Since its inception in 1996, Stone Brewing Co. has been the fastest growing brewery in the country—Beer lovers gravitate to its unique line-up which includes favorites such as Stone IPA and Arrogant Bastard Ale. This insider's guide focuses on the history of Stone Brewing Co., and shares homebrew recipes for many of its celebrated beers including Stone Old Guardian Barley Wine, Stone Smoked Porter, and Stone 12th Anniversary Bitter Chocolate Oatmeal Stout. In addition, it features recipes from the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens like Garlic, Cheddar, and Stone Ruination IPA Soup, BBQ Duck Tacos, and the legendary Arrogant Bastard Ale Onion Rings. With its behind-the-scenes look at one of the leaders of the craft beer scene, The Craft of Stone Brewing Co. will captivate and inspire legions of fans nationwide.
The Craft of Stone Brewing Co.
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Book Description
Best Value
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Featured Recipe: Stone Pale Ale and Garlic Stir-Fried Brussels Sprouts
 |
1 pound brussels sprouts (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 pound pancetta, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups (12 fluid ounces) Stone Pale Ale
1/4 cup vegetable stock
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Finely diced tomato, for garnish
Shaved or grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish
Instructions
Set up a steamer with 1 to 2 inches of salted water and bring the water to a rolling boil. Put the brussels sprouts in the steamer, cover, and cook until slightly tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer the Brussels sprouts to a large bowl of ice water to halt the cooking and preserve their bright green color. Let them cool in the ice water for about 1 minute, then drain. Lay them on a clean dish towel and pat dry. Cut them in half vertically, right through the core. In a large wok or cast-iron skillet, heat the oil over high heat until it begins to shimmer. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the pancetta and cook, stirring occasionally, until it begins to brown. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Turn the heat up to high, add the brussels sprouts, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the beer and continue to cook over high heat until the liquid is mostly evaporated. Deglaze the pan by adding the vegetable stock, stirring and scraping up any browned bits that may be affixed to the pan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with the tomato and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Serve immediately.
Review
“Owners and co-founders Steve Wagner and Greg Koch share their story of how they got into beer making and ultimately founded Stone Brewing. The story is fascinating and written like they are just sitting on the bar stool next to you.”
—Seattle Weekly, Cooking the Books, 1/30/12
“The advice sections of the book are exceptionally strong. The beer-food pairing section is insightful, giving examples of what and what not to do. The cellaring tips explain how to properly age your beer without turning your bottles into a skunky mess. This would make a great gift for a home brewer or beer snob in your life. The writing is easy to read, and it’s like a knowledgeable friend is guiding you through the world of beer.”
—City Book Review, 1/13/12
“One of this fall’s most interesting beer books, The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., tells the story of how Stone’s founders, Steve Wagner and Greg Koch, created the aggressively hopped, intensely flavored beers that turned their San Diego company into one of America’s iconic craft breweries.”
—Food & Wine, 10/13/11
“Greg and Steve do more than just brew the best beer in the world: they are an inspiration to ignore conventional wisdom, take creative risks, and make awesome things. This book is more than an inside look at how they used that philosophy to found Stone Brewing; it's filled with food recipes from their Bistro and beer recipes from their brewery. Whether you're a novice homebrewer, or routinely make 10 gallon batches with hops you grew in your back yard, this book will inspire you to make epic beer, epic food, and unleash your inner arrogant bastard.”
—Wil Wheaton Actor, Author, Homebrewer
“It’s a fantastic cookbook, and if you’re crazy for the flavors of that certain chili sauce then you really need the book. Really. It’s wonderful. Get it and make the Piquant Pulled Pork right away. You won't regret it.”
—Matt Armendariz, One for the Table, Must Buy Cookbooks of 2011
“All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth. The most popular and highest-rated brewery . . . ever.”
—BeerAdvocate
“Not for the faint of heart, [Stone’s] bold brews have a strong and fast-growing fan base.”
—Bon Appétit
“Stone Brewing makes aggressive beer--good news for those tired of the fizzy yellow stuff.”
—Los Angeles Times
“San Diego [is] the new beer capital of the United States. Stone exemplifies the local approach, with aggressively hopped but completely drinkable brews.”
—Men’s Journal
“Stone Brewing’s ‘extreme’ beers are like standard ales in overdrive.”
—Food & Wine
“[Stone] has no interest in going mainstream if that means watering down the product.”
