide.”
Stone has had an experimental bent from their North San Diego County, California beginning back in 1996. In fact it was an experiment gone wrong that resulted in one of their most popular beers now accounting for 30% of their sales, Arrogant Bastard Ale. Wagner, who acts as President and Brewmaster, was working on a pilot test batch for a new single hop, pale ale recipe. But he made a mistake. “I accidentally put in probably three times as many hops as I wanted. It was way over-hopped. But then Greg tasted it and said ‘I love it.'” Arrogant Bastard Ale was born.
“We keep in touch with the homebrewer and beer geek side that we came from with our experiments,” Koch says. “For example, what would our Stone IPA taste like fermented with a Belgian yeast? The result was a new beer, our Stone Cali-Belgique IPA. It is all about moving forward what beer can and should be.”
Brewing the type of big, aggressive styles of beer at home that Stone is known for takes some specific techniques and a checklist of important considerations. First off, if you want to showcase the ingredients, the malts and hops need to be high quality and fresh. Also homebrewers need to be very in tune with the flavors those ingredients contribute. “We’re not afraid to change hops or malts as needed to get the flavors we want,” says Mitch Steele, Head Brewer and Production Manager at Stone.
Whenever a beer’s alcohol heads north as in many Stone beers, taking care of your yeast and keeping it healthy and happy is critical. “A high alcohol environment does not make brewers yeast happy, and they can start throwing off some undesirable flavors when finishing up a high-gravity fermentation,” Steele says. “Therefore, taking care of your yeast, making sure it is healthy and has good viability when it is pitched, and is pitched at the right amount, is critical to keeping the yeast healthy and happy throughout the entire fermentation.”
It is also important to get to know your beer every step of the way from active fermentation right through bottling. And that means pouring yourself small samples of your beer during the entire process so you can gain a better sensory understanding of where your beer is at every phase. “This way we know exactly what our beers should taste like at every part of the process, and we can address any issues right away,” Steele says.
Consistency is a huge consideration for any commercial brewer who knows their customers are expecting a certain remembered taste experience when they open, let’s say a Ruination IPA. But homebrewers should also pay attention to being consistent in their brewing techniques even though they don’t have to worry about satisfying the marketplace. “If you want to learn to be a better brewer and brew big beers, you really need to keep careful notes as a homebrewer, that would be my main advice,” says John Egan, Lead Brewer. “Otherwise you can’t remember the temperatures or ingredients and you won’t be able to repeat any success you have. Brewing the same great beer more than once is a sign of real skill and that means note taking.”
Another lesson homebrewers can take away from the brewers at Stone is the value of conducting a forced fermentation on your wort for 24 hours. This will accurately predict your finishing gravity, help predict alcohol content and help with other decisions such as when to cool the beer and allow you to make any mashing adjustments to get the proper ratio of unfermentable sugars and alcohol in the finished beer. “This test is really easy, all you need is a stir plate and an Erlenmeyer flask or a beaker,” says Steele. “Put some wort into the flask, overpitch it with dried yeast, and stir it for 24-48 hours and read the terminal gravity.”
Stone employs a 90-minute boil on their lineup of beers targeting an evaporation rate between 8 and 10 %. They add their bittering hops right at the start of the 90-minute boil. Their flavor and finishing hops for most of their beers are added post-boil during their whirlpool phase, before cast-out of the kettle. These hops get a total of about 90 minutes of contact time with the 200 °F (93 °C) wort (15 minutes of whirlpool fill time, 15 minutes rest and about 60 minutes to knock out of the brew kettle). “Surprisingly, we do get a fair amount of bitterness from this addition, but we also get a ton of hop flavor, because very little is volatilized,” says Steele.
With bigger beers, especially big, hoppy beers, Steele recommends keeping your beer as dry as possible. “Our beers are really pretty dry. A big beer that is really sweet can sometimes lack drinkability, and so we’ve made efforts to get some of our bigger beers a bit drier on the finish,” Steele says. Plus one nice side benefit of keeping your beers on the dry side is you won’t have to use as many of your precious hops during the current supply shortage. “Making your beer drier can help accentuate the hop character in your beer, so you can get away with using a little less hops. Plus you can sacrifice a little bitterness in a drier beer, leaving some of your hops for more dry-hopping,” Steele suggests.
