Non-Lager Styles with Lutra Kveik

[mhgodzilla]

Gents,

Anyone tried Lutra Kveik outside the box of the lager family or Kolsch?

I’ve got a ton of Lutra Kveik slurry from a batch of pseudo pils lager. It’s in sanitized jars under wort and preboiled water. Must be enough for 6-8 batches since you don’t need to pitch big with Kveik.

I’m a fan of German beers hence the Kveik pseudo pils lager. I also love British beers and some other traditional styles. Not a big fan of “everything needs to be an IPA” trend but I like some.

Obviously not going Hefe or Belgian, but maybe a malty ale, bitter or American wheat, etc.... Thoughs, beers?

 

[beersk]

Yes, I've tried it for hoppy styles and did not like the outcome. It's wonderful, in fact, in a mocktoberfest and vienna-type lager. I did a Negra Modelo type beer last fall and it turned out nicely. I think it'd also work well for dunkel and schwarzbier styles.

 

[stealthfixr]

Hmmm. I was wondering the same thing. I used Lutra on what I called a LutraFest, and it was fantastic. I was curious what kind of an IPL it would do. How was it not right for a hoppy style?

 

[danylp91]

Not Lutra, but a similar neutral strain: I used Skare in a single hop APA and it was the only strain out of the ones I tried which didn't surpress hop aromas.
So basically you can use Lutra for anything you would use US-05 in.

 

[hottpeper13]

Just put a 1.036 (3.4%) bitter on tap. Did a 45 min mash and 60 min boil, magnum bitter ,EKG at 15 min. This is my Big Brew day beer so 18 days G to G. Funny thing is it tastes more like a Kolsch and my Kolsch recipe fermented with Lutra is more like a lager,but I did lager that one for 4 weeks at 33*.
Have a 1.066 amber lager on day 4 of primary, pitched at 69* when it slowed on day 2, I set to 79* to finish and will keg when settled which at these temps is about 10 days total.
I'm drinking an IRS at 8.5 % was brewed on 12/7/20 put on tap in March, it's my new RIS go to for yeast.
Also have a pale ale ,crystal clear ,somewhere around 70 ibu's of old school west coast style and it's amazing. Cali Common just went into the lagerator,awaiting space on tap. For me it's more like what can't this yeast do? My only answer is anything Belgian,

 

[easttex]

Not Lutra, but a similar neutral strain: I used Skare in a single hop APA and it was the only strain out of the ones I tried which didn't surpress hop aromas.
So basically you can use Lutra for anything you would use US-05 in.

I've been reading that Lutra supresses hops. I haven't tried it any hoppy beers myself but all the malt-forward beers I've brewed with it have all been delightful. I appreciate that once Lutra is done, it flocculated well and makes a clear beer.

I guess I'll stick with US-05 for my APA/IPA styles?

 

[beersk]

I've been reading that Lutra supresses hops. I haven't tried it any hoppy beers myself but all the malt-forward beers I've brewed with it have all been delightful. I appreciate that once Lutra is done, it flocculated well and makes a clear beer.

I guess I'll stick with US-05 for my APA/IPA styles?

Yes, it does almost seem to suppress hops a bit. I just don't like it in hoppy styles, could never really figure out why, but that might just be it.

 

[fragged]

Just put a 1.036 (3.4%) bitter on tap. Did a 45 min mash and 60 min boil, magnum bitter ,EKG at 15 min. This is my Big Brew day beer so 18 days G to G. Funny thing is it tastes more like a Kolsch and my Kolsch recipe fermented with Lutra is more like a lager,but I did lager that one for 4 weeks at 33*.
Have a 1.066 amber lager on day 4 of primary, pitched at 69* when it slowed on day 2, I set to 79* to finish and will keg when settled which at these temps is about 10 days total.
I'm drinking an IRS at 8.5 % was brewed on 12/7/20 put on tap in March, it's my new RIS go to for yeast.
Also have a pale ale ,crystal clear ,somewhere around 70 ibu's of old school west coast style and it's amazing. Cali Common just went into the lagerator,awaiting space on tap. For me it's more like what can't this yeast do? My only answer is anything Belgian,

Good to hear, I was wondering about it for a RIS. Such a tough style to take a chance on to me. If I'm spending that much time conditioning, I want a sure thing. What I've found/read, it fits really well into that "clean" slot right with US-05/Notty/WLP001, but with a crazy huge temp range and a preference to start warm.

