Port Brewing / Bend Hot Rocks Lager
Collaboration Stein beer from Tomme Arthur and Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing.
It’s not too often the brewing process requires us to make beer in a mind over matter sort of way. Hot Rocks Lager presented us an opportunity to work with Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing Co. on a collaborative project. Working with our brewers to bring her recipe to fruition, she decided to "Rock It" old school.
You see, not too long ago, brewers produced beers by pulling glowing orange rocks from raging fires. The sizzling rocks were heated until they glowed like hot magma and were then dropped into the wort causing it to boil. Smoke, steam and volcanic rolling boils became the hallmarks of what German brewers call "Stein Beer". Hot Rocks Lager was brewed this way and transported us back in time. The production of this beer made for a memorable experience. As collaborations go, this one ruled. Because as everyone knows, playing with fire is cool.
It’s not too often the brewing process requires us to make beer in a mind over matter sort of way. Hot Rocks Lager presented us an opportunity to work with Tonya Cornett of Bend Brewing Co. on a collaborative project. Working with our brewers to bring her recipe to fruition, she decided to "Rock It" old school.
You see, not too long ago, brewers produced beers by pulling glowing orange rocks from raging fires. The sizzling rocks were heated until they glowed like hot magma and were then dropped into the wort causing it to boil. Smoke, steam and volcanic rolling boils became the hallmarks of what German brewers call "Stein Beer". Hot Rocks Lager was brewed this way and transported us back in time. The production of this beer made for a memorable experience. As collaborations go, this one ruled. Because as everyone knows, playing with fire is cool.
3.5
512 reviews
San Marcos, United States
Community reviews
Thanks to rejtable for this. Pours a dark reddish brown with a small white top. Aroma is slight caramel and earthy hops. Taste is a very well balanced lager.
This was nice. Pours clear brown with no head or lacing. Nose is caramel with some breakfast tea. Flavours are caramel, syrup, bitter tea. Medium bitterness and light/medium sweet. Full body with light carbonation.
Bottle. Pours darker amber in color with a slightly tanned head. Bit of roasted notes and nuttyness in aroma, some sweeter notes of toffee and biscuit too is there. Actually one could get some notes of campfire as well, that would probably be the steinbier contribution here. Notes of openfire breadyness, sweet toffee and dark fruits in taste. More towards the bitter side in the end with some notes of dark chocolate and coffee.
22 oz bottle poured into glass...Pours dark and golden, but dirty, with a beige, dirty head. The aroma is malty but pleasant. The flavor is coffee-like, with hints of nuttiness & chocolate, bitter, but not too bitter. Overall, it was a nice beer that I could drink daily
Bottle from SJ trade. Nice notes of sweet malt, spice and caramel. The finish was spice , but not over bearing. I liked it a lot.
Pours three fingers of tan head on a dark brown-red colored body.
The aroma has roasted malt and a little cocoa power. Nice.
The taste is dark roasted malt, bitter chocolate and a little cream.
The texture is soft and fizzy.
Excellent flavors and smell.
Pours dark black with white head. Strong but simple raisin flavor with a strange viscous mouthfeel. Did like it but not the best I had all night.
Drank from pint glass poured from a large bottle. Delicious. Nice beautiful black color low carbonation with a nice beige thick head. Nice malty aromas and taste. Delicious.
Draft sample at the brewery which is cool because the actual chunks of granite are outside. Dark brown pour. Light aroma of chocolate malt. Nice flavor of coffee and darker roasted malt. Nice.
Toffee nose backed with a light smokiness. Little head retention or lacing from a bottle pour. Nice flavors of caramel and coffee with a hint of booziness. Flavor is long lasting.
Bottle @midlaren with dutchdrebus. Brown red color with a beige head. Smells sweet, ranja, malts. Tastes brown sugar, fruity, malts.
Caoba oscuro con espuma beige densa y cremosa. Aromas de frutos rojos, toffee y tostados. Cuerpo ligero, con inicio dulce y afrutado, al que sigue un toque achocolatado que se une a un suave amargor final. Muy rica,
Draft. Dark cola with a thick tan head. Aroma is smoky and roasty. Taste adds some fruity and lactic notes. Medium mouthfeel and finish. Decent.
Bottle. Nose is caramel. Taste is caramel as well as burnt caramel and smoke. Also some of the normal lager bite.