—Inc.
“[Stone] is one of the best-known West Coast brewers with one of the most devoted cult followings this side of The Grateful Dead.”
—Beverage World
“Stone Brewing Company from San Diego is arguably the most notorious player on America’s exhilarating craft brewing scene . . . .”
—The Publican
—Seattle Weekly, Cooking the Books, 1/30/12
“The advice sections of the book are exceptionally strong. The beer-food pairing section is insightful, giving examples of what and what not to do. The cellaring tips explain how to properly age your beer without turning your bottles into a skunky mess. This would make a great gift for a home brewer or beer snob in your life. The writing is easy to read, and it’s like a knowledgeable friend is guiding you through the world of beer.”
—City Book Review, 1/13/12
“One of this fall’s most interesting beer books, The Craft of Stone Brewing Co., tells the story of how Stone’s founders, Steve Wagner and Greg Koch, created the aggressively hopped, intensely flavored beers that turned their San Diego company into one of America’s iconic craft breweries.”
—Food & Wine, 10/13/11
“Greg and Steve do more than just brew the best beer in the world: they are an inspiration to ignore conventional wisdom, take creative risks, and make awesome things. This book is more than an inside look at how they used that philosophy to found Stone Brewing; it's filled with food recipes from their Bistro and beer recipes from their brewery. Whether you're a novice homebrewer, or routinely make 10 gallon batches with hops you grew in your back yard, this book will inspire you to make epic beer, epic food, and unleash your inner arrogant bastard.”
—Wil Wheaton Actor, Author, Homebrewer
“It’s a fantastic cookbook, and if you’re crazy for the flavors of that certain chili sauce then you really need the book. Really. It’s wonderful. Get it and make the Piquant Pulled Pork right away. You won't regret it.”
—Matt Armendariz, One for the Table, Must Buy Cookbooks of 2011
“All-Time Top Brewery on Planet Earth. The most popular and highest-rated brewery . . . ever.”
—BeerAdvocate
“Not for the faint of heart, [Stone’s] bold brews have a strong and fast-growing fan base.”
—Bon Appétit
“Stone Brewing makes aggressive beer--good news for those tired of the fizzy yellow stuff.”
—Los Angeles Times
“San Diego [is] the new beer capital of the United States. Stone exemplifies the local approach, with aggressively hopped but completely drinkable brews.”
—Men’s Journal
“Stone Brewing’s ‘extreme’ beers are like standard ales in overdrive.”
—Food & Wine
“[Stone] has no interest in going mainstream if that means watering down the product.”
—Inc.
“[Stone] is one of the best-known West Coast brewers with one of the most devoted cult followings this side of The Grateful Dead.”
—Beverage World
“Stone Brewing Company from San Diego is arguably the most notorious player on America’s exhilarating craft brewing scene . . . .”
—The Publican
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
There are two kinds of beer drinkers in the world--those who are rabid fans of Stone Brewing Company, and those who don't like it at all. I've never met anyone who's neutral about Stone beers. I've never seen anyone take a trial sip of a Stone beer and say, "Well, I guess it's all right." No, the response is either, "Wow, that's great! Pour me another!" or "That's the worst beer I've ever tasted. Gimme a glass of one of those fizzy yellow beer-like substances instead." For those of us who ARE fans of extreme beers, those that go far beyond any reasonable limits of flavor, strength and hoppiness, Stone is a beer geek's Nirvana.
I first learned about Stone in 1998 at a beer festival in Tucson, Arizona, two years after founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner started the company in San Marcos, California. At the Stone table was an intriguing beer I'd never heard of called "Arrogant Bastard." "I gotta try me some of that," I thought. But it wasn't that easy. Before the staff would serve it, one had to prove to them that one was "worthy" enough to drink such a powerful beer. That was a stroke of marketing genius (as is the label on AB bottles, by the way, which starts out, "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it."). Anyway, I don't remember how I proved I was worthy, but after just one sip of AB, I was hooked. And I really mean hooked. For the next ten years, my wife and I (we have identical beer tastes) flew or drove 1,700 miles round trip from our home in El Paso, Texas, to southern California specifically to attend Stone's annual anniversary parties. We got to know Greg a little--at first, he couldn't believe we'd traveled so far just to drink a few of his beers, but then he got used to seeing us there every year. We only stopped going recently because the parties got crazy busy, tickets became hard to get if you didn't live in the area and our tolerance for jostling crowds of thousands has declined. But we still consider Stone beers to be among the best available anywhere, and there are always dozens of them in our dedicated beer refrigerator.
