Voss Kveik fail (fermented out of keg)

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ryking13

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Brewed an IPA with my freshly picked hops (which makes this sting even worse). Had about 4 gal in the keg and pitched Voss Kveik at 90degrees F. Checked in the morning to find this. Completely fermented out of the keg. I even used ferm cap. I’m assuming it was just so aggressive with not a big enough blow-off tube that it all came out.

Is it impossible to use this type of yeast in a keg? Anything else I can do to reduce blow-off?

Q7ETI8V.jpeg
 
That's not much headspace, since a keg is so narrow. I use an 8 gallon fermenter for 5 gallon batches in a warm temperature fermentation, and even then this could happen.
Ah ok, thanks. So basically don't try this again with my setup? Haha. So my choice is to either use a larger fermentation vessel or reduce aggressiveness of fermentation (temperature, yeast type, etc.)?
 
Ah ok, thanks. So basically don't try this again with my setup? Haha. So my choice is to either use a larger fermentation vessel or reduce aggressiveness of fermentation (temperature, yeast type, etc.)?
I would personally just get a spunding valve and ferment under pressure in your keg. Set the spunding valve to 7-8psi and that should be plenty to keep that from happening. I use a Fermzilla All-Rounder with Voss before and I had my valve at 10psi I believe and never had more than an inch of krausen and the ferm still finished in like 18 hours (1.050 OG).
 
I would personally just get a spunding valve and ferment under pressure in your keg. Set the spunding valve to 7-8psi and that should be plenty to keep that from happening. I use a Fermzilla All-Rounder with Voss before and I had my valve at 10psi I believe and never had more than an inch of krausen and the ferm still finished in like 18 hours (1.050 OG).
I have a spunding valve. I guess I assumed it's better to let it blow out for the first X hours and then spund after that. I should just spund right away?
 
Since I started fermenting under pressure I simply have the spunding valve in place from the start. I stopped connecting airlocks, or blowoff setups as soon as I started fermenting under pressure. Set the pressure level to what you want for the batch and let it ride. Even before I switched to the CF10 fermenters (I would ferment 7+/- gallons in a tall pony keg) I would do this. Not needing to worry about blowout/blowoff is rather nice. Being able to have reduced head space in the fermenter, without issue, is another plus.

Next time, make sure you have the item connected to the correct post. ;) Putting a gas QD on a liquid post shouldn't be easy. Which should be a sign to double check where you're connecting up. That is, unless you put the posts back on the wrong sides after a tear-down.
 
Since I started fermenting under pressure I simply have the spunding valve in place from the start. I stopped connecting airlocks, or blowoff setups as soon as I started fermenting under pressure. Set the pressure level to what you want for the batch and let it ride. Even before I switched to the CF10 fermenters (I would ferment 7+/- gallons in a tall pony keg) I would do this. Not needing to worry about blowout/blowoff is rather nice. Being able to have reduced head space in the fermenter, without issue, is another plus.

Next time, make sure you have the item connected to the correct post. ;) Putting a gas QD on a liquid post shouldn't be easy. Which should be a sign to double check where you're connecting up. That is, unless you put the posts back on the wrong sides after a tear-down.
Okay thanks, that's helpful. Yeah it did sort of stick and not go on well when I put it on and I just brushed it off. Not wise...
 
I think around a gallon or 2. Idk if you saw my comment but I had the blow-off on the wrong side so I'm thinking that's the biggest issue.
That was your issue. By having it on the liquid post, fermentation dispenses your beer in to your bucket.

the reason I asked is because based on the concentration and amount of solution, you have have been still able save the beer. But its too much to save
 
That stinks. Sorry to hear that.

I have fermented 4.5 gallons of a 5% abv blond ale in a 5g keg with Voss. I did loose some out the blowoff tube but it was less than 8oz. The beer turned out great. I have fermented quite a few other 4.5g batches in kegs with other yeasts and not lost anything in the blowoff.

I think your 4g fermentation would have been fine if not for the unfortunate blow off tube connection error.
 
Oh, wow- that'd do it. Darn it.
So do you think I'd lose beer if I did the same thing but attached it correctly? Others are saying they think I'll be fine especially if I spund it and let it get up in pressure. Your comment about using an 8gal fermenter makes me nervous though.
 