[Tap] Very dark brown to nearly black pour. About a half inch of dense brown head. Aromas of semi-sweet chocolate, mild anise and light smoke. Taste is of rich caramel malts, caramelized sugars, cocoa powder, light smoke and licorice. Solid body. Creamy and coating mouthfeel. Good stuff.
Fairly average dark brown pour w/ a thin tan head that leaves spotty lacing. The aroma is of slightly sweet malt. The taste is primarily malty w/ a little bit of bitterness left on the palate. The body is kind of thin & I’m surprised that this weighs in at 6.5% because it is easily drinkable!
Deep orange-brown pour with great foamy head. Aroma is coffee, toffee, earth, light fruit notes. Roasty coffee malt flavor with sweet bubblegum notes.
On tap. Pours a dark amber with a foamy tan head and lacing. It has a mild, amber ale-like aroma with a slightly spicy background. The flavor is dark malt and some spice up front with a solid malt backbone and a sweet finish over a medium body.
Incredibly nice twist on this style, and highly recommended. At heart, it’s a solid dunkel. Whatever malt, etc., notes you’re expecting, they’re there. But there is a degree of heat here. Almost jalapeno like. That can be hard to do -- sometimes it’s either imperceptible; other times it overwhelms the beer. Here, it’s totally in balance.
22 oz bottle shared. Pours dark. Very cola like pour with fizzy head. Semi-smokey aroma. A lot of caramel and malt flavor with a smokey, flavorful finish. Good stuff.
Bottle:Deep ruby amber coloured, presumably clear, very stable and lacy off-white head; not too sweet caramelly and roasty nose, dried red fruits detectable; moderate bitter-sweet flavour, medium to full bodied and pretty soft; drier robust bitter-sweet finish with caramel and an ashy touch. A well drinkable and pleasant brew…
Keg at Port/Lost Abbey tasting room, 18/04/14.
Dark mahogany brown with a moderate light tan covering that dissipates and retains.
Nose is dark malt, light spice, candied orange peel, whiff of smoke, hint of cocoa.
Taste comprises dark toffee, earthy pangs, spice, biscuit malt.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close.
Solid offering for the style.
Dark amber to brown in color... Aroma of light nutty malts... Flavor is sweet caramel malts, dark fruits, fruity finish... Solid lager
bottle. pours a deep mahogony with clarity and thick foaming head that laces the glass till the end. fresh sweet malts and hints of dark fruit in aroma. roasted malts, caramel , dark fruits and herb. smooth and balanced. easy drinking. really nice.
Draught at the brewpub in San Marcos. Dark amber/brown beer with a nice beige head. Malty caramel aroma, licorice, chocolate, grassy, fruity, roasted notes, some bitter hops. Roasted chocolate and grape flavor, licorice, cocoa, some tar, grassy hops, some vinous notes.
Pours an amber brown color with a beautiful tan head and lacing. Caramel, malt, toffee and biscuit aroma. Malt, caramel, toffee, biscuit, nut, toast and raisin flavors. Medium body and carbonation with a slightly sweet taste. Caramel and malt finish.
Semi- Clear Carmel reddish brown color. Light roasted smells. Nutty brown taste with a slight sweet comes in. Rinses clean minimal aftertaste.
On tap into a 4 oz english tulip sampler. The initial notes are dark berry with some yeast smell. A toasty toffee aroma comes through a bit late with a light citrus note. It pours a clear caramel color with a coffee brown head that leaves some lace as it goes down. It’s a bit bitter and a bit sweet on the tongue - a nice balance between the two. It’s a medium bodied beer with notes of roasted toffee malt, but mostlly dark chocolate and cacao. It’s a bit smoky and some resin appears at the finish, but it’s pretty clean otherwise. The soft carbonation keeps this one smooth.
Nutty with notes of toast, caramel, and roasted malt. Reminds me a lot of a nut brown ale, with the crispness of a lager. Not sure what the effect of the hot rocks was, but who cares, it’s a good beer.
$5.30 for the 650 mL bottle purchased from Leary’s. To long-stemmed wine glass, it pours a rusty-red, brownish crimson with a sudsy, off-yellow-white head 1 finger in length. Aromas of pickled pears, sawdust, melted crayons, Bible paper, bile, red wheat, and minerals. Tastes the same only with the addition of herbal and medicinal hops, caramelized onions, and white wine lees. Just a clusterfuck of strange. Unmemorable.