So if you like Stone, you know what I'm talkin' about. Now, how about this book, "The Craft of Stone Brewing Company." Well, it's everything Stone represents, and then some. Exquisitely designed, well-made, very readable (in Greg's inimitable style--think a book-length beer label!), superbly illustrated and packed with useful and fascinating insider information. It's a volume that EVERY fan of Stone beers, or even beer or brewing in general, should pick up immediately, no questions asked.
Here's what you'll find inside the covers. Kicking off is a 14-page section called "The Nature of Beer" that tells what it is, what goes into it and how it's made. It's fairly basic stuff, but still a useful refresher, and the sidebar insights of the Stone guys here and throughout the book are fascinating. The next eight-page section, "Beer Through the Ages," looks at the evolution of brewing in Europe and America and the emergence of the craftbrewing industry. Then comes the 38-page "A Story Called Stone." This section tells all about the founding and growth of Stone. The fascinating historical narrative is filled with anecdotes and trivia about the company, the key employees, the facilities, the brewing process, the marketing and much more. For example, I'll bet you don't know some of the other names Greg and Steve considered for the company before they settled on "Stone" (See page 35). The next section, at about 30 pages, describes more than 50 Stone beers, including their styles, release dates, availabilities, hop profiles, strengths and IBU ratings, along with an interesting paragraph or two for each. So many beers, so little time...
Next comes "'Dr' Bill Presents: Beer How-To's," a 12-page guide to buying, storing, aging, pouring and serving fine craft beer. Don't gloss over this section, even if you think you're an expert on the subject. You'll still probably learn something. The next 36 pages contain 19 selected recipes from the kitchen at the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens, the new facility that the company moved into in November 2006. Yes, not only is this a beer book, it's also a cookbook! But wait, there's more! If you're a homebrewer (I'm not), you'll be enthralled with the last section of the book, which features recipes for five-gallon batches of 18 selected Stone beers.
Did I mention that you should buy "The Craft of Stone Brewing Company" right away? What are you waiting for? In the meantime, I'm going to go crack open an Old Guardian...
I first learned about Stone in 1998 at a beer festival in Tucson, Arizona, two years after founders Greg Koch and Steve Wagner started the company in San Marcos, California. At the Stone table was an intriguing beer I'd never heard of called "Arrogant Bastard." "I gotta try me some of that," I thought. But it wasn't that easy. Before the staff would serve it, one had to prove to them that one was "worthy" enough to drink such a powerful beer. That was a stroke of marketing genius (as is the label on AB bottles, by the way, which starts out, "This is an aggressive beer. You probably won't like it."). Anyway, I don't remember how I proved I was worthy, but after just one sip of AB, I was hooked. And I really mean hooked. For the next ten years, my wife and I (we have identical beer tastes) flew or drove 1,700 miles round trip from our home in El Paso, Texas, to southern California specifically to attend Stone's annual anniversary parties. We got to know Greg a little--at first, he couldn't believe we'd traveled so far just to drink a few of his beers, but then he got used to seeing us there every year. We only stopped going recently because the parties got crazy busy, tickets became hard to get if you didn't live in the area and our tolerance for jostling crowds of thousands has declined. But we still consider Stone beers to be among the best available anywhere, and there are always dozens of them in our dedicated beer refrigerator.
So if you like Stone, you know what I'm talkin' about. Now, how about this book, "The Craft of Stone Brewing Company." Well, it's everything Stone represents, and then some. Exquisitely designed, well-made, very readable (in Greg's inimitable style--think a book-length beer label!), superbly illustrated and packed with useful and fascinating insider information. It's a volume that EVERY fan of Stone beers, or even beer or brewing in general, should pick up immediately, no questions asked.
Here's what you'll find inside the covers. Kicking off is a 14-page section called "The Nature of Beer" that tells what it is, what goes into it and how it's made. It's fairly basic stuff, but still a useful refresher, and the sidebar insights of the Stone guys here and throughout the book are fascinating. The next eight-page section, "Beer Through the Ages," looks at the evolution of brewing in Europe and America and the emergence of the craftbrewing industry. Then comes the 38-page "A Story Called Stone." This section tells all about the founding and growth of Stone. The fascinating historical narrative is filled with anecdotes and trivia about the company, the key employees, the facilities, the brewing process, the marketing and much more. For example, I'll bet you don't know some of the other names Greg and Steve considered for the company before they settled on "Stone" (See page 35). The next section, at about 30 pages, describes more than 50 Stone beers, including their styles, release dates, availabilities, hop profiles, strengths and IBU ratings, along with an interesting paragraph or two for each. So many beers, so little time...
