Kveik yeast thread

Since we kind of overran some other guy’s thread with excitement over this yeast, I figured I’d start a new thread for this yeast. I ordered three vials, one for a bread culture, one for an IPA, and one for a Porter. Let’s use this thread to compare notes.

For more info about this yeast, here are some links:

http://www.milkthefunk.com/wiki/Kveik

I probably won’t be able to play with this yeast for a couple months, but I’ll definitely be following this thread!

I’ll be watching, curious, what notes, flavor will it bring to the party? Would this be a big brew or small? Sneezles61

I’m hoping for the described orange peel esters to show up. I figure a nice little IPA and a Porter with a decent slug of chocolate malt will play nicely. I’m leaning towards splitting wort into smaller batches to compare with 1272 (my default go-to yeast). Then, because paying for shipping on yeast sucks, harvesting and playing with some big beers.

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I will be looking for some Kveik yeast down the road. I will be looking forward to your reviews! Sneezles61

I’ve never tried it, but my understanding is one of the traditional ways to store this yeast was to desiccate it in the sun and store it dried in chunks. I’ve been meaning to try it on some regular yeast, just to see if it’s an alternative to filling up my fridge with jars of slurry.

Interesting. Where are you getting this strain from, the Yeast Bay?

I read some of the links (and links in the links) and had to laugh. All the sanitizing, flaming the tops of jars and worrying when we could have just been rolling yeast in flour :wink: Borrowing some yeast from a neighbor won’t work in my neighborhood though.

Impressive temperature range “We highly recommend taking this into the high end of temperature range, 90-100 ºF.” Wow, could have saved some of us some money on refrigeration.

Seriously I also will be following this thread. It is so far away from what we consider the norm.

Correct, yeast bay has one strain, and Omega’s “hothead” strain is the other that is currently available here. There’s a handful of smaller webshops that sell omega yeast.

pc can you link the hothead here. I assume you mean at NB. Search returns no help.

Not “here” as in NB, but “here” being America. I wish NB carried it. Would have saved me $15 shipping. (NB is my LHBS)

Right, NB doesn’t carry it as far as I know, but they are the two strains we can get so far in the states. Here’s the info on omega’s strain:

I’m not sure if it’s the power of suggestion or not, but man, am I smelling orange peel off this yeast. I have a lump of dough with it that I’m refreshing every three days, and it has a distinct smell. Fired up a quick starter with a vial, and think I have the same smell. It’s funny, I generally have a lousy sense of smell, but certain things really stand out. I’m brewing my IPA tomorrow and will update with details. The porter will follow soon after.

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Just got the IPA into fermentors. Here’s what I brewed (nearly 5 gallons, batch sparked all grain)

6.75 lbs 2 row
6.5 lbs Munich
.25 lbs c 20
.25 lbs c60
2 Oz Cascade (homegrown) 60 min
1.5 Oz Chinook (homegrown) 10 min
1 Oz Amarillo (pellet) 10 min
1 Oz Chinook (homegrown) flame out
1 Oz Amarillo (pellet) flame out

Water built up from distilled:
Ca: 133 ppm
Mg: 16 ppm
Na: 32 ppm
Cl: 142 ppm
SO4: 200 ppm

Ended up at 1.067. Split between 2 fermentors, 1 with an active starter of Kveik and 1 with harvested WY 1272. The 1272 is in my brew room at 63 degrees, and the Kveik in an upstairs closet at 73 ambient. We’ll see how these turn out…

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I guess I’m trying to find a brew thats very simple so a side by side can be wrought out of the Kveik yeast… Sure seems that the yeast WILL alter the flavor… Keep us posted I need to know whats the out come… Sneezles61

Porter is in fermentors. 5 gallons at 1.065 (I like them a bit big)

10 lbs 2 row
2 lbs dark munich
1 lb c120
.5 lb chocolate
.5 lb black

Fuggles at 60 and 10 to 45 IBUs.

(Yes, I know this looks like too much specialty grain, but I’ve made this before and liked it).

Adjusted distilled water to:

Ca- 123
Mg- 11
Na- 32
Cl- 170
SO4- 111

Again, split between a starter of Kveik and some harvested 1272.

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Just transferred, dry hopped, and sampled.

Kveik finished at 1.005, 1272 at 1.010 (both refractometer converted). The Kveik dropped a little clearer. The orange is subtle. Think orange blossom honey. It’s there, though. I definitely prefer the Kveik sample. It just has that little bit extra oomf. The most impressive part being that I fermented 10 degrees hotter than I usually do. I almost want to heat a space up to push it further. I harvested the yeast cake to reuse, so I should have plenty now.

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I’m thinking of using for a 2-hearted type beer… Orange esters and centennial! Heck yeah!

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I did a little reading about Kveik (pronounced ke vike I guess) yeast. Norwegian farmhouse ale has juniper berries and other crazy stuff in it. So how did you guys decide to do Porters and IPAs with the stuff?

Any yeast that ferments clean at hot temps is a game changer for many of us though.

I just figured non-phenolic, heat tolerant yeast with orange peel esters felt like a good match for IPA (Citrus against American hops) and Porter (chocolate orange). I may be biased because those are my two favorite styles, though. So far, so good on the heat tolerance, though.

I think they even put juniper branches in the bottom of their mash runs and lautered through them. I’d love to try that! But some juniper varieties have different levels of toxicity, so it’s important to know what kind you have before you try something like that…