Omega Hornindal Kveik Blend

Discussion in 'Homebrewing' started by minderbender, Apr 16, 2018.

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  1. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    Has anyone tried the new Hornindal kveik blend from Omega? I just brewed with it yesterday, so I don't have anything to report except that it got off to a nice vigorous fermentation very quickly. (I've found that this is almost always true for kveik. Presumably the fact that I ferment at about 95°F has something to do with it.)
     
    #1 minderbender, Apr 16, 2018
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  2. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    I haven't brewed with it, but I'm digging the expansion in brewing variety that the various Norwegian strains have given me. I don't have fermentation temp control outside of using fans and a swamp cooler, and the Norwegian strains give me the ability to brew something outside of Saisons for 6 months out of the year. Please report back.
     
    #2 MrOH, Apr 16, 2018
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  3. nategibbon

    nategibbon Initiate (0) Sep 6, 2008 Illinois

    Omega employee here. The Hornindal kveik is currently the lab favorite, we've used it in an APA, Brut IPA, Rye Wine, and Imperial Stout. All super fruity with quick and reliable fermentation.
     
    #3 nategibbon, Apr 17, 2018
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  4. Beerswimmer

    Beerswimmer Initiate (0) Mar 4, 2013 Texas

    I plan on buying some asap and trying it in a few batches.
     
    #4 Beerswimmer, Apr 26, 2018
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  5. Beerswimmer

    Beerswimmer Initiate (0) Mar 4, 2013 Texas

    I'll have it delivered on the 3rd, brew a simple hoppy pale ale with it on the 4th:sunglasses:
     
    #5 Beerswimmer, Apr 28, 2018
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  6. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    The beer I brewed with the Hornindal kveik blend on April 15 was a pale ale. I bottled it today, exactly 2 weeks after brew day. The beer tastes fine so far, although in my experience you can't say much about a beer at this point. My one observation so far is that the yeast flocculated very well, forming a compact cake that stayed on the bottom of my bucket even as I racked the beer very close to it. I had been a bit worried because Omega describes the blend's flocculation as "high and low," presumably because some of the yeasts in the blend are good flocculators and others are poor flocculators. All I can say is that after two weeks, the beer was nice and clear and the yeast was in large clumps on the bottom of the fermenter.

    [Edited to add: For anyone who cares, I achieved an apparent attenuation of 75%, starting at 1.052 and finishing at 1.013. I mashed at about 156°F. Omega advertises an attenuation range of 75-82%, so I guess I was on the low end, which is what I was hoping for.]
     
    #6 minderbender, Apr 30, 2018
    Last edited: Apr 30, 2018
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  7. Witherby

    Witherby Crusader (498) Jan 5, 2011 Massachusetts

    Have any of you actually brewed a Norwegian style with any of these kveik strains? Lars Marius Garshol has an article on raw ales in the newest issue of BYO with a recipe for Kornøl. The biggest drawback for me is a lack of a juniper branches.

    He also mentions (and I'm guessing this is the direction that every homebrewer will go) that it might be interesting to brew a raw ale (no boil) NEIPA:

    "One style that can benefit from incorporating the raw ale technique is New England IPA. This style is supposed to have a soft and juicy mouthfeel, and not boiling the wort contributes to that through the protein that helps fill out and smoothen the body. The effect is not too different from using oats or wheat in the grist. The relatively subtle raw ale flavor, however, will be overwhelmed by the hops."
     
    #7 Witherby, May 2, 2018
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  8. Dave_S

    Dave_S Crusader (429) May 18, 2017 England

    Yeah, I'm quite interested in this yeast, although more as a way of brewing something other than saison in the summer without refrigeration than as a first step to brewing traditional Norwegian farmhouse ale (fascinating though that sounds...)

    Does anyone have any feedback on how it performs, what it tastes like, and what sort of recipe would be a good starting point for trying it out?
     
    #8 Dave_S, May 2, 2018
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  9. EvenMoreJesus

    EvenMoreJesus Initiate (0) Jun 8, 2017 Pennsylvania

    Raw ales are certainly a big thing in the lot of the areas/countries that he documents.
     
    #9 EvenMoreJesus, May 2, 2018
  10. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    I'm so intrigued by not only kveik strains, but also raw ales. This would be a great opportunity to try both. Also, with kids, I'm looking for any excuse to simplify my brew days. Not having to do a boil on a batch sounds ok by me.

    In the article under the northwest norwegian farmhouse ale, it says "Fermented with kveik yeast, the beer is ready to drink after 48 hours." Has anyone tried a fermentation this short with kveik yeast before? Just wondering what the difference in flavor might be between this short of a fermentation time, and a traditional 2-3 weeks of fermentation/conditioning?
     
    #10 Lukass, May 2, 2018
  11. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    I've brewed a lot with kveik, but none of the beers was a traditional Norwegian beer—the vast majority of my kveik beers have been goses and Berliners. One of the things I like about kveik is that it can handle temperatures that are optimal for Lactobacillus, so I can pitch them both at the same temperature. (In practice I always give the Lacto a head start, but I hold the temperature high throughout, until the kveik has done its work.)