Next comes "'Dr' Bill Presents: Beer How-To's," a 12-page guide to buying, storing, aging, pouring and serving fine craft beer. Don't gloss over this section, even if you think you're an expert on the subject. You'll still probably learn something. The next 36 pages contain 19 selected recipes from the kitchen at the Stone Brewing World Bistro and Gardens, the new facility that the company moved into in November 2006. Yes, not only is this a beer book, it's also a cookbook! But wait, there's more! If you're a homebrewer (I'm not), you'll be enthralled with the last section of the book, which features recipes for five-gallon batches of 18 selected Stone beers.
Did I mention that you should buy "The Craft of Stone Brewing Company" right away? What are you waiting for? In the meantime, I'm going to go crack open an Old Guardian...
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Jesse Trent
Format:Hardcover
When I first saw this book, I really liked how the cover looked. It's sturday looking, and it feels nice. The colors in the photos on the front are nice, as well.
Here's what I like about the book:
It explains how beer is made in Layman's terms, and as a homebrewer, I have to say that the explanations of the malts in the book are really nice. It would be a good place to start for review if you're getting into all grain brewing. It's not that you could buy this book and brew (some people could, but not me), in my opinion, but it's again, a nice way to explain the process to someone who might be slightly interested.
The story of Stone Brewing and how it came about is also a pretty inspiring story. I wish everyone had the gumption to do their job as ambitiously as Greg and Steve do/did.
They have a lot of their recipes in this book, even ones they used to make but don't anymore (Heat Seeking Wheat), but that brings me to the next part of this review.
Some of the things that irk me about this book:
No recipe for Arrogant Bastard. Why not? There is a podcast called Can You Brew It with Jamil Zainasheff where they talk with the head brewer, Mitch, and he is pretty nebulous about what the ingredients are. Regardless, after the first show which produced a beer that was close, but not a clone, they re-brewed and the second batch was declared a clone. The recipe is available on the Northern Brewer forums, and here's a personal anecdote - I've had a bottle of beer that was brewed using that recipe and it was SPOT ON, other than the fact that the homebrewed version was probably fresher than the Stone version. What's more, my friend who brewed it, had NEVER had Arrogant Bastard before, since he can't get it in Iowa. I ended up getting him a bottle and he did a side-by-side, with the same results. Why couldn't the guys at Stone at least take the time to point this recipe out if they thought it was good, or say that it wasn't even in the ballpark? What's interesting is that they point out how AB was an accident, and that the amounts of malts were miscalculated when making the Pale Ale. So, could you experiment with the Pale Ale recipe in here and maybe mess around with that, although I've heard that they only used Chinook hops with this beer.
I suppose I could outline what recipes they have here, but I'm editing this review, as it took Amazon a day to digest it. Their more common ones, Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, and Levitation are in the book. No Ruination, but I suppose they make up for that with the 4th Anniversary IPA recipe and a lot of collaboration recipes. I suppose they didn't waste time giving you the basic recipes, but they do give you some of the more unique ones.
At first, I didn't see the Original Gravity and Final Gravity targets, but they are usually in the gray section on the second page for the recipe. They do put the percentages, if you want to enter the grains that way into a brewing software package, which is nice. I still would have liked to seen an SRM (for color) value added. Efficiencies weren't targeted at 75%...they tend to vary when you put the exact amounts into ProMash.
While I expounded greatly on those two items, overall, it doesn't kill the book. Again, if you like reading Greg Koch's writing (which, I have to admit, I do)and you like Stone beers (thanks for the Levitation recipe!) then you should buy this book. I'm glad that I have it in my home brew book collection.
Here's what I like about the book:
It explains how beer is made in Layman's terms, and as a homebrewer, I have to say that the explanations of the malts in the book are really nice. It would be a good place to start for review if you're getting into all grain brewing. It's not that you could buy this book and brew (some people could, but not me), in my opinion, but it's again, a nice way to explain the process to someone who might be slightly interested.
The story of Stone Brewing and how it came about is also a pretty inspiring story. I wish everyone had the gumption to do their job as ambitiously as Greg and Steve do/did.