I may just get to make my ferm chamber my new garage(detached) kegerator... that suits my laziness much better, not more walks to the basement when we're having brews outside.

 

[DuncB]

Not lutra but have used Opshaug hot under pressure for clean beers such as pseudo lagers, in stout and an american ale. More time open and then pressure on a recent NEIPA with great yeast expression hoppy aroma. Don't think it does quash hop aroma. It's just different like most yeasts.

 

[mhgodzilla]

Thanks for all the feedback guys. I’m leaning towards the LutraFest, LutraVienna next. I think cleaner styles like lagers, cream ales. amer wheats, will be the best use of my Lutra supply.

 

[fragged]

Brewing a Kölsch Sunday. Splitting a 10 gallon batch, 5 gallons Lutra and the other WLP029. I made the last minute call at the brew store today to grab some wlp029 - should be interesting.

 

[fragged]

Brewing a Kölsch Sunday. Splitting a 10 gallon batch, 5 gallons Lutra and the other WLP029. I made the last minute call at the brew store today to grab some wlp029 - should be interesting.

Ended up at 1.051, I think I might call the lutra version Klösch.

Also, has anybody worried about co2 poisoning with these yeasts? Kidding, but 12 hours after pitch and the spunding valve is hissing away. Nuts.

 

[DuncB]

use that CO2 to purge your keg of sanitiser and flush it out.

 

[fragged]

use that CO2 to purge your keg of sanitiser and flush it out.
View attachment 730136

Crap, good reminder, I usually do but totally spaced. My CO2 is almost empty too, so the more saved the better. Thanks.

Edit:

 

[DuncB]

I pressure the keg up pretty high and leave it at that level not the final carb pressure. That way when I have cold crashed the ferment and do the closed transfer the extra pressure in the keg ( because the pressure falls in the fermenter when cold crashed ) drives most of the transfer and I need to add less CO2 as well.
A 30 litre keg at 35 psi is quite a lot of gas for free.

I don't start the purging until I'm sure that the Oxygen has vented though.

 

[fragged]

I pressure the keg up pretty high and leave it at that level not the final carb pressure. That way when I have cold crashed the ferment and do the closed transfer the extra pressure in the keg ( because the pressure falls in the fermenter when cold crashed ) drives most of the transfer and I need to add less CO2 as well.
A 30 litre keg at 35 psi is quite a lot of gas for free.

I don't start the purging until I'm sure that the Oxygen has vented though.

What pressure are you running the lutra at? I pretty much have always run 5 psi with other yeasts and then try to catch the last few points to build up to 30ish, like you're saying it's free co2. I miss that mark a lot though(late) and would love to just be able to run 30-35 psi early in the ferment so I don't forget.

Oh and BTW, my keg is empty and purged already, hooked up right after seeing your post lol. God I love the fermIlla. Moving to it from corny ferments is the best thing I've done for my brewing lately.

 

[DuncB]

Well for a really clean ferment I start off at about 10 psi and then turn it up to around 25+ psi. I find it can easily get there and fill the keg to that pressure after the krausen has fallen. The esters and expression they say is early in the ferment but that seems to get squashed with the pressure. Dr hans seems to turn his pressure up to about 25 straightaway.
I agree the pressure ferments are revolutionary. I do have it " open " if I want the yeast expression though for the first few days then dial it up.

 

[fragged]

I have to say lutra is way more clear than most strains are while actively fermenting. Seems like as soon as krausen drops, it will be cleared at the same time.

