maoru
I ❤︎ Kveik
After reading up on the theory and practice of LODO brewing, I decided to try a couple process changes. So long as I'm using controversial techniques, I also incorporated another technique that many have scoffed at and dismissed: use of olive oil in place of yeast oxygen.
Last week I made a pale ale using standard BIAB techniques - my house standard recipe with self-dried Opshaug Kveik. The only change is that I re-hydrated the flakes with warm water, one drop of olive oil, yeast nutrient and a tiny bit of sugar. It's about to go on tap... though it's taking longer than normal to finish fermentation in the keg. I'm hoping the lack of yeast oxygen brings out the hop freshness more. This is an interesting test to me because the Kveik is third generation, self-dried and under-pitched (7g dried), so oxygen is supposedly very important. My previous batches I used an oxygen wand before pitching yeast.
Then, I purchased a nitrogen tank ($115) and regulator ($50) and hooked it up to my stainless steel aeration wand. Yesterday, I brewed a Helles with my new process. I put the N2 bubbles in my kettle (DigiBoil) as I started slowly heating to strike temperature (500 W). I also added a couple grams of yeast (lallemand kveik) and sugar. It took about 1.5 hours to get to yeast-death temperature of 120F, so hopefully with the yeast and nitrogen sparge it brought down dissolved oxygen all the way. I sprayed the grains with Starsan to get some pH adjustment, which helped keep the hulls more intact. After a 45 minute mash, I heated to 168 and removed the bag, squeezing gently and without splashing. Nitrogen aeration (oxygen sparging) continued until I reached a boil, and bubbles turned on again at flame out. One kind of cool thing about this technique is that it forms a solid nitrogen foam layer on top (especially after boil), which acts as a mash cap, in addition to displacing oxygen. The agitation from N2 bubbles alone also seemed to help the stainless immersion chiller a bit. Once cooled to about 82F, I transferred to my fermentor (gently with a hose), and pitched the yeast (S-189). I purged the headspace with CO2 and sealed it up at 5 psi (for temperature drop). I pitched yeast at 11 am, and by 9 pm there was a solid layer of krausen on top, and it was ~65F @ 4 psi. This morning it's up to 15 psi, still in the low 60's in my basement.
Recipe: Bürlimann Helles
Water: 0.25 tsp. each CaCl, Epsom, & Chalk (Sacramento tap water to Zurich profile)
Grain: 7# Pilsner, 0.75# Vienna, 0.25# Munich
Hops: 0.75 oz Tahoma FWH, 0.5oz Tahoma @ -5 min
Yeast: S-189 rehydrated for 10 minutes with a drop of olive oil, sprinkle of sugar and warm water
O.G. 1.045 (I was going for 1.052 but efficiency was lower than usual)
Last week I made a pale ale using standard BIAB techniques - my house standard recipe with self-dried Opshaug Kveik. The only change is that I re-hydrated the flakes with warm water, one drop of olive oil, yeast nutrient and a tiny bit of sugar. It's about to go on tap... though it's taking longer than normal to finish fermentation in the keg. I'm hoping the lack of yeast oxygen brings out the hop freshness more. This is an interesting test to me because the Kveik is third generation, self-dried and under-pitched (7g dried), so oxygen is supposedly very important. My previous batches I used an oxygen wand before pitching yeast.
Then, I purchased a nitrogen tank ($115) and regulator ($50) and hooked it up to my stainless steel aeration wand. Yesterday, I brewed a Helles with my new process. I put the N2 bubbles in my kettle (DigiBoil) as I started slowly heating to strike temperature (500 W). I also added a couple grams of yeast (lallemand kveik) and sugar. It took about 1.5 hours to get to yeast-death temperature of 120F, so hopefully with the yeast and nitrogen sparge it brought down dissolved oxygen all the way. I sprayed the grains with Starsan to get some pH adjustment, which helped keep the hulls more intact. After a 45 minute mash, I heated to 168 and removed the bag, squeezing gently and without splashing. Nitrogen aeration (oxygen sparging) continued until I reached a boil, and bubbles turned on again at flame out. One kind of cool thing about this technique is that it forms a solid nitrogen foam layer on top (especially after boil), which acts as a mash cap, in addition to displacing oxygen. The agitation from N2 bubbles alone also seemed to help the stainless immersion chiller a bit. Once cooled to about 82F, I transferred to my fermentor (gently with a hose), and pitched the yeast (S-189). I purged the headspace with CO2 and sealed it up at 5 psi (for temperature drop). I pitched yeast at 11 am, and by 9 pm there was a solid layer of krausen on top, and it was ~65F @ 4 psi. This morning it's up to 15 psi, still in the low 60's in my basement.
Recipe: Bürlimann Helles
Water: 0.25 tsp. each CaCl, Epsom, & Chalk (Sacramento tap water to Zurich profile)
Grain: 7# Pilsner, 0.75# Vienna, 0.25# Munich
Hops: 0.75 oz Tahoma FWH, 0.5oz Tahoma @ -5 min
Yeast: S-189 rehydrated for 10 minutes with a drop of olive oil, sprinkle of sugar and warm water
O.G. 1.045 (I was going for 1.052 but efficiency was lower than usual)