They have a lot of their recipes in this book, even ones they used to make but don't anymore (Heat Seeking Wheat), but that brings me to the next part of this review.
Some of the things that irk me about this book:
No recipe for Arrogant Bastard. Why not? There is a podcast called Can You Brew It with Jamil Zainasheff where they talk with the head brewer, Mitch, and he is pretty nebulous about what the ingredients are. Regardless, after the first show which produced a beer that was close, but not a clone, they re-brewed and the second batch was declared a clone. The recipe is available on the Northern Brewer forums, and here's a personal anecdote - I've had a bottle of beer that was brewed using that recipe and it was SPOT ON, other than the fact that the homebrewed version was probably fresher than the Stone version. What's more, my friend who brewed it, had NEVER had Arrogant Bastard before, since he can't get it in Iowa. I ended up getting him a bottle and he did a side-by-side, with the same results. Why couldn't the guys at Stone at least take the time to point this recipe out if they thought it was good, or say that it wasn't even in the ballpark? What's interesting is that they point out how AB was an accident, and that the amounts of malts were miscalculated when making the Pale Ale. So, could you experiment with the Pale Ale recipe in here and maybe mess around with that, although I've heard that they only used Chinook hops with this beer.
I suppose I could outline what recipes they have here, but I'm editing this review, as it took Amazon a day to digest it. Their more common ones, Stone Pale Ale, Stone Smoked Porter, and Levitation are in the book. No Ruination, but I suppose they make up for that with the 4th Anniversary IPA recipe and a lot of collaboration recipes. I suppose they didn't waste time giving you the basic recipes, but they do give you some of the more unique ones.
At first, I didn't see the Original Gravity and Final Gravity targets, but they are usually in the gray section on the second page for the recipe. They do put the percentages, if you want to enter the grains that way into a brewing software package, which is nice. I still would have liked to seen an SRM (for color) value added. Efficiencies weren't targeted at 75%...they tend to vary when you put the exact amounts into ProMash.
While I expounded greatly on those two items, overall, it doesn't kill the book. Again, if you like reading Greg Koch's writing (which, I have to admit, I do)and you like Stone beers (thanks for the Levitation recipe!) then you should buy this book. I'm glad that I have it in my home brew book collection.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By M. Delbecq
Format:Kindle Edition
a must read for anyone who is interested in possibly opening up a brewery some day. greg koch does an excellent job of providing knowledge of beer, brewing, and running a business all in a lighthearted manner. check it out!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book
The book is, like all things from Stone, amazing. Good read la la la la la la la la la
Published 1 month ago by JENNIFER WILEY
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stone Brewing Book?! YES
Its from Stone. That says it all. Ok, if you are unfamiliar with Stone and you are a craft beer drinker, stop what you are doing and go buy some of their beer. Read more
Published 1 month ago by brian stalder
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great find!
This book is full of beer recipes to die for! Some of them are a bit involved but of course very tasty!
Published 1 month ago by Robyn
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book.
Giving it to my son for Christmas 2013. It appears to be everything that it was advertised to be. Very pleased with the purchase.
Published 1 month ago by Janet M. Bourne
5.0 out of 5 stars
He liked it!
I got this for my boyfriend for Christmas. He is into homebrewing and Stone is his fave. He really enjoyed it and I can not wait to try some of the food recipes in it. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Angela Dawn Locklear
5.0 out of 5 stars
perfect fit
This is one of the best cookbooks that I have come across that deals with cooking with beer. This new addition will move to the 500 plus heap of cookbook. Read more
Published 3 months ago by willcookforbeer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Husbands Christmas Gift
My husband happens to be a home brewer AND his favorite brew is Stone so this was the perfect gift for him. Arrived in great condition and quite fast!
Published 3 months ago by Momof3
5.0 out of 5 stars
Passion for beer and more.
A great read, that if you like beer, will turn you into a beer lover.
This book will help Stone sell a lot of beer.
This book will help Stone sell a lot of beer.
Published 3 months ago by Philip Webster
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beer Tablet
It is an awesome brewery, with awesome brewers making amazing beer. Their words are like scripture in the brew community.
Published 4 months ago by R. Day
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Insight Into Stone Brewing Co
Great Insight Into Stone Brewing Co and it also includes some nice recipes and beer & food pairings to try.
Published 4 months ago by jball
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