With several oak aged beers in its portfolio, Steele also can offer homebrewers some advice for those looking to get some oak into future pints. “We’ve had a lot of success using American Oak Chips. And the team here knows I love the French Oak chips as well. These chips are easy to use and add great flavor to your beer,” says Steele. “Experiment! Try different beers and different types of oak products. Also, making an oak tea using a little bit of your beer makes it real easy to dial in the flavor you want. Just age part of the beer on the chips to make a strong oak flavor, then blend it back to your main batch until you get the oak intensity and flavor you are looking for.”
Each year Stone brews a special anniversary ale. This year’s Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout, was a departure from the huge, hoppy beers of anniversaries past. It was created in response to the worldwide hop shortage and used bitter chocolate in addition to hops. “A lot of people are suggesting the use of herbs and spices to replace or supplement hop bitterness, and that’s a cool way to brew also,” Steele says. “We kind of went that route with our Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout this year. Coriander is one ingredient that works really well, but it has a pretty strong flavor, so you have to know that going in.”
Stone uses a proprietary yeast strain, but for those homebrewers looking to recreate Stone beers at home, Steele offers some advice on their house strain that has an alcohol tolerance up to 11 or 12 percent. “I think our yeast throws a lot of tropical fruit esters, especially in the bigger beers, so the (White Labs) California Ale yeast strain may not be the best choice. Our yeast attenuates and flocculates well, and to me, our yeast is great for producing English style ales. In the past we’ve recommended (White Labs) WLP002, and I think the (White Labs) WLP005 strain might work also as a reasonable substitute,” Steele says. We offer up 6 homebrew recipes to recreate Stone beers starting on the next page thanks to help and advice from Steele.
Finally, don’t stop testing and experimenting as a brewer, no matter how large your batch size. “Keep the craziness in your brewing and keep testing new, unusual ingredients in your recipes,” says Wagner. Koch adds he really enjoys having homebrewers be a part of the Stone mix. He points to the fact that Stone hosts two different homebrewing clubs that meet regularly at the brewery and has even shared Stone wort with local homebrewers looking to conduct club experiments. “Homebrewers are on the front lines of creativity,” Koch explains. “They bring personal passion to brewing. How can you not love and support that?”
Recipes
Notes on Brewing These Clone Recipes:
Stone adds their late hops at the end of the boil and lets them steep — at around 200 °F (93 °C) — for about 90 minutes. In these recipes, we’ve moved these hops to the last 15 minutes of the boil, as most homebrewers do not employ a whirlpool stage and our kettles would cool to far below 200 °F (93 °C) after 90 minutes. Stone uses a proprietary strain of yeast. For homebrew clones, they suggest substituting White Labs WLP002 (Wyeast 1968 would be the equivalent) or White Labs WLP005.
Stone Pale Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L all-grain)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.014
IBU = 45 SRM = 18 ABV = 5.4%
Ingredients
10.25 lbs. (4.7 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (75 °L)
9.25 AAU Magnum hops (90 mins) (0.66 oz./18 g of 14% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Ahtanum hops (15 mins)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1 qt./1 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 152 °F (67 °C). Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Stone Pale Ale clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.056 FG = 1.014
IBU = 45 SRM = 18 ABV = 5.4%
Ingredients
2 lb. 14 oz. (1.3 kg) light dried malt extract
3.3 lbs. (1.5 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) 2-row pale alt
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (60 °L)
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (75 °L)
10 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) (0.71 oz./20 g of 14% alpha acids)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Ahtanum hops (15 mins)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1 qt./1 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep crushed grains in 3 qts. (~3 L) of water at 152 °F (67 °C) for 45 minutes. Add water to make 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, add dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Add liquid malt extract for last 15 minutes of the boil. Cool wort, transfer to fermenter and top up to 5 gallons (19 L). Aerate wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Stone IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.065 FG = 1.012
IBU = 77 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.9%
Ingredients
12.5 lbs. (5.67 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
6 AAU Magnum hops (90 mins)(0.43 oz./12 g of 14% alpha acids)
4.5 AAU Perle hops (60 mins) (0.64 oz./18 g of 7% alpha acids)
2.0 oz. (57 g) Centennial hops (15 mins)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Centennial whole hops (dry hops)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Chinook whole hops (dry hops)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1.5 qt./1.5 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 149 °F (65 °C). Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C).
