High abv vs. kveik?

[TopgunTango]

Good morning HBT!

Does anyone have any experience fermenting high abv beers with Hornidal (or others, really) kveik? Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Their "official" tolerances are in the 11-12% ABV range, it depends what you define as "high" ABV...?

 

[TopgunTango]

Their "official" tolerances are in the 11-12% ABV range, it depends what you define as "high" ABV...?

I'm moreso concerned with how the yeast comes through in something like an imperial stout.

 

[Lefou]

Their "official" tolerances are in the 11-12% ABV range, it depends what you define as "high" ABV...?

Very true. I've gotten ABV levels of approximately 14% using US-05 in mead must.
That's above the stated tolerance but if you have a highly fermentable wort/must don't be surprised if a healthy yeast attenuates slightly better than stated on the package. A beer wort mashed at higher temperatures is a bit different than wine/mead must so the result will tend to be less dry.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Depends how you interpret an imperial stout, whether you're more at the 8% range or the 12% range - if the latter, then they might struggle to finish. OTOH, their attenuation is a tad on the high side for a classic British take on the style, so it might not be the worst thing for them to die a touch before full attenuation is achieved.

Headline numbers (other than temperature!) are broadly similar to something like WLP540, which works pretty well in that kind of beer, so I don't see why not.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

Hornindal can do 16% no problem.

 

[toddo97]

Hornindal can do 16% no problem.

Do you know if Voss will have similar results?

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Now that we have some proper science published on kveiks, we can see that in terms of viability, Stranda/Hothead has a pretty similar ABV tolerance to eg Chico. Voss and Hornindal are a little tougher, but not as good as say saison yeasts like WLP570. But they're so active that even lower cell counts can give you some activity.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

Do you know if Voss will have similar results?

With staggered nutrient and fermentable additions you can push most yeast. But Voss should be able to handle it. Kveiks do well in high gravity worts.

 

[Lefou]

Appreciate the posted article link.
It has some excellent information and give specific descriptions of characteristics people have been discussing for the Nord strains. It will help me decide what sort of beer style and hops to choose if purchasing the yeasts later on.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

So for anyone wanting to do high abv beers with kveik, I was at a presentation by Omega Yeast last night and Lance was talking about how Hornindal has been shown to be capable of growth at 16% abv. Not fermentation, but growth. That means the 16% barleywine they did in 10 days probably isn't the limit of what this yeast can handle. I'd venture to guess you can do 20% without much of a struggle.

 

[Northern_Brewer]

You've got to be a bit careful with that kind of statement - per the paper, they were getting Chico to show growth at 16%, it doesn't mean that it will be particularly happy fermenting a beer to 16%.

 

[toddo97]

So for anyone wanting to do high abv beers with kveik, I was at a presentation by Omega Yeast last night and Lance was talking about how Hornindal has been shown to be capable of growth at 16% abv. Not fermentation, but growth. That means the 16% barleywine they did in 10 days probably isn't the limit of what this yeast can handle. I'd venture to guess you can do 20% without much of a struggle.

I'm going to have a hard time using anything BUT Kveik from now on.....I don't think I'll ever brew anything close to 20%, but it's nice to know I can hit 12-14% without any problems.

 

[Comfort_Zone]

You've got to be a bit careful with that kind of statement - per the paper, they were getting Chico to show growth at 16%, it doesn't mean that it will be particularly happy fermenting a beer to 16%.

Indeed! That being said, given some of the stuff I've seen them do, and in short order, I don't doubt that my new high gravity blend will soon include hornindal. If I can easily dump some kveik into a giant wort (1.150+) and have it ready to go in a fraction of the time with less worry about off flavors you bet I'm gonna do it!

 

[Lefou]

I was just blathering on to my wife that my brew season is coming up.
Fall is just around the corner, but it seems that the seasonal brewing I do during the colder months can be extended. If the Nord yeast is healthy into the 80F range without autolysis, fusels, and other problems it would be a great summer yeast for those lighter SRM ales I like.