Voss kviek yeast thoughts

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I just kegged a 10% RIS and am going to add 5 oz of maple syrup and 3 grams of CBC yeast to each keg. I've done this in all of my barrel aged beers but the voss one was like crystal clear and the barrel took forever for the rinse water to run clear.
 
In the fermenter, Lallemand Voss pitched dry at 93, temp control set at 95.

1.065 MO/Optic/GP blend
35IBU Mittlefrüh, 1oz FWH, 1.3oz 60m

Tastes great now. I'll keep y'all updated.

ETA: Pitched 2.5hrs ago, inch thick krausen!
 
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I've brewed with Lallemand Voss three times, and I don't think I will use it again.

I am an all-grain brewer with Spike conicals and a glycol chiller & heater, so stable temp control from 36F to 105F isn't a problem at all. Each Voss brew fermented aggressively and quickly at 85F and higher, but one almost stalled when started at the bottom of the temp range. This yeast likes it hot. Pressurization doesn't seem to make much difference in slowing it down or the results. Rehydration didn't seem to make much if any difference, so just pitching straight from the packet worked well.

Though crazy quick fermenters, each brew had a DMS-like component that would diminish with 4+ weeks after kegging, resulting in a ester-y English yeast flavor contribution. The DMS-like addition happened all three times, and I don't get DMS in my brews. To wait the 4+ weeks for the DMS-like component to drop out eliminated any benefit the quick fermentation provided. I get quick enough fermentations with 'normal' yeasts that are pitched from a healthy starter, and none of the downsides. That said, the Voss Xmas brew I did last Nov for the holidays turned out quite nice by later December.

I've also used Lutra and Hornindal, and neither of those had the same DMS-like issues, and I will use those again in the future. YMMV.
 
I've brewed with Lallemand Voss three times, and I don't think I will use it again.

I am an all-grain brewer with Spike conicals and a glycol chiller & heater, so stable temp control from 36F to 105F isn't a problem at all. Each Voss brew fermented aggressively and quickly at 85F and higher, but one almost stalled when started at the bottom of the temp range. This yeast likes it hot. Pressurization doesn't seem to make much difference in slowing it down or the results. Rehydration didn't seem to make much if any difference, so just pitching straight from the packet worked well.

Though crazy quick fermenters, each brew had a DMS-like component that would diminish with 4+ weeks after kegging, resulting in a ester-y English yeast flavor contribution. The DMS-like addition happened all three times, and I don't get DMS in my brews. To wait the 4+ weeks for the DMS-like component to drop out eliminated any benefit the quick fermentation provided. I get quick enough fermentations with 'normal' yeasts that are pitched from a healthy starter, and none of the downsides. That said, the Voss Xmas brew I did last Nov for the holidays turned out quite nice by later December.

I've also used Lutra and Hornindal, and neither of those had the same DMS-like issues, and I will use those again in the future. YMMV.

What were the gravities of the three not-so-good batches? I imagine the Xmas brew was a bigger celebration beer?
 
What were the gravities of the three not-so-good batches? I imagine the Xmas brew was a bigger celebration beer?
They were 1.071, 1.056 and 1.067 (which was the Xmas Ale).

To be clear, they all turned out okay once the DMS-like flavor dropped out, which did occur for all three after about 4-6 weeks. Strange, as I've never had that happen before in years of homebrewing, but it did seem consistent. I haven't tried a liquid Voss to see if it was a dry yeast problem or not.
 
In the fermenter, Lallemand Voss pitched dry at 93, temp control set at 95.

1.065 MO/Optic/GP blend
35IBU Mittlefrüh, 1oz FWH, 1.3oz 60m

Tastes great now. I'll keep y'all updated.

ETA: Pitched 2.5hrs ago, inch thick krausen!

36hrs post-pitch. 81.5% attenuation 1.065->1.012. Very, very slow airlock movement.

Clean, no off-flavors. Very apparent, though not too much so, orange aroma and flavor. Definitely in the category of pleasant.

Turned the heat off.
 
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36hrs post-pitch. 81.5% attenuation 1.065->1.012. Very, very slow airlock movement.

Nice. I brewed a batch of a Pale Ale ish beer on Saturday (2-Row + Oats + Munich / Cascade + Citra). I pitched a pack of Lallemand Voss and saw activity in a few hours, it was off like a rocket all day Sunday, and pretty calm by Monday. Set my temp controller to 85F, and it was reading 90F during peak fermentation.

