Pilsner using Kveik

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Joshua Hughes

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I would pref this be closer to style on abv (around 5) but with the Kveik I was worried it was too low. Thoughts? these are the only German like hop I have. Thanks
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I think you’ll be impressed in the mouth feel and fullness on kveik even at low gravity. You can just cut back the grain bill a bit if you’re shooting for a lower abv.

I’m trying a split batch between kolsch and kveik right now. I used kveik for my house pale ale and love it for that. It’s cleaning the kolsch up now ready to keg later this week. I’ll be curious how it turns out or if I get any of the fruity flavors at lower fermentation temps. I kept it in the low 60s.
 
I wouldn’t need to do anything special with the yeast? I was still planning on fermenting hot
 
From my experience and most things I’ve read, if you want the kveik-fruity flavor to show up ferment hot. To get the pineapple flavor I literally needed to leave my fermenter on the sunny side of my deck in a NC summer heat.
At lower temps, 70s, you’ll still get fuller body than any yeast I’ve used and muck more subtle peach/citrus flavors.
Honestly I use it for my house pale ale more that anything because i can easily make a low abv beer that taste like a bigger malt bill. It’s also super quick and I like it with citrusy hops.
I’d encourage you to ferment hot. I’m gonna go on the cooler side. I’ll report here as soon as it’s kegged and we can compare a bit how it performs with a Pilsner type grain bill.
 
You should ferment low 60s otherwise the esters will take way out of style. Even in the 70s Voss produces a good amount of esters. Or just don’t call it a Pilsner and you’re good lol
 
Yeast recommended range is 77-104
Because it’s a high ester producing yeast And is specifically used for that and quick fermentations at high temps without off flavors. You want to make a Pilsner right? Well they are supposed to be cleanly fermented without esters so you need to ferment Voss lower to do that, in the low 60s. Or just say you’re making a blonde ale or pale ale and you’ll be better to style
 
Doesn’t matter to me what it’s called. I may have read bad information. I had read that it ferments real Clean without esters at high temps and some breweries were using it for quick pilsners.

will Pilsen malt and saaz with Voss make a good beer? At at around 5%?
 
Doesn’t matter to me what it’s called. I may have read bad information. I had read that it ferments real Clean without esters at high temps and some breweries were using it for quick pilsners.

will Pilsen malt and saaz with Voss make a good beer? At at around 5%?
It will make a fine beer.
 
Doesn’t matter to me what it’s called. I may have read bad information. I had read that it ferments real Clean without esters at high temps and some breweries were using it for quick pilsners.

will Pilsen malt and saaz with Voss make a good beer? At at around 5%?
There are a lot of different kveik strains. Voss needs to be fermented cool to reduce esters, while something like Oslo can be fermented hot with no esters.
 
Doesn’t matter to me what it’s called. I may have read bad information. I had read that it ferments real Clean without esters at high temps and some breweries were using it for quick pilsners.

will Pilsen malt and saaz with Voss make a good beer? At at around 5%?
Expect to have orange citrus from Voss. Clean fermentation to me can mean no/low esters, and also no fusels and “off” flavors. There are some Kveik strains that do not produce esters. If you want to emulate a Pilsner using ale yeast then choose a yeast that doesn’t produce esters. Your other option could be to use a lager yeast under some pressure and ferment warm. There should be a thread on that somewhere here.
 
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I have #41 Skare on stock and will brew your recipe next month to make a test on it....
What Water Profile to use?
I wouldn"t call it Urquel, maybe just a lager-kveik, but i"s Ok
 
Also, kveik tends to drop the pH more than regular yeasts, which emphasizes the hop bitterness. Since you are already at the top end of the guidelines, you might consider dropping your IBU's a bit.
 
I agree with many posters that this really isn't a pilsner... more of a blonde ale and should be a tasty lawnmower beer! I think you can minimize esters enough to make it passable, but the traditional crispness of a pilsner will be lacking. I'd probably move both hop additions later in the boil... say 45 and 5 so increasing the flavor and decrease the bitterness a bit. But either way it should be a tasty, simple beer.
 
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just looking to do a few crisper German type beers I guess. I had some left over Pilsen malt and saaz so figured I’d give it a go since I have a pack of Kvwik Voss opened already. Not aiming for style accuracy really.
i appreciate all the answers. Lots to consider/reconsider
 
just looking to do a few crisper German type beers I guess. I had some left over Pilsen malt and saaz so figured I’d give it a go since I have a pack of Kvwik Voss opened already. Not aiming for style accuracy really.
i appreciate all the answers. Lots to consider/reconsider

Saying any Kviek strain is "clean" is really a misleading statement to a lot of people. Kviek strains generally are from the off flavors related to poor fermentation temperature control and that is what I believe people are referring to when they catergorize Kviek as "clean." Fusel alcohols in particular don' show up in many kviek strains.

