The Wonderful World of Kveik

Chris Saunders - Escarpment Labs, Guelph, ON

I’m ChrisInternal Quality Assurance and Business Automation Specialist at Escarpment Labs

Primarily involved in pre-production:

● From plate up to enough cells for a commercial propagation

● Assist in growth of our alternative microbes (brett, bacteria, etc)

Production process research for large scale growths of alternative yeasts

I.e. Growing up “alcohol free” yeasts

Agenda● Norwegian Farmhouse

brewing● Understanding “Farmhouse”● Getting Kveik beyond the

Fjords● From drawers to petri dishes:

the “purifying” of Kveik● Using Kveik● “Product Overview”● Recipe ideas using Kveik● Q & A

Photo credit: Larsblog

Norwegian Farmhouse Brewing

● Norwegians have been brewing beer for centuries -- this is nothing new. Many cultures have brewed beer for a long time.

● Brewing in Norway can be expensive, often beer is only brewed for special occasions (weddings, Christmas, etc)

● Ingredient acquisition is farmer/family dependent.○ Some make their own malts

■ these malts are typically smoked as a result○ Some have a cache of yeast they re-use for their brewing (Kveik)○ Some purchase commercial yeast for brewing (Gjær)

■ Bread yeast, lab slurries or dry yeasts○ Hops can and are used in the beers. Sometimes in “weird” ways. Typically purchased○ Juniper is commonly used in the process -- usually branches

Norwegian Farmhouse Brewing● Beers are often quite strong● Techniques differ by region

○ Stjørdalsøl○ Kornøl○ Vossaøl

● Glacier to be a major differentiator in brewing techniques

○ North of the glacier was often where raw ale was typically made -- starting to die out

Lars Marius Garshol has heavily documented their brewing techniques

http://www.garshol.priv.no/blog/beer/

Understanding “Farmhouse”● In the last century Belgian and

French brewing “claimed” the definition of Farmhouse

○ Saison○ Biere de Garde

● It’s better to think of Farmhouse is a blanket term for brewing beer with “traditional” techniques and equipment

● Many farmhouse brewers aren’t making beer to sell. Often it’s for friends and family

Photo credit: Larsblog

UnderstandingNorwegian Farmhouse

● Norwegian farmhouse yeast isn’t phenolic!○ Muri was thought to be a Kveik.○ Kristoffer Krogerus (VTT) did some

testing and it’s actually WLP351 (Weizen yeast)!

● Beers were often very strong, sometimes sweet and loaded with juniper.

● Remember, “Farmhouse” is an approach to brewing not a style.

○ Don’t go making a Saison with Kveik then wonder why you get a 13 in your next BJCP sanctioned homebrew competition

Photo credit: Larsblog

Getting Kveik beyond the Fjords● This weird magic yeast caught the eye of many a

microbiologist○ They ferment warm○ They are often reused over many yeast generations○ Shared among the local brewing community○ There’s gotta be a bunch of neat genetics going on!

● From a homebrewer standpoint○ Forgiving for brewers without temperature control○ Work at wide temperature ranges○ Fast!

Photo credit: Larsblog

Getting Kveik beyond the Fjords● Early into his career, Richard befriended Lars to learn more

about kveik. Being a microbiologist studying yeast, this “kveik” had really piqued his interest.

● Visited farmhouse brewers in Norway to understand their processes and to collect samples

○ Many brewers brew to feel or tradition○ Questions like “what is your original gravity”?

■ I’m not a scientist ● Random shipments from Norway containing flakes of yeast

○ Some were dead -- Shoe dryer was on too high

From Drawers to Petri Dishes: “Purifying” Kveik● Samples sent to yeast labs in either dried or liquid form● Re-hydrated and grown on differential agar

○ Along with isolating yeasts shows what other microbes could be in there

○ Many cultures also contained bacteria● Different colonies plucked out and evaluated by the lab

○ Lab scale batches of beer○ Monitored for performance and positive organoleptic

properties■ Smells good, tastes good, etc.■ Maybe backed up with some gas

chromatography to see the actual compound concentrations

● Most cultures contained many different strains of yeast.○ Blends are developed based on ability for products to

grow well together among many other properties■ Flavour■ Flocculation

● Additional research is being done at the academic level to help us understand even more about these wonderful yeasts○ “Traditional Norwegian Kveik Are a Genetically Distinct Group

of Domesticated Saccharomyces cerevisiae Brewing Yeasts” - Priess, Tyrawa, Krogerus, Garshol & van der Merwe

○ Nutrient requirements, metabolite production, fermentation curves, etc

From Drawers to Petri Dishes: “Purifying” Kveik

Using Kveik

Pitching Rates

● As with most yeast, the lower the pitching rate the more flavour production there will be.

● Kveik can be pitched to rates as low as 0.1M cells / mL / °Plato○ Attenuation is slower, however still reaches final gravity as fermentations done at standard

pitching rates of 1M cells / mL / °Plato○ For 20L of 1.050 wort this is 25 billion cells

■ Homebrew pitches contain from most modern labs contain 200 billion cells in ~100mL slurry

■ An underpitch is ~ 1.5 tbsp of slurry!