I let it chill down to room temp overnight on Tuesday, dry hopped for 2 days, and now I am cold crashing. I hope to get it in the keg on Saturday or Sunday and for it to be ready by next Thursday for a gathering. It was 1.052, down to 1.009. The sample I tried today seemed like what I was aiming for with plenty of orange/citrus character.
 
I’ve used lalbrew Voss a dozen plus times. I’ve had it ferment as fast as 24 hours. I’ve Found the orange esthers are often covered up by hops if using in a hop forward beer. A couple of hard lessons: Voss eats the hop flavors for up to a week. I always wait a week before dry hopping. Also I’ve had cleaner ferments when using mfg recommended Fermaid K or slightly more.
 
The one watch-out for me, was that as it had fermented so quickly, there was not enough active yeast left to carbonate the bottles and my beer was quite flat. Not sure what to do about that next time, maybe add a small amount of a dry yeast pack to my bottling bucket....but how much ?

I’ve been brewing with kveik for a couple years and always add champagne yeast at bottling - I actually keg condition. I had too many uncarbonated batches in the beginning.
 
I've got a kettle full of Mittlefrüh FWH and 100% UK base malt 1.090 1st runnings.

Smells wonderful!!!
Will you post what final gravity it reached when it is ready? My chocolate porterish beer went from 1.090 to 1.030 (tempearture adjusted) and I used Mangrove Jacks m12 Kveik yeast which is said to be also of Voss variety.
 
Will you post what final gravity it reached when it is ready? My chocolate porterish beer went from 1.090 to 1.030 (tempearture adjusted) and I used Mangrove Jacks m12 Kveik yeast which is said to be also of Voss variety.

Will do, but my 1.090 was just the 1st runnings off the mash. Once the 2nd runnings from the sparge were mixed in, the OG was at 1.065. At 36hrs it was down to 1.012 with a little bit of activity still showing.

A Voss chocolate porter. Sounds interesting, like the orange chocolate my grandma always put out after dinner.
 
I kegged a hazy IPA yesterday brewed with Lallemand Voss, fermented at 35c (95f). Hops Citra & Simcoe.

It was done within 24h of fermentation, I let it sit at 35c for an additional day, then I removed the heating and let it come to room temp over a day, then soft crash to 15c (59f) and dry hop for 24h.

Then cold crash 2 days until everything dropped. So it was 6 days in the fermenter in total. I haven't tasted it from the keg yet, might do that tomorrow, but the sample definitely had orange in the aroma and taste, and I thought it tasted pretty good. I can report back when I've had a proper taste of the more finished product.

Follow up on this, I didn't have a chance to taste it until yesterday, so this was after 5 days in the keg.

It's quite clean, slightly lacking in hop flavor but I'm not sure if that's the yeasts doing. There is a subtle orange and latex(?) flavor in the background that I'm fairly sure is from the yeast because I've never had that before, it's not unpleasant though. I compared it side by side to a (good) commercial Citra hazy IPA of same abv, the commercial one is better but not by a big margin, hop flavors "pop" a bit more and the mouthfeel is better but that could improve on the Voss beer when it's been conditioning for a longer time.

Compared to my other hazy IPA done with same grains and same hop schedule but with Citra & Mosaic (vs Citra & Simcoe in the Voss one), the Verdant version has more sweet tropical fruit and is softer in its flavors while the Voss version has more bright, slightly sharp citrus flavors and is more bitter. It should be noted though that the Verdant version has been in the keg for 30 days which most likely has "softened" it up a bit, but I don't think it has changed much from when it was the same age as the Voss version is now. The flavor difference is definitely partly because of the mosaic vs simcoe hops, but I'm also quite sure that the yeasts are accentuating them. I've done several batches with the Verdant yeast and always had these "soft tropical" flavors with it.

All in all I'm pleased with this Voss beer and will use the yeast again if I for some reason need to churn out a batch quickly.

Here are my own beers that I compared, left is Verdant yeast and right Voss yeast:

IMG_20210814_172141.jpg
 
We brewed an "ESB" with Kviek Voss yesterday. One of our Brewers found the recipe and wanted to try it. WE made a 10 g batch and pitched a whole pack per 5 gals (according to the directions).

Pitched at 95 F.

I have my doubts but it took off fast

5 min after pitch:
IMG_5089.jpg



10 Min after pitch:
 
Just brewed a pale ale with all homegrown cascades following a russian river recipe. Hit it with Voss and some yeast nutrients since it’s only 4% ABV. Fermented at 95-100 in my garage. Hydro sample had the orange flavor and took it down to 1.008 (Iprefer dry beers) but could be from Cascades.

I’ve done a few beers with kveik but this is my first with Voss.

