When the weather turns cold, nothing melts the chill away quite like a Hot Toddy, Irish Coffee, or a mug of mulled wine. For beer drinkers, though, winter-friendly options tend to be limited to stouts, barleywines, ambers, and Bocks — all of which are typically served cold. That’s not to say that they don’t provide some heat once consumed, but the beer world doesn’t present any obvious options when one wants to cozy up with a warm drink.
Yet, as is the case with so many aspects of the beer world, the Germans figured out a way around this dilemma centuries ago, and stateside breweries are finally catching on. It’s called “Bierstacheln,” which translates to “beer spike.” The process involves plunging a red hot metal poker into a glass of cold dark ale or lager, thus transforming it into a caramelized beer brûlée of sorts.
The Origins of Bierstacheln
While we don’t know exactly when the practice first came about, we can pin its creation to after lagers were invented, sometime in the 1400s in Bavaria, since that style was the first to receive the Bierstacheln treatment. Back then, commercial refrigeration didn’t exist, so brewers would store casks of beer in freezing cold caves to keep them both cool and fresh through the winter.
According to Germany’s oldest brewery Weihenstephan, drinkers often found these lagers to be too cold to truly enjoy in the dead of winter, so blacksmiths conjured up the idea to stick piping hot iron spikes, or “stacheln,” into lagers to bring them up to suitable drinking temperatures.
How Does Bierstacheln Work?
The process doesn’t make the beer hot, per se, but warms it just enough to prevent the cold shock that an icy sip typically delivers. The rest of Bierstacheln’s benefits arrive via textural and aroma changes — plus a little spectacle for good measure.
Although the practice originated as a way to heat up any type of German lager, brewers eventually found that Bierstacheln has the most profound transformative effects when applied to darker, maltier styles.
Since most dark beers contain a fair amount of residual malt sugars after fermentation, the temperature of the metal rod causes those sugars to caramelize upon contact. As the metal sizzles in the liquid, a warm layer of creamy, sugary foam rises to the top of the glass, which brewers claim exudes a “toasted marshmallow aroma.” Additionally, the process causes the beer to release a large portion of its carbonation, resulting in a softer mouthfeel. Upon taking a sip, drinkers are greeted with a kiss of hot foam followed by a contrasting semi-chilled, silky swig of dark beer.
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These days, most breweries use steel over iron, and heating sources for the rods vary between hot coals and open flames. In order to provide ample room for the beer to foam up once the rod has been submerged, the glass should only be half-full.
While Bierstacheln works — in theory — with all beer styles, it’s best to apply the ritual to beers with a high content of residual sugar. That means malty lagers and high-gravity beers. Think amber lagers, Bocks, Doppelbocks, porters, stouts, and barleywines. If a beer has a ton of hop expression (IPAs) or employs predominantly lighter malts (Helles lagers and pilsners), Bierstacheln will subdue the brew’s aromatics rather than enhance them. It won’t ruin the beer, it just won’t deliver the full Bierstacheln effect.
*Image retrieved from @pourmansbrewingco via Instagram