Photo credit: Larsblog

Using Kveik - Nutrient Requirements

● Norwegian brewers do “weird” things when prepping their starters○ A small amount of the first runnings are pulled off and yeast chips added to rehydrate and

prepare the yeast○ First runnings are strong (often 1.080+) and full of nutrients

■ Kveik consumes lots of Free Amino Nitrogen (FAN)

● Low-nutrient wort can result in poor fermentation or lots of sulphur○ Might not notice on first pitch, however subsequent repitches in FAN deficient wort may

result in decreased performance○ High gravity beer or adding nutrients (DAP, YeastEx, Servomyces, etc) can help○ When doing starters be sure to include nutrients

Using Kveik - Nutrient Requirements

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Using Kveik - Harvesting

● Top cropping and bottom cropping are both techniques utilized by traditional brewers

○ Top cropping can can ensure best yeasts are selected which can help maintain a strong culture

■ Ringwood brewers also heavily rely on top cropping

■ Granite Brewery in Toronto has gotten 350+Generations (5 years!) out of their Ringwood with top cropping -- beers still clean

○ Bottom cropping may be easier for your process■ Top cropping is very timing dependent. It’s easy to

miss the “sweet spot”

Photo credit: Larsblog

Using Kveik - Storage

● Liquid○ Kveik pitches have surprisingly good shelf lives, even in liquid form. Kept cold the yeast will

probably be fine for several months.○ When in doubt make a nutrient enriched starter

● Dry○ Dried kveik has a very good shelf life as shown by Brian Heit at Sui Generis

■ Check out his blog series on drying kveik: http://suigenerisbrewing.com/index.php/tag/drying-yeast/

○ Our lab dried yeast we made for HomebrewCon 2019 ended up at about 15 billion cells / g■ ~13g of dried Kveik would be needed for a 200 billion cells (20L at 12.5 °Plato)

Using Kveik - Drying your own

● Norwegians have plenty of different approaches to drying their yeast○ The Yeast Stick (aka Kveikstokk)○ Spreading on clean cloth and letting dry out in a closet○ Spreading onto parchment paper and drying out in the oven○ Using a boot warmer(!!) to help dry the yeast out faster

● At home○ Oven with a “dehydrator mode” (want no hotter than 100°F)○ Using clean paper towels and a food dehydrator○ Using the heat from a pilot light and your stove

■ Just don’t forget you left some yeast in there before making your next meal :)

Dried Norwegian Yeast

Using Kveik - Dried Kveik @ Escarpment● Promotional purposes only -- Regular cultures are liquid!● Sterilize silicone foil wrapped baking trays in the

autoclave● Set incubator to 38°C and allow to stabilize● Spread concentrated Kveik slurry onto the sterile baking

tray● Allow to dry out over the next 3 to 5 days

○ Check on it daily. Decant any liquid after yeast has settled to allow it to dry faster

● Break the dried yeast apart and portion off into “pitches”○ For us that’s the 0.5 - 1g promotional dime bags

Using Kveik - Rehydration & Propagation

● Rehydrate the amount of yeast chips you need (i.e. 13g / 20L)○ Optional: Verify viability by rehydrating chips into 0.5 to 1L of first runnings○ Rehydrate chips in 0.5L of sanitary water

● Do a nutrient enriched 1L starter and inoculate with 0.5 to 1g of chips○ Monitor for signs of fermentation (krausen, bubbles, etc)○ After ~24 hours growth you’ll have between 150 - 200 billion cells○ Should be good enough for standard strength beer or up to nearly 1.100 OG beers!

Using Kveik - Fermentation● A commonly known feature of Kveik is that these strains

can handle quite warm temperatures○ Pitching temperature does not equal fermentation temperature○ While fermenting hot, keep a close eye on attenuation○ Take the yeast off the heat once gravity stabilizes

● They can handle these temperatures while fermenting, but will suffer from the same problems other yeast will once done fermenting

○ I.e. cell death resulting in meaty, brothy and rubbery off-flavours

● Alternative, pitch hot (30 - 35°C) and insulate with blankets or towels to help maintain passive heat

Using Kveik - Fermentation

● “Farmhouse” / Fast Fermentations○ Cool out wort to 30 - 35°C and pitch slurry○ Try to keep it warm by using heat belts /

wrapping in blankets etc○ High gravity worts -- headspace and blowoffs!○ Expect more yeast expression / “Kveik” flavour

● Conventional Brewing○ Cool to standard pitching temperature (i.e. 18 -

20°C) and pitch○ Ferment as you would any other ale yeast○ Results in “cleaner” beers, some even describe as

“lagery”

Using Kveik - Performance Information

In 2019 performed massive Test Ferment Experiment (TFE)

● Generated fermentation curves, FAN utilization and final pH charts

● Testing performed at 20°C● Pitching rates were also tested, and

those results can be seen on the Escarpment Blog

Using Kveik - Fermentation Curves

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Example: Cool vs hot Hornindal fermentation

Using Kveik - Pitching Temperature Matters

Using Kveik - Lab Results vs RealityFinally, once we had all the wort run off and cooled, we were ready to pitch. Terje pitches at 30 degrees. He pitched at 27 once, but that beer didn't taste right. It had "kaldegangssmak", he says, which translates as something like "cold fermentation flavour". So now he sticks strictly to 30.

