Collecting & drying kveik yeast

[bebocklater]

I recently brewed my first kveik ale, using some dried Voss yeast from Norway. It turned out great, very citrusy, kind of like biting into an orange rind; great substitute for OJ in the morning.
I harvested and dried the yeast cake for future use, as I'll definitely be brewing more:

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I recently brewed my first kveik ale, using some dried Voss yeast from Norway. It turned out great, very citrusy, kind of like biting into an orange rind; great substitute for OJ in the morning.
I harvested and dried the yeast cake for future use, as I'll definitely be brewing more:

View attachment 709146View attachment 709147View attachment 709148View attachment 709149

I hope that works for you, according to the registry, this strain should be store in a jar in the fridge.

Farmhouse yeast registry

 

[bebocklater]

I don't see why not. Here are the specs from the yeast I got on eBay, collected by Lars Garshol, and it worked great:

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

I don't see why not. Here are the specs from the yeast I got on eBay, collected by Lars Garshol, and it worked great:

View attachment 709151

That contradicts the registry. Click the link scroll down the list and read the info for Sigmund. It could be a best practice scenario, meaning some yeast would survive drying, but better results are obtained by wet storage. It‘s just a thought.

 

[jrgtr42]

What was your procedure for drying it?
I asked something similar a couple weeks ago, got answers ranging from, "it's impossible" to "maybe" with no help in HOW to do it.
But I'd read an article in BYO magazine about a homebrewer drying yeast and sending it around.
I also wonder if the same procedure would work for regular yeast along with Kveik.

 

[bebocklater]

Very simple- I found these instructions on this site, although I harvested my yeast from the bottom after fermentation was done:

Drying Kveik. Fast and Easy method

Lots of posts on this topic seem to involve drying over a period of 4-7 days and questionable sanitation. Here's my experience: Skim off some kräusen with a sanitized spoon. For when to do this, refer to recommendations for your specific culture. Put it on some waxed paper. Spread it thin...

www.homebrewtalk.com

I haven't tried this procedure with any other yeast, but from what I've read, kveik is very hardy.

 

[jrgtr42]

Very simple- I found these instructions on this site, although I harvested my yeast from the bottom after fermentation was done:

Drying Kveik. Fast and Easy method

Lots of posts on this topic seem to involve drying over a period of 4-7 days and questionable sanitation. Here's my experience: Skim off some kräusen with a sanitized spoon. For when to do this, refer to recommendations for your specific culture. Put it on some waxed paper. Spread it thin...

www.homebrewtalk.com

I haven't tried this procedure with any other yeast, but from what I've read, kveik is very hardy.

I have a batch of beer running now using S-05, that I got dry (obviously, even though it;s the same strain as WLP001 and Wyeast 1056,) I plan to freeze some of the cake once done, and I plan to try drying some more of it as the experiment. There's a youtube video where the guy talks about getting as much moisture out in a few hours as you can , then spread on parchment paper, and drying in the oven "at moderate heat." with no mention of what that might be. I think I'll try in the oven with just the light on, probably with another peice of parchment over top. I use that method in rising bread / pizza dough, it seems pretty warm, so a day or so might work out.

|Next item up for consideration would be reviving the yeast later - would I be best rehydrating in water or just using it like a regular packet of dried yeast and sprinkle over top of wort ready to go?

 

[bebocklater]

I've dried 3 batches of kveik now, and it couldn't be simpler. I first checked the temp in my oven, and with the light on, it stabilized at 85˚. I spread it as thin as possible on on parchment paper placed on an oven sheet pan & rack, then put it in the oven with only the light on and the door open about an inch or two. I leave it overnite, and it's dry the next day. I then crumble it & put it in a small ziplock in the freezer for the next use. On brew day, I take it out to warm to room temp, and drop about a teaspoon of flakes right onto the wort after it's cooled to 90˚ or so.

Trying this with S-05 might be a little risky, as kveik is more heat tolerant than most. But like I say, I haven't tried this with any other yeast.

 

[shoreman]

Cool post.

it would be interesting to see what happens with your S05 experiment but remember that kveik is a farmhouse yeast that has been treated and saved a certain way over long periods of time as landrace yeast - they have adapted to certain practices including basic drying techniques. S05 is propped and dried in a lab and super sterile environment and has been for years so you will be taking it out of its environment and trying something new .

let us know how it goes.

 

[brownni5]

I hope that works for you, according to the registry, this strain should be store in a jar in the fridge.

Farmhouse yeast registry

Interesting. I'm in the middle of his new book, Historical Brewing Techniques, and have a question. Who knows how to parse out which strain is which? For instance, I am currently brewing with Bootleg Biology Oslo. Is that in the chart or is it a single isolate from one of these cultures? What about the others from Imperial and Omega? Some are easier to tease out than others, but as I understand it, they're all single isolates (except Imperial Kveiking).

Edit: I really like Jovaru from Omega - great saison-like strain in my opinion. The chart referenced here says it can be dried, the chart in the book says it cannot. Hmmm. Might have to try that.

 

[Hoppy2bmerry]

Traditional Oslo is 3 strains apparently, I don’t know if the Bootleg culture is all three or if they cultured just one.

 

[OldDogBrewing]

Traditional Oslo is 3 strains apparently, I don’t know if the Bootleg culture is all three or if they cultured just one.
View attachment 715037

There's no traditional Oslo. Oslo is an isolate from an Eik & Tid (Oak and time) bottle, they use several kveik cultures mixed by themselves at the brewery, Oslo is claimed to be part of a Hornindal blend, not the Hornindal culture (#5) but a mixture of different kveiks from the area of Hornindal. Bootleg is working with Eik & Tid to figure out which is the original culture Oslo belongs to, as this culture may have some other interesting strains.

The Oslo isolate was named like that by Bootleg in honour to Eik & Tid as they are based in Oslo but as I said it has an origin in the Hornindal area. Hjørdis is not kveik nor a farmhouse culture in my opinion, it's a sourdough culture like any other one we can select at home as it's not even old and passed through generations

 

[OldDogBrewing]

What was your procedure for drying it?
I asked something similar a couple weeks ago, got answers ranging from, "it's impossible" to "maybe" with no help in HOW to do it.
But I'd read an article in BYO magazine about a homebrewer drying yeast and sending it around.
I also wonder if the same procedure would work for regular yeast along with Kveik.

Only yeast that has the ability to survive dried, can be dried, there are no studies outside of kveik and landrace yeast so you will have to try it by yourself. You'll have more luck with not so domesticated yeasts, maybe saison can be dried at home as they are pretty old but you need to know that Saison is a beer 2 yeast while landrace and kveik is beer 1, older than many other beer 1 strains but still a beer 1 yeast

The procedure I follow for kveik is harvest at high krausen, spread in parchment paper in a thin layer but not too thin and keep the oven at 30°C using a temp probe thermometer.

You need to know that that's NOT how commercial dried yeast is produced, they follow other way more complicated methods to dry any strain that can't be replicated at home, so don't assume that because you bought it dry, it can be dried at home, yeast that can be dried at home has been pressure selected for this characteristic during centuries, like kveik and Lithuanian strains, Lithuanian strains aren't kept dried anymore in Lithuania since refrigerators spread, but most strains used to be kept dry so they still have this ability, that's why other strains with an origin in a farm may still have this ability or they might not, who knows