Do we need a generic "Norwegian Ale" or something similar as somewhere to put the beers that American breweries are (increasingly) brewing using these Kveik yeasts that are now commercially available? Another subset of Farmhouse Ale? Most that I have drank have been hopped, so they wouldn't fit in the existing Sahti style. Most have been pale in color, but currently the Pale Ale category is divided between American, British, and Belgian, which a primary factor is the yeast being used . They do seem to have a unique quality to them. So the beers using Kveik yeasts don't seem to fit in any good spot currently. Any thoughts?
Interesting idea. Having never tried one; kind of excludes me for knowledgeable comment. Lars Garshol’s book HISTORICAL BREWING TECHNIQUES is well worth the read. And pulls back the curtain on a wide range of Farmhouse Beer from Scandinavia and the Baltic. https://www.brewerspublications.com...MIpcDdr9_t8AIVBbLICh06RAdhEAAYASAAEgKOIvD_BwE
Off the top of my head, I don’t know… Many of the beers that I have seen personally that have been using Kviek yeast have essentially been hazy IPAs so I have been adding them in that category. I have not come across any farmhouse style beers using Kviek yeast - do you have an examples?
I've seen the use of kveik yeast span across several of the more popular, entirely different styles, even into mead and beyond. It can't really command its own style--usually a brewery will say "this is an IPA that happens to use this yeast," ala Noble Creature. Breweries don't even necessarily use a specific yeast in each style category. If styles were separated by yeast strains, we'd have dozens if not hundreds more.
I disagree - lager vs ale yeast usage is the driver separating a lot of equivalent styles (pale lager vs blonde ale, amber lager vs amber ale, dunkel lager vs brown ale, etc). And what seperates most Belgian styles from other styles with similar malt characteristerics is definitley the yeast strains used. Yeast strains are a big part of seperating the traditional American, British, German, and Belgian families of styles.
So you're advocating for an entirely different, third branch of beer here on Beer Advocate and in the larger beer world, between Ale, Lager, and...what, Kveik? Stop it.
I have definitely had some that were not overly hoppy. But when I used the term Farmhouse I meant as the historical origin of the yeast strains. Similar to how saison is a style that can vary quite widely in the malt bill and hopping levels, but yeast is key.
Saison does not have a specific, required yeast strain. In fact it's often mixed culture, and varies extremely wildly. What are you talking about?
No, you ignored the second half of my post. Within the styles brewed with Ale yeasts - American, British, German, and Belgain ale styles use unique families of yeast strains. I would say that the dozen of so beers I've tried brewed with Kveik strains would not be mistaken for beers brewed with a "clean" American strain.
"American, British, German, and Belgain" beers are NOT distinguished by yeast strains. Yeast might at times play a factor, but it's not usually the primary factor, and only really becomes a strong factor when you're talking very yeast-forward Belgian style or Hefe-like beers. And Kveik does not often leave any sort of distinct impression, or create any sort of unique character to warrant a special categorization to list every single sub-style it's been used in under it. Your idea would be even worse than making Brut IPA an actual style, which was a terrible idea considering how few breweries made it, and how indistinguishable it was from regular IPA in most cases. So many beer styles can and do use different versions of yeast towards a similar end. Kveik is no different. It's just a new darling experiment. Until it branches out into something wholly unique, and more importantly, popular enough to warrant recognition, this is a solution begging for a problem.
I didn't say that. But it's a specific category. You ferment the same exact wort with Chico strain instead, and you've got a Blonde Ale.
https://www.hopculture.com/the-hop-review/10-beers-from-kveik-fest/ Almost nothing about any unique impressions provided by the yeast in that entire article, except "a little fruitier" regarding one beer out of 10 of several entirely different styles. Which mirrors my experience with the dozens of random beers I've had where the brewer bothered to note they used this type of yeast in the first place. Kveik is so nondescript in most cases, there's probably several beers we've both had where the brewers never even bothered to describe what yeast they used, and why would they? Most brewers rarely do for any other beer they make. Not even as a footnote. I mean, how many breweries are listing the type of yeast they're using in NEIPA, for example? Are you aware there are several different strains that can be used to achieve the desired affect? Many English in origin. The yeast, and particular its geographical origin, does not a style make.
No …Living in Minnesota Ive had several, they fit into IPA ,PA Shati or Farmhouse, no need for a Norwegian Style. You can list the yeast style in the notes.