- Lars Marius Garshol, 2015

Esters

Using Kveik - Impact on final pH

Using Kveik - Impact on final pH

The impact Kveik has on the terminal pH of a beer can also drastically impact it’s flavour.

● When using Kveik pH can become an even more important variable to monitor!

● Lower pH can result in a beer that tastes watery or thin○ Bad experiences with beer brewed with Kveik that is missing “something”

● Avoid lower terminal pH by adding buffering capacity to your beers○ Using more alkaline water (i.e. Guelph has really high alkalinity)○ Push up terminal pH near the end of boil (Slaked Lime or Baking Soda)○ Aim to have a higher pre-boil pH

Using Kveik with Sour Beer

● Temptation may exist to co-pitch lacto & kveik at the same time● Kveik is aggressive enough to consume all the nutrients before the bacteria● This can result in stalled sours (finishing pH ~3.8)● Stagger pitching Kveik by 12 - 24 hrs to allow lacto to have a chance at

souring.● Alternatively, just do a “traditional” kettle sour and use kveik after sour wort

has been pasteurized

A briefKveik Overview

A brief Kveik Overview - Voss Kveik

● Single yeast isolate from Sigmund Gjernes kveik sample● Strain can express some orange notes when fermented warm (~35°C)● Eventually will settle out and create quite clear beer● Can be used for all styles (personal favourite: Cream Ale)● High alcohol tolerance

A brief Kveik Overview - Hornindal Kveik Blend

● Blend of two strains isolated from Terje Raftevold’s Hornindal● Expresses lots of Ethyl Hexanoate (Red Apple)

○ More expression when fermented warm, but still present when fermented cold

● Highly flocculant● Great for all styles, some have a preference to use it in making pseudo-lagers

(ferment at 20°C for lower ester production)

A brief Kveik Overview - Skare Kveik Blend (KRISPY)

● Blend of two strains isolated from Gunnar Skare in Ørsta

● Very clean flavour expression. Does a good job of accentuating malt characteristics

● Good flocculation○ Exhibits really interesting “fluffiness” when roused. Wait approx

5-10 minutes before pitching to verify slurry volume.

● Great for all styles, but is excellent for making clean ales and pseudo-lagers (ferment at 25°C or lower)

● See “The Search for KRISPY” on the Escarpment Labs blog

A brief Kveik Overview - Ebbegarden Kveik Blend

● Blend of two strains isolated from Ebbegarden Kveik● Can be used across a broad temperature range● Is a great yeast to be used for making New England-style IPAs

A brief Kveik Overview - Årset Kveik Blend

● Blend of many inter-related strains isolated from a kveik provided by Jakob Årset

● Yeast is quite tolerant to acidic wort, good candidate for using in dry-hopped sours

● Another excellent candidate for using in New England-style IPA

Recipes

Voss Cream Ale

● Malt Bill: 75% Pilsner, 15% Flaked Corn, 10% Flaked Barley○ OG: 1.047○ FG: 1.014

● Cluster at FWH for 6 IBU, 1.4g/L Crystal & 1g/L Cluster for 15m WP● Yeast Nutrient and Whirlfloc used● Cool to 37°C and pitch● Keep warm!

Hornindal or KRISPY AmeriTrash Lager

● Malt Bill: 80% Pilsner, 20% Corn Sugar○ OG: 1.040○ FG: 1.010

● Willamette at FWH for 15 IBU● Yeast Nutrient and Whirlfloc used● Cool to 20°C and pitch

Årset or Ebbegarden NEIPA

● Malt Bill: 75% 2-Row, 12.5% Flaked Oats, 12.5% Flaked Wheat○ OG: 1.060○ FG: 1.012

● 2.5g / L each of Citra, Mosaic & Galaxy for 15m WP● Yeast Nutrient and Whirlfloc used● Cool to 35°C and pitch● 2.5g / L each of Citra, Mosaic & Galaxy dry-hop

○ Try to catch at about 25% attenuation○ Or just dry hop after 2 days fermentation

● Optional: Swap out hops with whatever is “cool” these days

Want Kveik from Escarpment Labs?

● Special monthly releases of new strains.● It’s possible we may not grow them again● Sign up for the mailing list or follow on social

media for new product releases● Portion of prop is always set aside for homebrew

pitches● American homebrewers

○ Tell your local shop or consider organizing a group buy

escarpmentlabs.com/thekveikring

Thank YouQuestions?

chris@escarpmentlabs.com

Thank YouQuestions?

This years dime bags contain 1g of Skare (aka Crispy) Kveik