Adventures in Kveik, Keg fermentation and Spunding Valves

[McMullan]

This apparent obsession with time from grain to glass has more to do with alcohol dependency than appreciation of fine ale.
No. I have 6 beautifully conditioned beers on my keezer. No rush for more alcohol.
What I know for sure is that it really isn't associated with fine ale or any recognisable culture thereof.
I've no interest in this ale being considered 'fine' (whatever that means). With regards to it not being associated with a culture that is recognisable to you, well, maybe that's because I'm not trying to brew a beer that reflects any specific culture at all. It's just a brew I knocked up to put Kveik yeast to the test. AKA. A bit of fun. A bit of an experiment.
I'm sure some biased bellends would be happy to cherry pick an over hopped beer where yeast would have played a minimal part
It would have played a major part as it wouldn't be a beer without it It's safe to say, though, there will always be bellends who stick their heads in to cherry pick over stuff that they don't quite get. Way of the world I guess.

Sorry, mate. I was only thinking aloud. Nothing personal. Although I can see how it might have been read otherwise I just don't rate Kevin so I'm never going to recommend it unless you're making Norwegian spud moonshine.

What I was meaning to imply was that Norwegians have had serious alcohol problems for about a thousand years. But they struggled to get hold of malted barley. With less than 2% of Norway's landscape being arable and the wrong climate most would have relied on sporadic supplies of malted barley. It seems when they got their hands on any they brewed then downed it Anyway, it's much easier to grow small, sticky (starch rich) spuds in Norway for moonshine. This selected for Kevin over time. Then a few years back, about 2015, when Norway managed to secure steady imported supplies of malted barley, some brewers used Kevin instead of decent brewer's strains. The results were surprisingly predictable. Like distiller's yeast generally it fermented quite rapidly. Quite often the wort isn't boiled (like so-called 'raw ale') so the moonshiner depends on rapid ethanol production during fermentation to sanitise his wash prior to distillation.

[floydmeddler]

It's safe to say, though, there will always be bellends who stick their heads in to cherry pick over stuff that they don't quite get. Way of the world I guess.

Interested to see how this evolves over time. I've not yet tasted a Kveik that I liked - though I haven't tasted a lot. I know a couple of pro brewers who use it during summer in the south of France because their cooling systems can't cope with summer temps or are non-existent. One highly rated pro brewer told me he could get it to be fairly tasteless and so he used it in highly hopped IPAs. He had an excellent brewery with perfect temp control. When I asked him why he used it he told me it was because it was fashionable.

Hi Killer. I went for it due to its agility. Just couldn't resist giving it a go. Nothing super interesting in the way of flavour at the min. Certainly getting the light citrus flavours that I've read about. One of the reasons I went for a 6% is so that, regardless, it'll be a substantial beer at least with regards to malt flavour.

It's at 1.014 now and has been for 24 hrs. So into the keezer it goes. First pint will be tomorrow, not Saturday!

[floydmeddler]

This apparent obsession with time from grain to glass has more to do with alcohol dependency than appreciation of fine ale.
No. I have 6 beautifully conditioned beers on my keezer. No rush for more alcohol.
What I know for sure is that it really isn't associated with fine ale or any recognisable culture thereof.
I've no interest in this ale being considered 'fine' (whatever that means). With regards to it not being associated with a culture that is recognisable to you, well, maybe that's because I'm not trying to brew a beer that reflects any specific culture at all. It's just a brew I knocked up to put Kveik yeast to the test. AKA. A bit of fun. A bit of an experiment.
I'm sure some biased bellends would be happy to cherry pick an over hopped beer where yeast would have played a minimal part
It would have played a major part as it wouldn't be a beer without it It's safe to say, though, there will always be bellends who stick their heads in to cherry pick over stuff that they don't quite get. Way of the world I guess.

Sorry, mate. I was only thinking aloud. Nothing personal. Although I can see how it might have been read otherwise I just don't rate Kevin so I'm never going to recommend it unless you're making Norwegian spud moonshine.

iu-16.jpeg

What I was meaning to imply was that Norwegians have had serious alcohol problems for about a thousand years. But they struggled to get hold of malted barley. With less than 2% of Norway's landscape being arable and the wrong climate most would have relied on sporadic supplies of malted barley. It seems when they got their hands on any they brewed then downed it Anyway, it's much easier to grow small, sticky (starch rich) spuds in Norway for moonshine. This selected for Kevin over time. Then a few years back, about 2015, when Norway managed to secure steady imported supplies of malted barley, some brewers used Kevin instead of decent brewer's strains. The results were surprisingly predictable. Like distiller's yeast generally it fermented quite rapidly. Quite often the wort isn't boiled (like so-called 'raw ale') so the moonshiner depends on rapid ethanol production during fermentation to sanitise his wash prior to distillation.

No offence taken.

Interesting info that its origins are in moonshine. I was considering going down the no boil route but just couldn't bring myself. I've really enjoyed getting to know Kevin and can see myself using him again.

[floydmeddler]

Well, I'm drinking it. And it's pretty damn nice too Can't believe this thing was wort on Tuesday; it tastes likes it's been conditioning for a good two / three weeks. Citrusy flavours as I was expecting. However, I wasn't expecting them to be so big/pronounced. So flavourful. Really delicious.

I've ordered more obviously.

[McMullan]

Is this the first time you've fermented under pressure? I can have an ale ready in little more than 7 days using a decent English strain, after sealing the FV when fermentation activity starts to wane, usually by the end of day 3. Conditioned by day 5, due to so many active yeast cells being present, I suspect. Cool to 12℃ for a couple days. Serve and enjoy.

[floydmeddler]

It sure is. Defs something I'm going to get into. I like the speed aspect but also love the fact that the beer is naturally carbonated. I'm going to treat myself to a 27L Fermzilla so that I can do this more often.

7 days from grain to glass is a very decent time!

What fermenter do you use?

Cheers
Floyd

[McMullan]

I've been using kegmenters for a while now. Cost a little more than Fermzilla but stainless so are going to last forever and they're more adaptable. The pressure TC lids are a lot cheaper direct from Kegland on AliExpress. Over time these pressurisable FVs work out the best option, in my mind. You could achieve something similar with a 30L sankey keg for about half the price but you'd need a decent keg cleaner with a pump that can handle hot solutions and sufficient flow to clean reliably.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Just on the kveik strain side of things, I think this debate hit a peak a while back (maybe 12-15 mo ago) when people were getting interested in using kveik for styles other than norwegian farmhouse ones.

On paper their process side of things are excellent (flocculation, low pitch rates, high temperature pitching etc.), but the one thing piece of the puzzle that we never got to debate conclusively was the lack of sophistication / refinement in the strains.

They make very good hoppy pale ales/IPAs where the kveik esters can marry well with a suitable hop bill, but I really struggled to make any beer with a signature malt character (pilsners, bitters, red ales). Over time and much experimentation, I just gave up on using kveik as a workhorse yeast.

YMMV but I am not the only one who pushed the yeast hard for conventional styles, and came to the same conclusion.

[floydmeddler]

I've been using kegmenters for a while now. Cost a little more than Fermzilla but stainless so are going to last forever and they're more adaptable. The pressure TC lids are a lot cheaper direct from Kegland on AliExpress. Over time these pressurisable FVs work out the best option, in my mind. You could achieve something similar with a 30L sankey keg for about half the price but you'd need a decent keg cleaner with a pump that can handle hot solutions and sufficient flow to clean reliably.

I did look into stainless keg fermenters and even found a sanky on Ebay that I considered adapting. Maybe one for the future. I like the collection on the Fermzilla for yeast harvesting and oxygen free dry hop additions.