    I have done one raw beer with kveik, but it was a Berliner, so definitely not traditional Norwegian style. (Although in fact brewers in Hornindal are known for being willing to drink sour beer, whereas brewers in most other places regard it as a flaw and will throw out kveik that has gotten contaminated with souring bacteria.)

    Anyway the Berliner turned out fine. I heated the wort to like 180°F to pasteurize it, cooled it to a little under 100°F, pitched the Lacto, held it for a day, and pitched the Sigmund's Voss kveik from Yeast Bay. The beer had a grape flavor that wasn't my favorite, but definitely not bad. It was remarkably shelf-stable for a raw beer, I've still got a few bottles lying around and they are perfectly fine.

    For the most part I've used Sigmund's Voss kveik from Yeast Bay, but I recently used Hothead from Omega and I liked it a lot too. Again, though, it wasn't a traditional Norwegian beer, it was a porter. Hothead is one of the most flocculent yeasts I've ever seen, as is Omega's Hornindal blend.

    The pale ale I described above is my first time using the Hornindal blend, I will check back in and post my results once my beer is carbonated.

    [edited for clarity]
     
    #11 minderbender, May 3, 2018
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  12. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    Thanks for all the useful info. I just ordered the Hornindal blend, and hope to brew with it some evening into next week. It will be a raw ale fermented with Kveik, although it won't fit the traditional Norwegian standards, and won't be a berliner or gose either. Hoping for more of a hop-forward beer in the 35-40 IBU range.

    Here's my plan with the Hornindal:

    100% Vienna malt, mashed at 160F

    The plan is to do a small side batch while mash is infusing – 1 lb DME boiled in 2 gal water, with 1 oz Warrior added for 30 min. I will use this as my hoppy sparge addition. Although adding boiling wort won't make it a 100% raw ale, I'm going to look past that :wink:

    Will let wort naturally cool overnight. Once temp reaches 90F, will pitch yeast.

    Dry hopping for a few days with Mandarina bavaria before kegging
     
    #12 Lukass, May 3, 2018
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  13. MrOH

    MrOH Grand Pooh-Bah (3,995) Jul 5, 2010 Virginia
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    How did it turn out? For lack of a better term, I plan on brewing a Dubbel Mild (essentially a dubbel using all English ingredients) with HotHead soon to see how it does in a darker wort.
     
    #13 MrOH, May 3, 2018
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  14. Beerswimmer

    Beerswimmer Initiate (0) Mar 4, 2013 Texas

    I'd like to know too since I'll be brewing a porter with Voss tomorrow.
     
    #14 Beerswimmer, May 3, 2018
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  15. Granitebeard

    Granitebeard Zealot (549) Aug 24, 2016 Maine

    If people want a helpful source, and down right nice guy, I would suggest talking to Justin at Mainiacal Yeast. While he mostly does yeast I won't touch, he has tons of different yeasts from family farms in Norway. He worked with me to find one that I would like, and not have too much funk. At the same time, he is a brewer, and is looking to open a brewery.

    https://www.mainiacalyeast.com/
     
    #15 Granitebeard, May 4, 2018
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  16. minderbender

    minderbender Initiate (0) Jan 18, 2009 New York

    The porter turned out well, but my one word of caution is that the Hothead really attenuates well, so the beer ended up thinner and a bit drier than I wanted it to be. I'd mash pretty hot if you want a more traditional porter profile. (It was a fairly low gravity porter, so that's partly to blame. You might be okay with a higher original gravity.) As I said, the Hothead flocculated like a champion, so the beer was beautiful. The yeast was fairly clean, or at least if it threw off any esters, they hid pretty well behind the dark malts.
     
    #16 minderbender, May 4, 2018
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  17. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    So I answered my own question, in case anyone is interested. I sampled a Kveik that was brewed by one of the owners of a home brewing store that I frequent. (the dude seemed very knowledgeable with yeast/fermentation in general, and seemed to know his shit). He used Sigmund's Voss and fermented it close to 110F! Flavor/aroma was super clean, with pronounced lemon and orange peel. Apparently he packaged his beer just a few days after fermentation subsided, which happens very quickly with Kveik.

    I guess I was just blown away by how great it tasted for how quickly this style can go from grain to glass!
     
    #17 Lukass, May 4, 2018
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  18. ECCS

    ECCS Pundit (755) Oct 28, 2015 Illinois

    Brewing with OLY091 tomorrow
    6% ABV wheat ale with 8oz citra and 2oz Denali (5gallons) I wasn’t planning any boil hops, so I might go with a no-boil here and ferment somewhere around 85 F

    Will report back
     
    #18 ECCS, May 6, 2018
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  19. Lukass

    Lukass Pooh-Bah (2,891) Dec 16, 2012 Ohio
    Pooh-Bah

    Let us know for sure! I’m actually using Denali to dry hop my raw ale/Kveik, since they were out of mandarina Bavaria at my LHBS.
     
    #19 Lukass, May 6, 2018
  20. Supergenious

    Supergenious Maven (1,273) May 9, 2011 Michigan

    So, for you guys making the “raw ales”- do you bring up to near boil temps to kill the lacto? With that said, what temperature kills lacto? I thought I read 145F. Is that right?
     
    #20 Supergenious, May 12, 2018
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