Greetings. A couple of questions and a possible suggestion.
It's mentioned in the blog that kveik yeast can be used for most beer styles. It seems the major advantage is it does not require special cooling equipment for fermentation. But are their other significant advantages if one has the necessary equipment for cooling?
A second question is if there are large differences between the Lutra kveik and the other kveiks listed, and if the others will become available anytime soon?
The suggestion: Depending on the above, it might be advantageous if the kveik is offered as an option for those kits where it could be an appropriate alternative.
Finally, would be good to know about those Norwegian trolls, if any have been seen in India, and if screaming into the fermenter might contaminate the wort. :-)
Greetings! Thank you for your questions and suggestions.
1. The major advantages beside temperature liberty is the faster fermentation speed.
Also no conditioning time is required post carbonation. For most other yeast you require at least 2 weeks for beer to taste "mature". While Kveik is drinkable as soon as it's finished fermenting. The Norwegian farmers don't carbonate their beers and drink it fresh.
Lutra and many other Kveik have high flocculation rate. That means you don't have to do much for the beer to clarify post fermentation if there are not many adjuncts used.
Kveik are also very "hungry" yeast. They happily chum through the wort and never go dormant while there is still sugars to eat. The reason why they can ferment up to 15% ABV without any problem.
2. Unfortunately apart from Voss and Lutra not many other strains are commercially produced yet. We used to import other Kveik strains from Nordic farmers previously but due to certain technical restraints we are not able to do that anymore.
3. It is definitely possible to replace yeast from any of the kits with Lutra with additional Rs. 200 charge. That is since Lutra costs us almost thrice compared to other yeast.
4. Oh ! Someone I know, knows someone who told him that a long time ago his friend while onboard a train was told by a stranger that someone he knew, saw a troll near Chorla Ghat Glowing forest in Goa near Maharashtra border. It shows up during monsoon, so he said :-)
I have made American pale ales using kviek. I know of people who have made pseudo lagers with it as well but I haven’t done that. Check YouTube for more info on psudo lagers. If fermented hot, it will produce some orange esters which work with pale ales and could work with some other styles too. I would not recommend orange esters for a lager though. As suggested the fermentation time can also be shorter and using a clarification agent like gelatin (non veg) will also clear out the beer fast and you could technically have a drinkable beer in around 10 days.
i) Keep it simple: Replace yeast with Kveik in a recipe, ferment hot and make a good beer in 2-5(depending on the strain) days.
ii) Learn the Art of Brewing Scandinavian Farmhouse Ales: Do some cool things, ferment hot and make an exceptional quality beer in again, just a few days.
If you choose the later, let me share some of my knowledge on the subject.
Kveik Brewing Tips
Brew with Juniper Berries: Norwegians use Juniper with all their Kveik beers. It helps impart some ruby tannins and terpenoids giving Kveik beer it's character. Juniper has antimicrobial properties and it was traditionally used for sterilizing water before consumption.
High Gravity Worts: Traditional Kveik beers have 8% to 12% ABV. These yeasts love to eat so provide them with enough food.
Make a Starter from First Runnings: Cool down half a glass of wort from your mash and pitch Kveik in it. It will give it approx. 2-3 hours to get active before you're done with boiling, cooling and oxygenating your wort. The activated yeasts help finish the ferment very fast.
Do Not Overpitch: Weirdly unlike other brewing yeasts, Kveik thrive if underpitched and create a lot of citrussy-fruity characters. 1-2 grams per 10 liter is enough to do the job.
Ferment Hot: Between 30°C to 36°C is the sweet spot. Mostly depending on the strain you use though, so pay close attention to the Yeast Strain description.
Yeast Nutrients: Kveik like to ferment fast and in an order to do that they need 3 to 4 times the amount of nutrition compared to regular yeast. You can also use boiled bakers yeast for this purpose - 1 table spoon per 10 liter is enough.
Using Hops: Some Kveik strains come with bacteria and create interesting flavours as well as acidity. Using too much hops in the boil can kill them. But do use regular amount of hops as you would with regular beer. Dry hopping with any amount of hops post fermentation is fine.
Yeast Scream: Last but not the least (tongue in chick). Nordics devised a shrewd scheme to scare off Trolls who are always after their beers (there's a back story, ask and I will tell). The trick is to gather around the fermenter and scream in it LOUDLY when pitching yeast - mumbling words like, "There's a fire on Killingeö" or just going "OOOoooooiii". Nordics swear, it keeps the Trolls from stealing their beer. Well I religiously follow that tip with every batch and not once have I got my beer stolen by a troll since. Phew...
Greetings. A couple of questions and a possible suggestion.
It's mentioned in the blog that kveik yeast can be used for most beer styles. It seems the major advantage is it does not require special cooling equipment for fermentation. But are their other significant advantages if one has the necessary equipment for cooling?
A second question is if there are large differences between the Lutra kveik and the other kveiks listed, and if the others will become available anytime soon?
The suggestion: Depending on the above, it might be advantageous if the kveik is offered as an option for those kits where it could be an appropriate alternative.
Finally, would be good to know about those Norwegian trolls, if any have been seen in India, and if screaming into the fermenter might contaminate the wort. :-)
Thank you much!
When doss kviek yeast come to sales ?
Basically, there are two ways to approach Kviek.
i) Keep it simple: Replace yeast with Kveik in a recipe, ferment hot and make a good beer in 2-5(depending on the strain) days.
ii) Learn the Art of Brewing Scandinavian Farmhouse Ales: Do some cool things, ferment hot and make an exceptional quality beer in again, just a few days.
If you choose the later, let me share some of my knowledge on the subject.
Kveik Brewing Tips
Brew with Juniper Berries: Norwegians use Juniper with all their Kveik beers. It helps impart some ruby tannins and terpenoids giving Kveik beer it's character. Juniper has antimicrobial properties and it was traditionally used for sterilizing water before consumption.
High Gravity Worts: Traditional Kveik beers have 8% to 12% ABV. These yeasts love to eat so provide them with enough food.
Make a Starter from First Runnings: Cool down half a glass of wort from your mash and pitch Kveik in it. It will give it approx. 2-3 hours to get active before you're done with boiling, cooling and oxygenating your wort. The activated yeasts help finish the ferment very fast.
Do Not Overpitch: Weirdly unlike other brewing yeasts, Kveik thrive if underpitched and create a lot of citrussy-fruity characters. 1-2 grams per 10 liter is enough to do the job.
Ferment Hot: Between 30°C to 36°C is the sweet spot. Mostly depending on the strain you use though, so pay close attention to the Yeast Strain description.
Yeast Nutrients: Kveik like to ferment fast and in an order to do that they need 3 to 4 times the amount of nutrition compared to regular yeast. You can also use boiled bakers yeast for this purpose - 1 table spoon per 10 liter is enough.
Using Hops: Some Kveik strains come with bacteria and create interesting flavours as well as acidity. Using too much hops in the boil can kill them. But do use regular amount of hops as you would with regular beer. Dry hopping with any amount of hops post fermentation is fine.
Yeast Scream: Last but not the least (tongue in chick). Nordics devised a shrewd scheme to scare off Trolls who are always after their beers (there's a back story, ask and I will tell). The trick is to gather around the fermenter and scream in it LOUDLY when pitching yeast - mumbling words like, "There's a fire on Killingeö" or just going "OOOoooooiii". Nordics swear, it keeps the Trolls from stealing their beer. Well I religiously follow that tip with every batch and not once have I got my beer stolen by a troll since. Phew...