Will update once it is tapped.
 
I’ve over seven the kveik Voss often starts visible fermentation within two hours of pitching. I’ve also found soaking it in RO water for 15 minutes speeds this up.
 
Kveik will add orange. I LOVE this yeast because using it feels like easy mode for brewing. I like it in my stouts, especially because it adds something unique, sort of like chocolate covered fruit. I pitch a whole packet of M12 in mine, though, so it might be more restrained. Brew Saturday, pitch at 104, hold at 90, bottle on Wednesday, drink on Friday.
 
I used Imperial's Loki voss kveik in a SMaSH with just Breiss 2-row and 2 oz of Galaxy hops (the ones I got for renewing my AHA membership) with 1 oz at 30 mins and 1 oz at 5 mins left.

Pitched at 85 degrees, and the temperature never went much below that until day 3, when the airlock stopped bubbling. The FG sample (went from 1.060 to 1.011) after 7 days was very pale and the flavor was very much like a grapefruit Shofferhofer.

It will sit for another week and we'll bottle with a tad more than normal priming sugar (7/8 cup) since it looks like vosses tend to fall out of suspension quickly.
 
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I brewed with lallemend kviek Voss yeast it was a total beast grain to glass in 6 days. I made an IPA with citra and Amarillo which both should taste like citrus but it has a distinctly orange kinda fake flavor. Did anyone else experience this I don’t think the flavor is the hops I’m not sure I’d use this yeast again.

I’ve used it a handful of times since I don’t have temp control and definitely had drinkable beer. It worked best in an IPA with orange though. In that it was great. In everything else it’s just ok. It always has a little bit of that orange flavor which isn’t bad. But it will always be there.
 
I’ve over seven the kveik Voss often starts visible fermentation within two hours of pitching. I’ve also found soaking it in RO water for 15 minutes speeds this up.
Depending on how low the mineral content of the ro water is, this will likely kill a portion of the yeast cells due to osmotic pressure. The cells just burst. Luckily, kveik needs only a very small cell count. But in general, it is a bad idea to rehydrate in ro or distilled water without the addition of salts and/or nutrients.
 
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I recently brewed a simple pilsner-based beer (not really a lager) using Kveik as an experiment. It fermented in three days in my garage at 95F in the daytime and 75F at night. I was amazed, it was very clear when bottled and the taste was totally clean (no off-flavors or smells), even my wife really enjoyed it.
The one watch-out for me, was that as it had fermented so quickly, there was not enough active yeast left to carbonate the bottles and my beer was quite flat. Not sure what to do about that next time, maybe add a small amount of a dry yeast pack to my bottling bucket....but how much ?
I've had luck sprinkling in some wine yeast into the bottles after filling right before capping.
 
Depending on how low the mineral content of the ro water is, this will likely kill a portion of the yeast cells due to osmotic pressure. The cells just burst. Luckily, kveik needs only a very small cell count. But in general, it is a bad idea to rehydrate in ro or distilled water without the addition of salts and/or nutrients.

the RO system I use for this process has an alkalinity buffer (actual content unknown) on the output. Do you think this is adding enough stuffs to make it successful for me? I used to not do this, but the yeast visibly get going faster. I’ve been doing it with all my yeasts now.

Edit: the product page for this cartridge says it’s calcium carbonate.
 
Depending on how low the mineral content of the ro water is, this will likely kill a portion of the yeast cells due to osmotic pressure. The cells just burst. Luckily, kveik needs only a very small cell count. But in general, it is a bad idea to rehydrate in ro or distilled water without the addition of salts and/or nutrients.

Hmmmm...I recently made an IPA where I rehydrated my Cellar Science Cali Ale in distilled water. I had a rather slow start and it was about 48 hours before I had a solid krausen. I usually just direct pitch, but will avoid distilled in the future if I do rehydrate.
 
the RO system I use for this process has an alkalinity buffer (actual content unknown) on the output. Do you think this is adding enough stuffs to make it successful for me? I used to not do this, but the yeast visibly get going faster. I’ve been doing it with all my yeasts now.

Edit: the product page for this cartridge says it’s calcium carbonate.
It definitely helps! I cannot say if that's enough or not, but it's something that lowers the osmotic pressure.
 
Hmmmm...I recently made an IPA where I rehydrated my Cellar Science Cali Ale in distilled water. I had a rather slow start and it was about 48 hours before I had a solid krausen. I usually just direct pitch, but will avoid distilled in the future if I do rehydrate.
The good thing is, once enough yeast cells have burst, the osmotic pressure is low again, as the inside of the yeast cells now provided ions etc. Which lower the pressure for the remaining cells.