Stone IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.065 FG = 1.012
IBU = 77 SRM = 8 ABV = 6.9%
Ingredients
5.0 lbs. (2.3 kg) light dried malt extract
1 lb. 10 oz. (0.74 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) 2-row pale malt
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
7 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) (0.50 oz./14 g of 14% alpha acids)
4.5 AAU Perle hops (60 mins) (0.64 oz./18 g of 7% alpha acids)
2.0 oz. (57 g) Centennial hops (15 mins)
1.0 oz. (28 g) Centennial whole hops (dry hops)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Chinook whole hops (dry hops)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1.5 qt./1.5 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep crushed grains in 3 qts. (~3 L) of water at 149 °F (65 °C) for 45 minutes. Add water to make 4.5 gallons (17 L) of wort, add dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at times indicated. Add liquid malt extract for last 15 minutes of the boil. Cool wort, transfer to fermenter and top up to 5.0 gallons (19 L). Aerate wort and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C). Dry hop for 3–5 days.
Stone Ruination 1.0 IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.075 FG = 1.010
IBU = 100+ SRM = 6 ABV = 7.7%
Ingredients
14.6 lb. (6.6 kg) 2-row malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess crystal malt (15 ºL)
36 AAU Magnum hops (90 mins) (2.25 oz./64 g of 16.0% alpha acids)
16 AAU Centennial hops (0 mins, steep for 5 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 10.5% alpha acid)
2.0 oz. (57 g) Centennial whole hops (dry hops)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (2 qt./2 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash your grains at 149 ºF (65 ºC) for 60 minutes. Collect enough wort to boil for 90 minutes and have a 5.0-gallon (19-L) yield. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Stone Ruination 1.0 IPA clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.075 FG = 1.010
IBU = 100+ SRM = 6 ABV = 7.7%
Ingredients
7.25 lbs. (3.3 kg) light dried malt extract
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess 2-row malt
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) Briess crystal malt (15 ºL)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 minutes)
36 AAU Magnum hops (60 mins) (2.25 oz./64 g of 16.0% alpha acids)
16 AAU Centennial hops (0 mins, steep for 5 mins) (1.5 oz./43 g of 10.5% alpha acid)
22.0 oz. (57 g) Centennial whole hops (dry hops)
1 tsp. Irish moss (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (2 qt./2 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep the two crushed grains in 3 qts.
(3 L) of water at 149 ºF (65 ºC) for 45 minutes. Remove grains from wort, add water to make 6.0 gallons (23 L) of wort, add malt extract and bring to a boil,. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe list. Cool the wort, aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 ºF (20 ºC) and hold at this temperature until the yeast has finished fermentation. Add Centennial hops and dry hop for 3 to 5 days.
Stone Smoked Porter clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.064 FG = 1.018
IBU = 53 SRM = 46 ABV = 6.0%
Ingredients
11.5 lbs. (5.2 kg) 2-row pale malt
12 oz. (0.34 kg) crystal malt (75 °L)
1.25 lb. (0.57 kg) chocolate malt
1.0 oz. (28 g) lightly-peated malt
12.5 AAU Perle hops (90 mins) (1.8 oz./51 g of 7% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Mt. Hood hops (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1.5 qt./1.5 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 154 °F (68 °C). Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 68 °F (20 °C).
Stone Smoked Porter clone
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.064 FG = 1.018
IBU = 53 SRM = 46 ABV = 6.0%
Ingredients
3.0 lbs. (1.4 kg) light dried malt extract
4.25 lbs. (1.9 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
12 oz. (0.34 kg kg) crystal malt (75 °L)
1.25 lb. (0.57 kg) chocolate malt
1.0 oz. (28 g) lightly-peated malt
13.5 AAU Perle hops (60 mins) (1.9 oz./55 g of 7% alpha acids)
0.5 oz. (14 g) Mt. Hood hops (15 mins)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (1.5 qt./1.5 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Steep the crushed grains in 3 qts. (3 L) of water at 154 ºF (68 ºC) for 45 minutes. Remove grains from wort, add water to make 3.5 gallons (13 L) of wort, add dried malt extract and bring to a boil,. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe list. Cool the wort, transfer to fermenter and top up to 5 gallons (19 L). Aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 ºF (20 ºC).
