Kveik yeast mead update. I was out of town for a week. I probably could’ve racked it before I left, but I knew it wouldn’t hurt to wait. Did that today. It’s hazy, but that’s an aspect of the yeast.

SG: 1.111. It’s now 1.000(!). The ABV calculator says it’s 14.57% alcohol. (Though it’s alternate formula says 16.02%).

I’m gonna let it sit for a while before bottling, but it’s drinkable now.

It’s also delicious.

#Homebrew #Mead #Kveik #Vosskveik

Voss Kveik mead update.
OG: 1.111

It’s about 3 1/2 days since I picked the yeast. It’s nowat 1.006 and still bubbling!

That means it’s currently 13.76% alcohol. It’s also very hazy, which I’ve read is typical for this yeast. If all goes well I’ll rack it on Saturday.

#homebrew #mead #brewing #kveik

Brewing update (traditional mead using Kveik Yeast).

It’s been a day and a half. The Starting Gravity was 1.111. A little higher than I wanted, perhaps. It’s now 1.030. In a day and a half the Kveik has turned it into 10.5% alcohol. It’s still bubbling.

This yeast is a beast.

#Homebrew #Brewing #Kveik #Mead

18/ Even moar kveik

So remember that yeast from post 17? I didn't want to throw it away, so I transferred it along with a clunk of what beer was left in the fermentor to a one litre jar. Within ten minutes it was already making it's escape (so much activity it overflowed the jar), so I had to transfer it to a larger jar and put it in the fridge. Tomorrow I'll drain the beer, and simply freeze it

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

17/ Keg it like you mean it

So after ~75 hours of fermentation, it's time to keg this bad boy. Fermentation is probably not 100% done, but the rest will make sure there's some carbonation in the keg. Trad beers are supposed to be flat (think of cask ales), so that's not a big problem. Gravity is approx 1015, so it might drop a bit more. It should ideally stop at ~1020, but I mashed too cold.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

16/ Dried kveik.

So I pitched just a pinch (10-20 g) of kveik on Sunday. In less than 48 hours, the yeast had multiplied 10-20x, giving me 215(!) grams of dried yeast to use for baking and brewing.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

15/ The funsized batch

The second, small batch I made just for fun, is also alive and kicking. I didn't bother to harvest the kveik from it yesterday, since I already have a lot of that strain in the freezer, but today I pulled ca 100 grams of yeast from that bucket as well. This is the kveik Stalljen from Stig Seljeseth. If anybody wants some, let me know.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

14/ Harvesting kveik, round 2 ~40 hrs in

A bit less yeast this time, but still an awful lot, ca 300 g. So in less than 48 hours, my original pitch of ca 10 g dried kveik, has produced more yeast than I'll ever need. This yeast can be used for beer, cider and baking. Anybody want some? I've been drying yesterday's catch in the oven at ~30°C, and it's almost done now. Just a few hours more..

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

13/ Harvesting kveik, ~20 h in

About 20-21 hours in, I was able to top crop 1 L or 500 grams of fresh kveik. Insane amount! The kveik was still going strong when I harvested to, and a new layer quickly formed on top. I'll take another look in the evening or tomorrow morning, to see if I can get another batch of yeast. This first batch is put in the oven to dry.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

12/ #Brewday done!

So I boiled the second runoff down to 6 L, which should give an OG of ~1050.

Pitched some Stalljen kveik straight from the freezer.

Now both worts are placed safely in the basement.

Next up: Lag phase the next couple of hours, where nothing very interesting happens. Tomorrow I expect full krausen by late afternoon, and finished fermentation by Tuesday or Wednesday.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut

11/ Kveik pitched, some fun

So with an OG of ca 1060 (a bit lower than I wanted, possibly due to old malts), the kveik was pitched and fermentor put into the fermentation cabinet.

There was still some water and sugars left in the lauter tun, so I sparged some more and ran off another 10 L thin wort. I'm currently boiling it down to increase gravity. Lets see how it turns out..

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

10/ Runoff, chill out

While approaching the 15 litre mark, we can take a look at how the kveik is doing (alive and kicking, baby!) and the really magical colour of the juniper infusion.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

9/ Runoff

Transferring the wort from the lauter tun to my fermentor. A slow drizzle is needed for cooling the wort and providing enough oxygen for the yeast.

The hops I'm running the wort through, and the two fistfuls of hops I added to the lauter tun, is the only hops added to this beer.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

8/ Sugar, baby. And company!

So it seems there is some sugar present. The wort is very sweet at the moment.

And while boiling my cooler (because I forgot earlier), I suddenly got some company. I'm not complaining!

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

7/ Preparing the kveik

While transferring the mash, I also took some wort, cooled it down to ~35°C and added a pinch of Otterdal kveik, so that the yeast is awake and ready to go as soon as I pitch it to the main wort in a little while.

(Also a few pics from the sirculation from post 6)

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

6/ Transferring mash to lauter tun.

The used juniper is put in the bottom of the lauter tun to act as a filter. I threw in some hops, and then moved the mash over. I also added some more juniper infusion, and sirculated the wort a few times to make the mash set. In the beginning I got lots of juniper needles and grain fragments, but after a while the wort came out pure. Now we wait.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

5/ Mash in.

Well, fuck. I somehow missed my mash in temperature, so now I'm starting out at 68-69°C instead of 74°C. This means more fermentable sugars, which means more alcohol and less sweetness in the beer - and not just a little, at that. Oh well. I guess I need to be more aggressive when mashing in using this setup.

Time for some cleaning and tidying up around here.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

4/ Time for some #coffee. Shoutout to the magnificent https://dritidet.myspreadshop.no/ for their excellent cups, mugs, tshirts, stickers for those of us who just can't be bothered.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

3/ The Juniper Infusion

So just checking in on the juniper infusion. Nice greenish-yellowy colour, and the smell is sooo good.

I'll give it a few more minutes still though. Getting ready to mash in..

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday

2/ No malts, no ale.

I'm emptying the various bags and boxes in my basement, so these malts are old - I have no idea how much sugar they'll give me, or if the beer will turn out drinkable at all. The grains taste okay though, so I'm hopeful.

I'll mash in about 9 kgs of malt with approx 24 L of juniper infusion in about 30 minutes.

#ølheimen #traditionalbrewing #kveik #norwegian #ale #beersofmastodon #juniper #allheimen #norsktut #brewday