I survived pitching Lutra into Amber Ale at 95F

[TexasTea]

Lutra. Wow, just wow. I really likey the Lutra.

I was tired , it was after midnight and I was at 95F wort temp. I had prehydrated a pack of Lutra Kviek (I normally pitch ale yeast dry) so I just top pitched it in, expecting it to go nuclear. I had one of those 8 gallon Chinese SS fermentors, I had placed in the bathtub in case it blew. When nothing happened after an hour or two I figured I had killed the yeast from high temps so I went to bed. Next morning it was glugging away rapidly. Done brewing in about 1 day. I figured it would taste like crap (fusil alcohol filled, muddy, swampy, twangy, fruit loop , bubble gum tasting excrement).

Much to my pleasant surprise it came out better than the stuff I brew at 70 +/- 3. No bubblegum or twang whatsoever. It does have a tiny little bit of fruity esters but they are very subdued (much, much less than Sam Adams Summer Ale). I think this tastes better than normal. Initial Gravity 1.050. FG 1.009 about 5.38% ABV (5.5% expected from recipe).

I'm going to do the next batch at 80F ambient using Lutra and compare. If its as good as or better than this one I'm done hauling these Ale batches out the garage and lifting 6 gallons of beer into the floor model fermentation chamber. I'll just do them at 80 F ambient (the temp I keep my AC at). I'll only use the chamber for future lagers.

I will be reusing the Lutra from batch to batch.

 

[easttex]

Lutra was my house strain during COVID when I had time to drink and brew all the time. Its pretty forgiving.

It will subdue hops more than other strains and some brewers report a "grapey" ester but I never has a problem with it. Just add more hops or dry hop before kegging.

It will not be to-style for a lager strain beer but it'll make a clean tasting beer nonetheless.

 

[leedspointbrew]

I've never had much luck with Lutra. I brew a buckwheat porter with it that turns out well. I've tried Ambers and pseudo-lagers that had OK flavor but were uniformly thin in body. Kveik I've had no success with, at all.

 

[Closet Fermenter]

I have been happy with using Lutra in blonde ales. It’s not too difficult to maintain a moderate temperature with a chiller coil using ice blocks even here in the South.

I have also had success with using Voss for summer Irish Dry Stout. I have actually used a heat wrap to maintain a 95° temperature just so it’s not bouncing high-low temperatures.
I suppose a lot depends upon what your expectations are and your tolerance for a little variation in tastes.

 

[TexasTea]

Lutra was my house strain during COVID when I had time to drink and brew all the time. Its pretty forgiving.

It will subdue hops more than other strains and some brewers report a "grapey" ester but I never has a problem with it. Just add more hops or dry hop before kegging.

It will not be to-style for a lager strain beer but it'll make a clean tasting beer nonetheless

That's exactly what happenned (subdued the hops a bit).

 

[eulipion2]

Interesting! I did a "kölsch" with Lutra and it threw a ton of apricot, to the point that when I served it for a party I called it an apricot kölsch. I pitched at 68 and let it free rise over the next couple days to 85, held it there for another couple days until I was ready to keg. Not a bad beer, kinda reminds me of Magic Hat #9!

 

[leedspointbrew]

Interesting! I did a "kölsch" with Lutra and it threw a ton of apricot, to the point that when I served it for a party I called it an apricot kölsch. I pitched at 68 and let it free rise over the next couple days to 85, held it there for another couple days until I was ready to keg. Not a bad beer, kinda reminds me of Magic Hat #9!

Did you find it thin? Lacking body? That's my problem with Lutra brews.

 

[Tony B]

I like Lutra and Hornindal for quick, clean, basic ales. Especially when ferm temp control is difficult or not an option. I agree with easttex that it will subdue hop flavor and aroma, but for a blonde or PA where you’re not pushing too much hops, it works great and fermentation is super fast. From my experience with these kveik yeasts, one can easily go from grain to glass in a week. I used to pitch at around 80F and just let it run wild. Usually saw activity drop to nil in about 48 hours.

 

[JoeSchmoe]

My first of the three brews I've made was an Amber ale kit that was approx 85% 2-row, 15% Crystal 120L, and Cascade hopped. I thought it was okay, but I'd like to go maybe 70% 2-row, 20-25% Munich, and 5-10% Crystal 120L (I kind of like the burnt raisin taste but want to dial it back a bit).

I was thinking a Boss Kveik throwing orange flavours might work with this recipe... I just bought a temp controller and can go as high as I want temp wise (with a heating pad).

Mostly I want to see the turbo-ferment in action. I figure having a good recipe that I brew in a matter of days would be pretty cool.

Should I try it or stick with my thus far trusted US 05?