Stone Imperial Russian Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.096 FG = 1.020
IBU = 90+ SRM = 93 ABV = 10%
Ingredients
16.5 lbs. (7.5 kg) 2-row pale malt
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) amber malt
1.25 lbs. (0.34 kg) roasted barley (500 °L)
1.25 lbs. (0.34 kg) black malt
27.3 AAU Warrior hops (90 mins) (1.7 oz/48 g of 16% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (3 qt./3 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 150 °F (66 °C). Boil for 90 minutes. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C).
Stone Imperial Russian Stout clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.096 FG = 1.020
IBU = 90+ SRM = 93 ABV = 10%
Ingredients
8.75 lbs. (4.0 kg) light dried malt extract
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) amber malt
1.25 lbs. (0.34 kg) roast barley
1.25 lbs. (0.34 kg) black malt
30 AAU Warrior hops (60 mins) (1.9 oz/53 g of 16% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (3 qt./3 L yeast starter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Partial mash the crushed grains in 6 qts. (5.9 L) of water at 150 ºF (66 ºC) for 45 minutes. Add water to make 6.0 gallons (23 L) of wort, add dried malt extract and bring to a boil,. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops at the times indicated in the recipe list. Cool the wort and transfer to fermenter. Aerate and pitch yeast. Ferment at 68 ºF (20 ºC).
Stone Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout (12th Anniversary Beer) clone
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.094 FG = 1.022
IBU = 45 SRM = 64 ABV = 9.3%
Ingredients
16 lbs. (7.3 kg) 2-row malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) CaraPils malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) flaked oats
1.0 lb. (0.45 kg) chocolate malt
0.25 lbs. (0.11 kg) roasted barley (500 °L)
0.25 lbs. (0.11 kg) black malt
3.25 oz. (92 g) cocoa (15 mins)
3 AAU Galena hops (90 mins) (0.25 oz./7.1 g of 12 % alpha acids)
2 AAU Willamette hops (60 mins) (0.4 oz./11 g of 5% alpha acids)
2 AAU Ahtanum hops (60 mins) (0.4 oz./11 g of 5% alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Summit hops (60 mins) (0.38 oz./11 g of 17% alpha acids)
White Labs WLP002 (English Ale) yeast (3 qt./3 L yeast (tarter)
7⁄8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Mash at 150 °F (66 °C). Boil for 90 minutes, adding hops and cocoa at times indicated in the ingredient list. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C).
Stone 12 clone
(5 gallons/19 L, partial mash)
OG = 1.094 FG = 1.022
IBU = 45 SRM = 64 ABV = 9.3%
Ingredients
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) light dried malt extract
7.5 lbs. (3.4 kg) light liquid malt extract (late addition)
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) 2-row malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) CaraPils malt
0.5 lbs. (0.23 kg) crystal malt (15 °L)
2.0 lbs. (0.91 kg) flaked oats
1.0 lbs. (0.45 kg) chocolate malt
0.25 lbs. (0.11 kg) roast barley
0.25 lbs. (0.11 kg) black malt
3.25 oz. (92 g) cocoa (15 mins)
2 AAU Willamette hops (60 mins) (0.4 oz./11 g of 5% alpha acids)
2 AAU Ahtanum hops (60 mins) (0.4 oz./11 g of 5% alpha acids)
4 AAU Galena hops (60 mins) (0.33 oz./9.5 g of 12 % alpha acids)
6.5 AAU Summit hops (60 mins) (0.38 oz./11 g of 17% alpha acids)
Ale yeast
7/8 cup corn sugar (for priming)
Step by Step
Partial mash the 6.0 lbs. (2.7 kg) of crushed grains at 150 °F (66 °C) for 45 minutes in 9 qts. (8.5 L) of water. Add water to make 3.0 gallons (11 L) of wort, add dried malt extract and bring to a boil. Boil for 60 minutes, adding hops and cocoa at times indicated in the ingredient list. Ferment at 66 °F (19 °C).