Many of the popular Kviek strains Hornindal, Voss for instance are very estery. Lots of fruit notes are achievable with them. Oslo one of the less estery strains has a distinct twang to it due in part to ph drop. You will not in my experience be able to replicate a crisp ester free german beer using kviek. You may however make something that you still enjoy and has some qualities of a pilsner.
 
Brewing tomorrow morning. I moved the hop additions to later in the boil. If i keep this around 5.5 % will this yeast still ferment it fast with no issues? I know it loves high gravity. I appreciate everyone's help.
 
Something looks off with your IBUs. .25 oz of a 3.5% AA hop will not produce 24.97 IBUs

Any beer yeast will ferment whatever malt you throw at it. Just depends on if you want the results the yeast will produce.
 
Something looks off with your IBUs. .25 oz of a 3.5% AA hop will not produce 24.97 IBUs

Any beer yeast will ferment whatever malt you throw at it. Just depends on if you want the results the yeast will produce.
It’s under a gallon batch to fit in a 1 gallon carboy
 
Pretty much every beer i make right now is the first time lol. Ill give it a shot. I am pitching new out of the pack. I got slurry from last week Kveik IPA but this being a lower gravity and different hops I figured ill keep them separate. Got some German hops and Vienna and Munich coming for next round. Keep a citrus type hops jar and German hop jar. Assuming my wife doesnt get upset at the jars :)
 
From my experience and most things I’ve read, if you want the kveik-fruity flavor to show up ferment hot. To get the pineapple flavor I literally needed to leave my fermenter on the sunny side of my deck in a NC summer heat.
At lower temps, 70s, you’ll still get fuller body than any yeast I’ve used and muck more subtle peach/citrus flavors.
Honestly I use it for my house pale ale more that anything because i can easily make a low abv beer that taste like a bigger malt bill. It’s also super quick and I like it with citrusy hops.
I’d encourage you to ferment hot. I’m gonna go on the cooler side. I’ll report here as soon as it’s kegged and we can compare a bit how it performs with a Pilsner type grain bill.

I pulled couple pours of my kveik/Kolsch hybrid. I made a split batch with my standard house kolsch with WLP 029 for comparison.
the kveik turned out great. My wife thought they were the same beer. The kveik had a wee little bit of the kveik-y peach smell, very subtle peach fruit, unlike when I use it at higher temps. No citrusy pineapple flavor at all. The hops (santiam) played well but is slightly more bitter and sharp in the kveik, as you would expect from an ale yeast. At lower temps I did not get the soft yeast flavor like a kolsch or lager yeast. I also didn’t get as pronounced fullness of the beer, it’s not thin but typically when I use kveik it tastes/feels in your mouth like it has a few extra gravity points. I’m not sure it that was because of the lower fermentation temps or just a fluke.

over all really good beer. I’ve used a pile of ale and lager yeasts with this kolsch recipe. Hands down WLP 029 works best for me, but this was pretty darn good.Tasted more like a kolsch that WLP 800 or 830.
 
Going to bottle line tomorrow. First 3 and a half days I kept it in the mid 80’s. Last night I unplugged the warmer and it was 78 this morning. Going to warm it back to 82 and let it go the rest of the day. I’m going to be gone and don’t want anything plugged in that’s job is to warm stuff. Tomorrow I’ll bottle assuming it’s ready which I imagine it is.
 
On Saturday I brewed a 10 gallon batch with a friend to split. He pitched saison yeast in his and I pitched Oslo in mine. It will be interesting to compare when they are done!
 
Alright got the fridge bottle opened the other night. It wasnt super clear. I found the taste nice an clean. I should have bittered it a bit more but this would be a great drink all day by the pool beer. I think this tasted much more like a Kolsch, enough that I’ll tweak this and call it one next time lol
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From my experience and most things I’ve read, if you want the kveik-fruity flavor to show up ferment hot. To get the pineapple flavor I literally needed to leave my fermenter on the sunny side of my deck in a NC summer heat.
At lower temps, 70s, you’ll still get fuller body than any yeast I’ve used and muck more subtle peach/citrus flavors.
Honestly I use it for my house pale ale more that anything because i can easily make a low abv beer that taste like a bigger malt bill. It’s also super quick and I like it with citrusy hops.
I’d encourage you to ferment hot. I’m gonna go on the cooler side. I’ll report here as soon as it’s kegged and we can compare a bit how it performs with a Pilsner type grain bill.
which strain is giving you peach/citrus?
 
Seen that in Zymurgy a few days ago. Pretty exiting really. I do not have the refrigeration or ability to cool a wort to brew lagers.
 
which strain is giving you peach/citrus?
Omega’s hornindal.
A bit of nice peachyness at 85-90 degrees. Then I needed to ferment hotter for pineapple.
For my beers those notes have been pretty subtle and they’ve gotten lost in complex grain bills or too much going on with the hops.
 
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