There's an easy experiment which we did back in the days in school.

Two glasses, one filled with distilled water, one with tap water. Place a peace of potatoe in each and let it sit over night. See the next day what the osmotic pressure did to the potato cells in the distilled water glass. The potato desintegated completely in our case.
 
I have used Voss Kveik three times so far (Lallemand and M12), twice at temperatures around 22'C, and once at 35'C. Each time the beer was pretty citrusy regardless of the hops. I have noticed that it is best, as Miraculix has already mentioned, to use only stronger hops for bitterness (Galena) to reduce that citrus flavor from the hops.
 
I used Lallemand Voss dry yeast in an IPA I split between two fermenters and dryhopped with different hops (Centennial and HBC 586). The two beers were completely different, the Centennial was bright and lemon citrusy and the 586 was mango and tropical fruits and I didn't notice much yeast character. I saved some yeast and pitched it into a black ale that was supposed to get dry-hopped but didn't and again I got a pretty clean yeast character. I pitched the Voss 3rd generation into a pale ale with Amarillo dry hops and the flavor is pure orange peel. Some of that orange may be the hops but I think the yeast is contributing a lot. The aroma is kind of sharp and unpleasant too, it reminds me of a saison I had recently. The Voss yeast doesn't seem to flocc out either, the beer is still very hazy even after a month in the bottle in the fridge.

At this point I'm torn on this yeast, I haven't been fermenting it warm, it's mid-60s down in my basement. All the beers I've made with it have been good but they haven't been what I expected except for the first, fresh pitch.
 
My latest batch I pitched with Lalemand's voss kveik rehydrated in a pint of water. It took off pretty quickly, got a bit sulfurous on the second day, but was essentially done on the third. Checked gravity on day 7 and it hit the attenuation target, so I let it sit two more weeks and bottled it last week. A test bottle revealed mild carbonation, slight bitterness from the hops and dark malts, and no apparent fruit character despite being fermented at room temperature (max fermenter temp was about 85F).
 
I’m fermenting a dry Irish stout now. SG was 1.050. I pitched half a sachet of Lallemand’s dry Voss without rehydrating into my wort at 95F. It was fermenting within 2 hours. I hold at 95F during active fermentation. After 24 hours I was at my target FG. This is my 3rd batch of a dry Irish stout (Guinness clone) I’ve done with Voss. I like the subtle ester flavor that yeast contributes when fermented hot. I’ll transfer to my keg in 3 days, force carb, and be serving 7 days post brew day :).
 
I brewed with lallemend kviek Voss yeast it was a total beast grain to glass in 6 days. I made an IPA with citra and Amarillo which both should taste like citrus but it has a distinctly orange kinda fake flavor. Did anyone else experience this I don’t think the flavor is the hops I’m not sure I’d use this yeast again.


Its hit and miss not each pack is the same, i had exactky what you are describing. Now i pitch at 39 and insulate with a wool jumper and an thick old judo jacket , together with the heat from fermentation i let that ride for 72 hours then "strip it naked" for about 24 hours to cool, and dry hop 4 days . I find that orangey flavour was from higher OG/abv brews. If you are going for about 4.7% XPA beer ...then your in the clear👍🍻
 
I use the Omega liquid and make overbuild starters. I control the orange flavor with yeast pitch rates. When i pitch a 1L starter and ferment at 76-86 the hops and malt tend to come thru more then the orange.
I did an 11 gal batch for the 4TH and only pitched 1L at 86* and it complimented the Galaxy hops.Gonna try it as soon as it warms up with my fav "C" hops.
 
Roughly seven months after brew day, a batch of Voss pale ale has finally dropped its unpalatable twang. Same with a contemporaneous batch of Bartleby (Hornindal). They're fairly enjoyable now, but I have no plans to brew with kveik again.
 
Interesting, im using Lal' Voss and i " build a starter" by just putting a little slurry from my stash into a sanitized pint glass half full of warm water with a pinch of shugar for a few hours with glad wrap on top and i find that is optimal. Sounds like your pitching down around 30 celcius...i really have to do a double batch one at 30 and one at 39 ( so 86 and 102 in your farenheight) to compare the difference side by side

So far tho the biggest factors to reduce the weird flavour and get clean beer have been to NOT do the drastic underpitch , to NOT do a 7% screamer, and and DONT dry hop for 7 days drop that to only 4 and get it off the yeast before it sours

Definately doing a split batch to compare temps , thanks for the tip , Cheers from Western Australia 👍🍺
 
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