So do you think I'd lose beer if I did the same thing but attached it correctly? Others are saying they think I'll be fine especially if I spund it and let it get up in pressure. Your comment about using an 8gal fermenter makes me nervous though.
If you spund I'm fairly certain you'll be fine. Worst case, put your spund tub into a blowoff container as well just in case.
 
I just did a batch with voss kveik and attached a blow-off to my fermenter, expecting monster kreusen and gobs of foam hanging from the ceiling since I was at the 6 gallon line in a 7 gal container.

While it kicked in quickly and forcefully, it was very well behaved and didn't even climb into the blow-off tube. So I'm not sure you'd lose any beer in a correctly connected keg situation... kreusen maybe, but I'd expect most of your beer to stay in the keg.
 
I did another batch and it worked fine, at least from a blow-off stand point. But now it’s kegged and it tastes like crap. Basically tastes like it didn’t finish fermenting; kind of sweet but not in a good way, no hop flavor, etc. Fermentation was as follows: pitched at 95’, let it free ride in keg in 70’ room for 3 days, cold crashed for 12 hours, kegged. I figured Voss at that temp and for 3 gallons 3 days would be fine. Should I have let it go longer? Do I need to make sure temp stays high with heat control?
 
Fermentation was as follows: pitched at 95’, let it free ride in keg in 70’ room for 3 days


My guess is it just needed a few more days to ferment. 3 days is really short. Even if you maintained a high temp (100 f) for the whole period I am not sure that would be long enough. What was your final gravity?

Kveik Voss can ferment very quickly but I still let it go 9-10 days.
 
My guess is it just needed a few more days to ferment. 3 days is really short. Even if you maintained a high temp (100 f) for the whole period I am not sure that would be long enough. What was your final gravity?

Kveik Voss can ferment very quickly but I still let it go 9-10 days.
With Voss I’ve gone from 1.074 to 1.012 in 41 hours
 
I did another batch and it worked fine, at least from a blow-off stand point. But now it’s kegged and it tastes like crap. Basically tastes like it didn’t finish fermenting; kind of sweet but not in a good way, no hop flavor, etc. Fermentation was as follows: pitched at 95’, let it free ride in keg in 70’ room for 3 days, cold crashed for 12 hours, kegged. I figured Voss at that temp and for 3 gallons 3 days would be fine. Should I have let it go longer? Do I need to make sure temp stays high with heat control?
Did you take gravity readings before kegging? It's possible it wasn't done.
Edit: mutiple readings to make sure it's done?
I know Kveik runs hot and fast, but like |S|pundit said, that may have been too fast a turnaround.
How long has it been in the keg? I presume you force carbonate rather than prime?
 
I did another batch and it worked fine, at least from a blow-off stand point. But now it’s kegged and it tastes like crap. Basically tastes like it didn’t finish fermenting; kind of sweet but not in a good way, no hop flavor, etc. Fermentation was as follows: pitched at 95’, let it free ride in keg in 70’ room for 3 days, cold crashed for 12 hours, kegged. I figured Voss at that temp and for 3 gallons 3 days would be fine. Should I have let it go longer? Do I need to make sure temp stays high with heat control?
Sorry about your loss!

70F degrees may be some of your issue. Voss (Kviek in general) likes HOT. 95-100F maintained if possible. 3 days is plenty of time for it to finish fermenting, but it's ideal to keep it hot throughout. 95 down to 70 is quite a temp swing.
 
I would personally just get a spunding valve and ferment under pressure in your keg. Set the spunding valve to 7-8psi and that should be plenty to keep that from happening. I use a Fermzilla All-Rounder with Voss before and I had my valve at 10psi I believe and never had more than an inch of krausen and the ferm still finished in like 18 hours (1.050 OG).
Never used any Kveik before and I want to try Voss for a NEIPA also in an All Rounder. Any tips? How warm did you ferment? KegLand recommends nothing warmer than 95° in AR when it's under pressure.
 
I would skip the spunding valve for the beginning of fermentation on anything that is not a lager. You want ale yeast to "express" themselves.

I would suggest spunding ales after peak krausen. Kinda hard when you can't see it. Judge by monitoring the blow off rate. But with a Kveik yeast, which is supposedly super fast, you will have to check very often.

FWIW...I keg ferment a full 5 gal of wort in a 5 gal corny (they hold 5.5) with a blow off tube and don't get any krausen coming out...unless it's a hefe.
 