The WLP029 on the other hand looks like a milk shake...

Also, 5 psi to 25 psi results in about 2 inches less krausen.

 

[DuncB]

I find that the upped pressure and reduced or controlled krausen means that I plan those brews to have more in the fermenter. I aim for 28 to 30 litres in the fermentasaurus and don't get any nasty messes with that.
Agreed the yeast does drop fast when finished, but I do find it is still working for several more days after the krausen has fallen and the yeast starts to drop. Because I can see the bubbles forming and the spund is still working or the pressure is rising if that's what I want.

 

[fragged]

I find that the upped pressure and reduced or controlled krausen means that I plan those brews to have more in the fermenter. I aim for 28 to 30 litres in the fermentasaurus and don't get any nasty messes with that.
Agreed the yeast does drop fast when finished, but I do find it is still working for several more days after the krausen has fallen and the yeast starts to drop. Because I can see the bubbles forming and the spund is still working or the pressure is rising if that's what I want.

Ya, the fermzilla sticker says 15 gallons, then has 4 more liters above that, and then some more headspace after that. So if I could get 25psi and keep the krausen this low, can probably push to 15 gallon batch sizes for lawnmower beers. That's super appealing...

 

[DuncB]

Current stout was filled to 30.5 litres which left 3.5 litres of headspace and all was okay and I started no pressure and just upped spund to control the krausen. When the pressure goes up I do bump the temp up a bit ( was using ale yeast for the stout ). Overall Does mean that I bottle 6 litres and keg the 23 , the rest gets tested from the fermenter and is loss for yeast dropping.

 

[lumbergh]

Just put a 1.036 (3.4%) bitter on tap. Did a 45 min mash and 60 min boil, magnum bitter ,EKG at 15 min. This is my Big Brew day beer so 18 days G to G. Funny thing is it tastes more like a Kolsch and my Kolsch recipe fermented with Lutra is more like a lager,but I did lager that one for 4 weeks at 33*.
Have a 1.066 amber lager on day 4 of primary, pitched at 69* when it slowed on day 2, I set to 79* to finish and will keg when settled which at these temps is about 10 days total.
I'm drinking an IRS at 8.5 % was brewed on 12/7/20 put on tap in March, it's my new RIS go to for yeast.
Also have a pale ale ,crystal clear ,somewhere around 70 ibu's of old school west coast style and it's amazing. Cali Common just went into the lagerator,awaiting space on tap. For me it's more like what can't this yeast do? My only answer is anything Belgian,

Would you care to share the pale ale recipe? I was thinking about doing something similar.

 

[hottpeper13]

It was kind of a kitchen sink beer(first good one) where I had 7 hop variaties of 2 oz or less left in the jar and add all of them for something ~70 IBU's. Columbus, chinook, liberty, palisade,perle,amirillo,eldorado. I looked them up on hop list and they share some attributes ,and they do all work in this beer. I was also low on some malts and augmented with Munich. 50% pils malt, 10% pale ale and Proximity Red malt, 12% munich and wheat malt and 6% acidulated(RO water).
It's one of my better IPA's and will never happen again, but that's what happens when brewing on the fly.

 

[TheMadKing]

I brewed a summer wheat with Lutra and it's phenomenal!

40% white wheat
40% 2 row
10% flaked wheat
10% acid malt

0.5oz Magnum @60
5g coriander
1oz hallertau @ whirlpool
0.25 oz chinook @whirlpool
0.25 oz loral @whirlpool

Lutra Kveik single pack pitched with no started and fermented in the high 70's for 7 days before kegging

 

[mhgodzilla]

That Pale sounds quite hoppy HotPepper. That wheat also sounds like a great Lutra beer MadKing. I’m more yeast nerdy but starting my hop nerd path recently. I’m still reading and building a Lutra no chill Dunkel or Vienna lager recipe. Seems pretty straightforward to adjust hop bitterness for no chill when hops are added early to the boil. The 3 hop British ale (Wyeast 1469) I’m closer to starting is more hop complicated, but I’m likely to start that since I still have most of my Lutra Pils and some Kolsch left.

