Kveik Oatmeat Stout?

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Clint Yeastwood

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Has anyone here tried kveik yeast for oatmeal stout?

My take on oatmeal stout is that the yeast doesn't contribute much flavor, so any relatively neutral yeast ought to be good. And kveik is supposed to be quick and easy to work with.
 
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That fermentation temperature is amazing. I was thinking 75.

Since posting, I've seen other people writing about kveik stouts. I guess I should be able to use it to replace US-15 in my recipe.

Conditioning for four whole weeks? Yeah, I wish I had that kind of self-control!
 
I need to brew it again; my efficiency sucked the first time around and I didn't keep any DME on hand to address that. But yeah, into the keg in a week. A taste a week ago was pretty good; I might try another glass today. But lots of bigger beers call for several months' conditioning, so four weeks is still pretty quick.
 
Back in the Bush II years, when I used to make my recipe, I thought it was too fruity until it had been in the keg for weeks. I didn't have that problem with the first batch I made during my comeback, though. It was fantastic as soon as I could get it to pour more or less right. Maybe switching to US-05 changed it? Don't know.

I don't know if I'll ever get to taste this stuff in an aged state. I can't stay away from it.
 
I use Voss Kveik for my dry Irish stout and love it. I do ferment hot (95°F) which causes the yeast to throw off more esters and will ferment out in < 32 hours. Kveiks are known for creating esters and not considered a neutral yeast.
 
Looks like people here are mostly mentioning Voss. I've used that in a couple imperial coffee stouts in the lower 70s and it performs well but does kick off some of the orange/citrus notes that everybody mentions. For me it was pretty drinkable right away but it seemed to smooth out after a couple weeks of conditioning. The yeast-derived flavors were less prominent and coalesced with the rest of the flavors pretty well. I was planning for some orange note and I liked the end result but the Voss yeast definitely brought some flavor to the party. If you don't want that profile then Voss might not be what you want.

I know I mentioned Lutra to you in another thread. If you want a fairly clean kveik then that's likely your best option. That and OSLO from Bootleg Biology are the cleanest I've had. Like @youngdh said above I wouldn't consider the majority of kveiks to be all that neutral.
 
I used Lutra for a porter I made recently. It finished in a week and was delicious after about a week of conditioning. There was a bit of a "twang" during that first week, but it mellowed out considerably after just a few days. I basically finished that entire keg to myself, it was sooooo good.
 
All I have on hand is Lutra, chosen because people said it was very neutral.

The only reason kveik interests me is that it sounds trouble-free and quick. I like the idea of a yeast that gives me stout in three days and isn't likely to get stuck or have other problems. I wouldn't want to try it in most beers, but it seems like this beer should not be made with a yeast that adds flavor.
 
All I have on hand is Lutra, chosen because people said it was very neutral.

The only reason kveik interests me is that it sounds trouble-free and quick. I like the idea of a yeast that gives me stout in three days and isn't likely to get stuck or have other problems. I wouldn't want to try it in most beers, but it seems like this beer should not be made with a yeast that adds flavor.
I used Lutra for a porter I made recently. It finished in a week and was delicious after about a week of conditioning. There was a bit of a "twang" during that first week, but it mellowed out considerably after just a few days. I basically finished that entire keg to myself, it was sooooo good.
Ace is right. I'm certainly not trying to say that Lutra is the very best option to make the very best stout possible. I don't even have an interest in making that argument. It will give you a pretty good, pretty clean stout in a short time though. I haven't tried it in an oatmeal stout specifically but I think oatmeal allergies in yeast is pretty rare. You should be fine.
 
I've tried several kveiks for stouts and porters. My favorite so far is Tormodgarden. Like all kveiks it works fast and hot, and is drinkable pretty much immediately. (A few days of cold-conditioning to clarify and carbonate, and it's good to go.) It does contribute some flavor, so if you are looking for a neutral profile, Lutra is probably better for you. But the effect I get with Tormodgarden is just a touch of dark-fruit character, which ends up enhancing the dark maltiness rather than clashing or hiding it, and a wonderful richness.
 
I wonder if that yeast would be good for imperial stout, where fruitiness is an asset. What do you think? The web says kveiks don't mind a lot of alcohol.
 
Definitely. I haven't tried it, but I believe Tormodgarden would make a magnificent Imperial Stout. Kveiks in general thrive in high-gravity worts.
 
I used Lutra for a porter I made recently. It finished in a week and was delicious after about a week of conditioning. There was a bit of a "twang" during that first week, but it mellowed out considerably after just a few days. I basically finished that entire keg to myself, it was sooooo good.
Any chance you could share the recipe?
tia
 
Just to comment on thoughts like "the yeast doesn't contribute much flavor"

Beer can be a very simple product with yeast being 1 of the 4 main ingredients. In my experience, every yeast adds character to a beer. Maybe that is esters/aromas/flavors, or maybe that is mouthfeel, or sweetness, or sulfur, or etc. London Ale III adds character to a beer. US-05 adds character to a beer. W-34/70 adds character to a beer. And yes, all Kveik strains add character to a beer.

Can you make a good Oatmeal Stout with Voss, Lutra, Tormodgarden, or another Kveik strain? Very likely. You may need to tweak the recipe toward the yeast selection. I do wonder if you can make a Stout with Lutra and tell it apart from one made with US-05. That is somewhere on my list of things to check out. That said, if I was going to make an Oatmeal Stout, I would look towards an English style ale yeast.
 
Just to comment on thoughts like "the yeast doesn't contribute much flavor"

Beer can be a very simple product with yeast being 1 of the 4 main ingredients. In my experience, every yeast adds character to a beer. Maybe that is esters/aromas/flavors, or maybe that is mouthfeel, or sweetness, or sulfur, or etc. London Ale III adds character to a beer. US-05 adds character to a beer. W-34/70 adds character to a beer. And yes, all Kveik strains add character to a beer.

Can you make a good Oatmeal Stout with Voss, Lutra, Tormodgarden, or another Kveik strain? Very likely. You may need to tweak the recipe toward the yeast selection. I do wonder if you can make a Stout with Lutra and tell it apart from one made with US-05. That is somewhere on my list of things to check out. That said, if I was going to make an Oatmeal Stout, I would look towards an English style ale yeast.
I know how much yeast can do for a beer, but I'm making a dark stout with a lot of roasted barley and hops, and the yeast doesn't contribute much that can be detected. I don't want a flashy yeast overshadowing everything else when things are going so well already. In the past, I made a batch that had a little bit of fruit to it. My notes say I used Irish ale yeast. The beer wasn't really good until the distracting flavors wore off. I've also used US-05, and the beer was good right from the start because the fruitiness wasn't there to begin with. US-05 is better than Irish ale yeast in this beer because it's unobtrusive, so I was considering Lutra because people say it's neutral for a kveik yeast.

If Lutra will give me basically the same beer quickly without stalling and without refrigeration, it sounds like a good move.
 

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