AG Brewing Using Kveik Yeast

[LilDice]

Hi guys. So I took the plunge and went from beer kits to AG brewing. I am using a burco boiler, yay! I now have 2 AG brews under my belt. I am using kits from Worcester hop shop which is handy because everything you need comes in the kit. What I would like to do is use kveik yeast as I have heard it ferments the beer so much quicker. Would this be ok or would this type of yeast change the flavour profile of the beer I am aiming for. Has anyone else used this method before and what are the pros and cons please?

Cheers

 

[Banbeer]

I've used kveik a couple of times and have one in the FV at the moment, the only thing I would recommend is to do a dry hop instead of a flameout/turn off additive as the hop profile dissapears during fermentation. There's also a couple of posts/threads on kveik if you do a search.

 

[LilDice]

Cheers

 

[Banbeer]

By the way, I've only used Voss.

 

[jceg316]

Hi guys. So I took the plunge and went from beer kits to AG brewing. I am using a burco boiler, yay! I now have 2 AG brews under my belt. I am using kits from Worcester hop shop which is handy because everything you need comes in the kit. What I would like to do is use kveik yeast as I have heard it ferments the beer so much quicker. Would this be ok or would this type of yeast change the flavour profile of the beer I am aiming for. Has anyone else used this method before and what are the pros and cons please?

Cheers

Do you know what type of kveik you have? Is your kit an IPA, stout etc?

 

[Mrhandsome]

I've used Kveik all this summer due to lack of temperature control. In terms of fermenting hot it is quicker, but at normal temperatures it's not that much different and it still needs to condition. I also notice an acidity to my Kveik brews which I've not experienced before and I'm not sure if I like much.

I'd give it a go with one brew to see how you like the results because we all have different tastes. It's all a learning experience!

 

[Kveik Freak]

I'm a new brewer, only on brew number 11, but I've never done anything apart from all grain with kveik.

At the moment I'm experimenting with later hop additions since kveik strains do handle hops differently. Following Banbeer's advice and dry hopping might be your best bet but I haven't tried this yet and so can't really comment.

Research whatever strain you are getting, some can really accentuate hop flavours, some not so much. I haven't tried Voss yet, but Mitbust and stranda both seem to bring out the hops, at least when the beers are fresh.

My second attempt used Mitbust and a normal hop additon schedule. It was undrinkably bitter, I set it aside to use as slug killer, but 6 weeks later it's still actually ok!

The kveik registry is a great place to get info like fermentation times and temperatures, but for finer points like what the strain will do to to the hops you're going to have to search for other people's experiences. I start by trying to find out how the Norwegians use a particular strain.

I wish I could tell you more about how the pitch rates and temperature affect flavour, but all my brewing so far has used high temperatures and low pitch rates. The Malt Miller blog has an article about someone's experiment here which may interest you.

Normal pitch rates for kveik are very low- 1g dried kveik /20L. For pseudolagers and other styles where these esters are unwelcome, starters are recommended. Some of the pitch rates I've seen seem really high. I can't find it right now, but I saw a commercial recipe for a psuedolager where they were putting a 6 HL starter into a 12 HL batch!

One thing I can tell you about though is pH. Kveik drops the pH more than other yeast strains. My understanding is that normally you'd want to start off fermentation with wort that's about pH 5.1-5.2, but kveik gives a better result starting from pH 5.4-5.5. I have very soft water, adjusting its salt content has made a big difference to the finished flavour of my beer.

StrangeSteve has a great thread about the general ins and outs of water chemistry and beer making pinned to the top of the Grains, hops, yeast and water forum if it's a new topic for you.

Also kveiks are greedy beasts. If you brew low gravity (below about 6-8% from what I've read), yeast nutrient is a must. I add old yeast to the boiling wort and have been having success with this. Presently I have a batch fermenting that I forgot to add this too. It's still fermenting but the krausen's no where near as thick and creamy as it was with the nutrient.

Good luck, I hope it turns out well for you. Here are a few more good kveik-related resources

How to use kveik
Practical guide to kveik and other farmhouse yeasts
Kveik: tips from the pros