 

[hottpeper13]

Was looking for a true West Coaster and I got bitter hoppy goodness in a crystal clear pour.( sorry can't do photo's).

 

[cmac62]

I think @Yooper s fizzy yellow beer Cream Ale - Fizzy Yellow Beer or the cream of three crops Cream Ale - Cream of Three Crops (Cream Ale) would both make great lutra genic beers. I've recently been on a low ABV and moderate hop kick lately.

 

[NitrogenWidget]

I'm going to keg a simple centennial/cascade ale made with pale ale and some instant rice and fermented with lutra this weekend.
sample tastes very crisp and clean with just a little hops to it at 4.9%.

I'm going to pour a batch of biermuncher's centennial blonde onto the yeast cake tomorrow. except since i already have a late edition cascade brew I'm using Amarillo instead. I think it will come out good with the Lutra.

 

[cmac62]

I'm going to keg a simple centennial/cascade ale made with pale ale and some instant rice and fermented with lutra this weekend.
sample tastes very crisp and clean with just a little hops to it at 4.9%.

I'm going to pour a batch of biermuncher's centennial blonde onto the yeast cake tomorrow. except since i already have a late edition cascade brew I'm using Amarillo instead. I think it will come out good with the Lutra.

I currently have the CoTC (not with Lutra this time) on tap at 4.0%. Super clean and tasty and can knock back a few with less consequences (if you know what I mean).

 

[NitrogenWidget]

most of my summer beers are supposed to be in the 4-4.5% range so i can sit out on the deck and enjoy a few without too many consequences.
the lutra surprised me with how low it took the beer down and i mashed in at 156 for this batch.

 

[fragged]

Figured I'd post a sbs of the split batch lutra vs. WLP029(Kölsch) I did, before the lutra keg kicks, had a party and it was the go to...which brings up one huge pro of the lutra. I thought it paced like notty at first, but it got smooth really quick. The ferment time is similar to nottingham, but the conditioning was wicked fast. I obviously can't directly compare to notty, but I've used Nottingham a lot in blonde ales and would absolutely replace with lutra. Great option of you don't have temp control.

I really couldn't tell these apart very well by taste, but the lutra is slightly fruity. Being that I've been drinking it for a little while, I was able to pick it out, but it would be a little hard if not. The kölsch is more crisp though, as expected.

The lutra was cold conditioning/serving 11 days for this pic. The kölsch had been conditioning 7 days. Also worth noting the lutra went 4 points lower in attenuation.

The Lutra is on the left and Kölsch on the right. Kölsch is visibly clearer already, even though the pics don't show it. I don't do any fining usually, and I do very little to limit hot break going into fermentors(whirfloc and whirlpool, but mostly to limit hop material). I doubt the lutra would clear in any short amount of time, but I gave it almost none

 

[mhgodzilla]

Fragged. My Lutra Pils was fast fermenting but not so fast to carb as some ales. It didn’t like carbing below 70. Added heat and then it carbed up fine. It is not as clear yet as commercial beers but it’s pretty clear tastes great right away as you noted.

 

[fragged]

Fragged. My Lutra Pils was fast fermenting but not so fast to carb as some ales. It didn’t like carbing below 70. Added heat and then it carbed up fine. It is not as clear yet as commercial beers but it’s pretty clear tastes great right away as you noted. View attachment 731922

Nice! Looks tasty. Did you find that it attenuated on the high end?

 

[NitrogenWidget]

so my lutra ale is a little on the bitter side.
not sure if it's hop bitterness or something else.
I assume the cascade's were weak since they were from last yrs harvest on 1st yr plants and there was barely an ounce.

so i've got a 60 min centenial hopped lutra ale.
I do have some NZ Wakatu.
think i'll toss a tea ball of that in to dry hop it.
see what happens.

edit: that did the trick. very nice.