No, I’m not kidding. Of course, the stones don’t make their way into the finished beer.

Instead, the brewers heat up volcanic rocks from Fiji in a big fire and, when they're nice and hot, they throw them into the beer right at the start of the boil.

It’s a throwback to the old days (the really old days) when brewers would use hot rocks to heat up the wort – aka unfermented beer.

The Stone & Wood version isn't quite as hardcore. The hot rocks are symbolic rather than being used to actually boil the liquid.

But they do create some nice flavours, as the sugars in the wort caramelise over the surface of the rocks.

Stone & Wood have been making Stone Beer around this time every year since 2011.

It's become a big event on the craft beer calendar with an invite-only party taking place on the brew day and another ticketed event for the official launch.

Each year’s beer is different and some people will buy multiple bottles so they can cellar some.

I’m one of those people and I can say it’s well worth it – I cracked open one bottle last year (I think it was the 2013 vintage) and it was sublime. Wished I had bought more of them when they were around.

There’s a real special occasion surrounding the release of Stone Beer, which makes me look forward to it.

The downside of that is I tend to be too busy enjoying the beer to bother with taking a whole lot of notes about it.

I can tell you there’s aromas of caramel and chocolate and those flavours carry on through to the palate, along with a smidge of cocoa.

But all I really need to say is “go buy yourself a bottle. It’s well worth it”.

Glen Humphries is an award-winning beer writer and author of The Slab.