Brewing with Kveik: What Have We Learned So Far?

Below is an interesting video about a commercial brewer's (Paul Arney) visit to Norway. IMO the entire video is a worthwhile watch but if you want to see 'rustic' brewing using Kveik yeast you can jump to the 20:00 mark.

Cheers!

 

I agree. I enjoyed reading that article.

Cheers!

 

Will Ferrell hopes to make it there (someday):

 

Great video!

 

I'm doing an experiment with it. Did an NE IPA with OYL-200 and as soon as it's done I'm doing the same recipe with OYL-091, a Hornidal strain. I'll report back here when it'd done!

Another cool video here: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/kveik-lars-garshol

It's a talk by Lars who did a lot of legwork in talking to Norweigan brewers and sourcing yeast. It's really informative.

 

I'm looking to use kveik a couple times in upcoming brews. Do you pitch wort at 80-90 degrees, or cool lower before pitching and let it rise in temp as fermentation gets going?

 

I usually always toss it in at 80

 

There's also this chart that Lars Garshol maintains that indicates what temperature a number of the popular Kveik strains are pitched at, if you are interested.

 

Some of the claims for kveik-derived strains when they were first marketed include:
low pitch requirement, faster than normal fermentations, and palatability at 15-25 degrees F higher than normal fermentation temperature, with neutral or fruity flavors often cited.

I haven't put the temperature to the test. but can say that I have put the pitch requirement to the test. 1 g samples fermented 2.5 gallons, finishing quickly. But not without impact on palatability, IMO. I can't speak to temperature, but perhaps the lesson I learned is that just because you can do something doesn't mean you should. The low pitch rates didn't create awful beers, but they had a harshness

 

^This. When Kveik strains first started to become available, their properties were hyped and exaggerated. If I see one more post (thankfully these mostly occur on a different forum) about an amazing "lager" made with Kveik yeast, I may, well, ok I'll do nothing. But it's annoying.

 

So in your experience it doesn't produce a lager-like beer (or should I say ale)?

I'm planning on making a large batch and splitting that among a couple of kveik strains to ferment at a couple of different temps to see what the results are.

 

I would be very interested in any parameters and observations you have from those experiments.

 

I have tasted many Kveik beers, including some that were intended to be "lagers." I haven't had one yet that wowed me.

 

Are you a member of the AHA?

In the recent issue of Zymurgy (March/April 2021) there is an article about brewing a Festbier and splitting the wort into four batches using different yeast strains/fermentation conditions (two batches fermented using a Kveik strain - Omega OYL-071 Lutra). These four batches were then judged by a panel of BJCP judges - two National-level judges and three Master/Grand Master judges.

I would encourage you to read the article.

Cheers!