Never used any Kveik before and I want to try Voss for a NEIPA also in an All Rounder. Any tips? How warm did you ferment? KegLand recommends nothing warmer than 95° in AR when it's under pressure.
Sorry, just now seeing this. That Kegland recommendation must be new because when I bought my 3 ARs, that was never mentioned. I've done 5-8psi at 100*F with no problems (FG was reached in like 19 hours, f'ing unbelievable). I may not go above 95F in the future though based on what you mentioned. As far as tips go, just make sure your spunding valve is set appropriately because when that yeast gets going, it's producing a crap ton of CO2 and you'll be at 35psi in no time. I use a small chest freezer with an Inkbird Wifi temp controller and a seedling warming mat to control temps. The mat goes underneath the AR and I usually only cool my wort to 100F (in the future it'll be 95F) and then pitch from there. Just pitch, set your valve, and come back in the morning to a likely completely fermented beer. Happy to answer any other questions that may come up as well! Cheers!
 
Sorry, just now seeing this. That Kegland recommendation must be new because when I bought my 3 ARs, that was never mentioned. I've done 5-8psi at 100*F with no problems (FG was reached in like 19 hours, f'ing unbelievable). I may not go above 95F in the future though based on what you mentioned. As far as tips go, just make sure your spunding valve is set appropriately because when that yeast gets going, it's producing a crap ton of CO2 and you'll be at 35psi in no time. I use a small chest freezer with an Inkbird Wifi temp controller and a seedling warming mat to control temps. The mat goes underneath the AR and I usually only cool my wort to 100F (in the future it'll be 95F) and then pitch from there. Just pitch, set your valve, and come back in the morning to a likely completely fermented beer. Happy to answer any other questions that may come up as well! Cheers!
Thanks for the seedling tip. That's a great idea for not putting it directly on the AR. Never thought I would ever need a warming source in FL. My ground water doesn't get below 77° during the summer. 🤔
 
Brewed an IPA with my freshly picked hops (which makes this sting even worse). Had about 4 gal in the keg and pitched Voss Kveik at 90degrees F. Checked in the morning to find this. Completely fermented out of the keg. I even used ferm cap. I’m assuming it was just so aggressive with not a big enough blow-off tube that it all came out.

Is it impossible to use this type of yeast in a keg? Anything else I can do to reduce blow-off?

View attachment 739994
Fermenting in a keg is hipster like serving food in a frying pan on a cutting board. Fermenters are for fermenting and kegs are for storing the fully fermented and completed beer 👍
 
Fermenting in a keg is hipster like serving food in a frying pan on a cutting board. Fermenters are for fermenting and kegs are for storing the fully fermented and completed beer 👍
That's an interesting take... lots of people are fermenting in kegs now. Way cheaper than most SS fermenters and allows for closed transfers.
 
Fermenting in a keg is hipster like serving food in a frying pan on a cutting board. Fermenters are for fermenting and kegs are for storing the fully fermented and completed beer 👍
When I serve food in its frying pan it's not about hipness - it saves transferring to (and later washing) a serving dish. More laziness than hipness.

Though "real" fermenters are wonderful, kegs can tolerate much higher pressure, which has some potential advantages. Whatever floats your boat, of course! 🍻
 
I ferment in bottles too. Otherwise my beer wouldn't carbonate to the higher vols I desire naturally.

I guess they can be considered my secondary FV.
 
Says I who brews mate , I don't get the reference to 31 in 19
Yeah, It has to do with when you joined HBT and how many posts you have made.
Some ppl may think that you have no right to an opinion because you are relatively new and haven't made a lot of posts yet. Thusly your opinions are not yet valid.
It's kinda messed up,,,:smh:
Cheers, :mug:
Joel B.
 
Sorry to hear about the lost beer. Since not all kegs have the in and out labeled I always point the corny handle down like I was looking at a “package” and say “righty tighty, lefty drunko” with the serving tube on the left side. It sounds silly but it saves that sort of mix-up, almost every time. I can’t say I’ve never clogged a spunding valve with hops, but it is a hard knock life.

I’ve been on a Mangrove Jack’s Kveik (Voss I think) kick for a couple years now. I have taken to fermenting at 40 psi so I can serve straight from the keg. If I put the keg next to the wood stove in the winter, I get a bunch of orangy character. If I ferment in the basement at around 72f it comes out nearly like a lager for my fäktoberfest.

Ah, I also usually give it a couple weeks to ferment. Under pressure slows it down, but I watch the pressure until it stabilizes un spunded, rather than taking gravity readings.
 
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