 

[Tony B]

My first of the three brews I've made was an Amber ale kit that was approx 85% 2-row, 15% Crystal 120L, and Cascade hopped. I thought it was okay, but I'd like to go maybe 70% 2-row, 20-25% Munich, and 5-10% Crystal 120L (I kind of like the burnt raisin taste but want to dial it back a bit).

I was thinking a Boss Kveik throwing orange flavours might work with this recipe... I just bought a temp controller and can go as high as I want temp wise (with a heating pad).

Mostly I want to see the turbo-ferment in action. I figure having a good recipe that I brew in a matter of days would be pretty cool.

Should I try it or stick with my thus far trusted US 05?

You won’t know if you like it until you try.

 

[Miraculix]

My first of the three brews I've made was an Amber ale kit that was approx 85% 2-row, 15% Crystal 120L, and Cascade hopped. I thought it was okay, but I'd like to go maybe 70% 2-row, 20-25% Munich, and 5-10% Crystal 120L (I kind of like the burnt raisin taste but want to dial it back a bit).

I was thinking a Boss Kveik throwing orange flavours might work with this recipe... I just bought a temp controller and can go as high as I want temp wise (with a heating pad).

Mostly I want to see the turbo-ferment in action. I figure having a good recipe that I brew in a matter of days would be pretty cool.

Should I try it or stick with my thus far trusted US 05?

It depends on what you're after.

Voss will not give you orange, it will get you voss flavour. People tend to describe a flavour by mentioning the next best thing that is close to this specific flavour in their mind and by repeating others. In my opinion, and I've used voss quite a bit, it's not orange, it's voss. A weird fruityness that's not even really fruity if you are really looking at it. Paired with a higher acidity than the usual beer yeast delivers, plus some twang.

You see, kveik is kveik. It's not a normal ale yeast. Treat it as a normal ale yeast and you might be disappointed. You might get away with it (lutra would be the one with the lowest kveikiness), but it will be not as good as the same beer would be with an appropriate yeast.

However, if you tailor the recipe according to the kveik, you might get a great beer from it. It is pretty simple. Higher abv and lower ibus, no aroma hops.

Lowest abv I would go with kveik would be 7 %. 7,5% would be my aim. Paired with 25 ibus from a 60 minute flame out addition and you're good! Don't go higher with the ibus, trust me, that's the sweet spot for voss and 7,5% abv.

You can go with 100% base malt or you can add Vienna or Munich. A bit of crystal also works, just don't go overboard with it. 5% is already plenty. I wouldn't go higher.

This type of beer was the biggest revelation I've had with kveik because it really fits the overall character of the yeast and goes down far too easy for the abv. It also doesn't need much conditioning time, if any.

Another great thing worth mentioning is that you can chill the wort down to 35c, wrap the fermenter in a blanket and just let it ride. It's done in two or three days this way without even a hint of fusels.

 

[An Ankoù]

Lowest abv I would go with kveik would be 7 %. 7,5% would be my aim. Paired with 25 ibus from a 60 minute flame out addition and you're good! Don't go higher with the ibus, trust me, that's the sweet spot for voss and 7,5% abv.

Not a great fan of kveik, but Lutra and Opshaug I have used at a pinch. I used Lutra a couple of years ago for a visitor who claimed to drink nothing but Peroni. Had it bottled and ready to go in six weeks. He seemed to like it immensely, but to me it tasted what I can only describe as "flabby". Still, better than than buying bottles of PonyPee.

Why do you say >7% abv and <25 IBUs, @Miraculix? Is that just for Voss or for all kveik isolates?

 

[Miraculix]

Not a great fan of kveik, but Lutra and Opshaug I have used at a pinch. I used Lutra a couple of years ago for a visitor who claimed to drink nothing but Peroni. Had it bottled and ready to go in six weeks. He seemed to like it immensely, but to me it tasted what I can only describe as "flabby". Still, better than than buying bottles of PonyPee.

Why do you say >7% abv and <25 IBUs, @Miraculix? Is that just for Voss or for all kveik isolates?

I've particularly liked voss this way. Makes a very good beer. The acidic and slightly thin bodied character fits perfectly in this type of grist. Makes it very crushable, which is dangerous but tasty.

I only tried Voss, Lutra and one original Kveik which my girlfriend's father brought directly from a Norwegian home brewer. Don't know about the other kveik isolates. But as long as they have the kveik twang, they should work very well in this type of recipe. It's the twang that makes this work so well.

 

[eulipion2]

Did you find it thin? Lacking body? That's my problem with Lutra brews.

No, I thought it actually had an appropriate body for a Kölsch. Just wish it didn't have that apricot flavor. Still, I'd use it again.