BILLINGS As snow fell across Billings on Saturday, people gathered around a fire pit outside 105 Brewing in the Heights to try something unique for St. Patricks Day weekend: a centuries-old beer tradition known as Bierstacheln. Watch how the beer transforms with heat: German 'beer spiking' tradition draws crowd and community to Heights breweryBierstacheln, or "beer spiking," is the German practice that involves dipping a red-hot iron into a glass of dark beer. The heat causes the drink to foam and caramelize, altering both its temperature and flavor.This weekend is a celebratory weekend for many different reasons, and we thought we'd give this a shot," said Travis Zeilstra, founder and head brewer at 105 Brewing.Zeilstra said it's something he's always wanted to offer at the brewery and hopes the event will become an annual tradition. The practice dates back hundreds of years.The legend is people were drinking beer in the winter, and the beer was actually too cold," said Zeilstra. "What they would do is grab their poker out of their stove or their fire pit and jam it in their beer, and then it would warm it up and make it less cold."The hot iron transforms the drink, creating new flavors within seconds. Adding the hot poker changes the flavor components, warms up the beer, creates a caramelized sugar or a toasted marshmallow flavor, said Zeilstra. "You get a second beer experience in the same glass." For many visitors on Saturday, it was their first time seeing and tasting the technique. Heights resident Brenna Moloney and Anne Genereux decided to try it after hearing about the event.I thought it sounded different and interesting and a nice thing to do. Cozy on a snowy winter day, said Moloney. Ive never heard of this before.It was cool. It was super fun," added Genereux. "It tastes good. While the beer spiking drew curiosity, many patrons said the bigger reason they keep coming back is the sense of community the brewery has created in the Heights.Related: 105 Coffee and Brewery offers a new gathering place for Billings Heights residentsRon Pitsch and Duane Dittmer, who both live nearby, said having a local gathering place in the Heights has made a difference.It's just kind of neat. Look at the people. I mean, look at the turnout," said Dittmer. We always like to come down to 105 because we live in the Heights there, and we've been down dozens of times, really, already.""Just so close, we don't have to drive clear across to the West End or downtown," added Pitsch. "And it's great to have this and to support the businesses here, too." Since opening last year, the brewery and coffee shop has hosted trivia nights, dancing, and weekly meetups for groups in the community.Pete Herzog said a veterans group meets there every Tuesday afternoon."Our Veterans group, we come here on Tuesdays, and any veteran from any war is welcome to join us," he said. "The 105 really makes it happen for us. They're very accommodating. It's just great to be here." Zeilstra said building that kind of space was always the goal.The Heights has really embraced us ever since we opened, and we're really thankful of that," said Zeilstra. "It's been challenging, like all retail and service industry, and we're getting a really good foundation, and we're excited for the future.While the beer may start out cold, the traditions and community around it are quickly warming up in the Heights.I think people are finding out about it, Genereux said. Thats great. ...read more read less