# Blonde Ale with Kveik yeast - which strain is best?



## Piggy Smalls (4/1/21)

Hi all

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year.

Seeing as the hot weather in Perth is set to continue all week and I have drank myself completely out of beer over the holiday period I have decided to dip my toe in and try brewing a kveik blonde ale. Taking a look at my LHBS website I can see that they stock the Lallemand Loki (Voss strain) and also the White Labs Opshaug strain. I don't really have a preference in regards to using dry or liquid yeast and I have been told that you don't need to pitch much to get a good result. 

Some basic Google info I have looked at has led me to believe that the Opshaug strain is very clean and will give a hop-forward flavour to the beer. Voss on the other hand seems to produce more citrusy esters, especially at the higher end of the temp scale.

I am planning on using 90% pilsen and 10% munich light for the grain bill. Will hop exclusively with cascade to about 25 IBUs and a late flavour addition with no dry hop. I am going to mash at 64 degrees to get a dry finish. Has anyone here had experience brewing anything similar with Kveik yeast and would you have any recommendations on which of these two strains would be most suited to this style? I am attempting to ferment as high as possible so I can bottle after 5 days and be drinking a week or two afterwards (the consensus seems to be that the yeast also works very fast in the bottles and full carbonation can be reached in 2-3 days). 

Hoping to brew tomorrow so any advice from experience would be much appreciated.

Thanks 
Piggy


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## Grmblz (4/1/21)

No experience with Opshaug, but I can guarantee citrus (mandarin) with Loki fermented hot (over 30c) I use it in vintage ales, I think you will be disappointed if you use it hot, hoping for a clean crisp lager.


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## Piggy Smalls (4/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> No experience with Opshaug, but I can guarantee citrus (mandarin) with Loki fermented hot (over 30c) I use it in vintage ales, I think you will be disappointed if you use it hot, hoping for a clean crisp lager.


Thanks Grmblz.

I am not too worried about a little bit of mandarin as it may work well with the Cascade but I will be aiming for fermentation over 30 degrees and there won't be a lot of flavour to hide behind. With this in mind I wonder if the Opshaug might be better...

Do you bottle and if so do you find the bottle conditioning time is significantly reduced with the kveik yeast?


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## Grmblz (4/1/21)

Yes I bottle the vintage but they're typically big (over 8%) and fairly low carb, so I don't try them before about 3 months, the other Kveik beers I make are kegged, I have keg conditioned/carbonated a few lighter ales (6% ish) and they're done in under a week @ 25c.
You don't mention your target OG, but my experience would indicate a 1050 or less @ 35c will be fermented in 3 days, 4 max, a 24/48hrs crash, bottle and condition @ 35c and you'll be done in a little over a week, chill for a week and drink, will probably be a bit rough but that depends on your expectations.
You can get clean with Kveik at lower temp's (18c) but then the ferment time is the same as normal ale yeasts so no real advantage there, lager is a different story especially if you can apply a bit of pressure, it saves time but you end up with what I would call a "Kveik lager" still a good drop just not a "true" lager.
Sorry I can't answer your questions definitively, but hope this helps.
Cheers G


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## Piggy Smalls (4/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> Yes I bottle the vintage but they're typically big (over 8%) and fairly low carb, so I don't try them before about 3 months, the other Kveik beers I make are kegged, I have keg conditioned/carbonated a few lighter ales (6% ish) and they're done in under a week @ 25c.
> You don't mention your target OG, but my experience would indicate a 1050 or less @ 35c will be fermented in 3 days, 4 max, a 24/48hrs crash, bottle and condition @ 35c and you'll be done in a little over a week, chill for a week and drink, will probably be a bit rough but that depends on your expectations.
> You can get clean with Kveik at lower temp's (18c) but then the ferment time is the same as normal ale yeasts so no real advantage there, lager is a different story especially if you can apply a bit of pressure, it saves time but you end up with what I would call a "Kveik lager" still a good drop just not a "true" lager.
> Sorry I can't answer your questions definitively, but hope this helps.
> Cheers G


Thanks G. I am excited to see if I can experience similar time frames with my brew. I'm not worried if they taste a bit rough 'fresh' as it will still be an improvement on most commercial beers that don't cost a fortune. I will definitely be posting back on here to share my experience.


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## Grmblz (4/1/21)

Piggy Smalls said:


> Thanks G. I am excited to see if I can experience similar time frames with my brew. I'm not worried if they taste a bit rough 'fresh' as it will still be an improvement on most commercial beers that don't cost a fortune. I will definitely be posting back on here to share my experience.


Please do, I love Kveik, it's not the answer to everything, and certainly suited to some styles more than others, but it's early days, and the more info we can accumulate the better for everyone.
Look forward to hearing how you go, just a thought, how about a split batch? Would give you a real insight into the different strains, and a neutral beer such as you are brewing will highlight the differences (it's a bit harder with vintage ales/barley wines, and RIS's)


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## Piggy Smalls (4/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> Please do, I love Kveik, it's not the answer to everything, and certainly suited to some styles more than others, but it's early days, and the more info we can accumulate the better for everyone.
> Look forward to hearing how you go, just a thought, how about a split batch? Would give you a real insight into the different strains, and a neutral beer such as you are brewing will highlight the differences (it's a bit harder with vintage ales/barley wines, and RIS's)


I’m unfortunately limited to one fermenter at the moment so i might do another brew exactly the same next week and use the alternate strain to the one I end up using tomorrow. I love the fact that I can pitch a batch on Tuesday and my fermenter will be freed up again by Sunday for the next batch. Once I’ve got a few bottles stocked up again I’m definitely keen to try a slower and lower kveik ‘lager’ too.


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## Piggy Smalls (7/1/21)

Hi all

Just an update on this...

My LHBS was out of White Labs Opshaug so I decided to go with the Mangrove Jacks dry Voss strain instead of the Lalbrew (I had great results with Mangrove Jacks when I did a Belgian Golden Strong last year). 

I ended up brewing yesterday and let the wort cool naturally overnight. Got up this morning and the wort in the cubes was sitting at 33 degrees C. I've transferred to the fermenter and pitched one pack of the yeast straight in without rehydrating. Just over two hours later I have a thin layer of krausen completely covering the wort and it is starting to churn away. Even though I was expecting things to happen quickly this is absolutely ridiculous for a dry yeast.
The temp is expected to hit 38 degrees today and I've got the fermenter in a spare room so i reckon I could get right up to the upper limit of the range today once things are really cranking along.
Due to less than expected boil off volume I have ended up with 26 litres instead of 23 and will get a lightly hopped blonde which BF calculates will be around 22 IBUs and 4.5% ABV. This should really allow the Voss characteristics to be clearly present and identifiable in the finished beer.
I will provide updates as I go regarding fermentation time, bottle conditioning time and of course flavour.

Happy brewing!


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## Nickedoff (7/1/21)

I've done a few brews with Voss and Oslo now, and found that they go nuts for a day or so but can stall. I've been fermenting at 30c but found I needed to give the fermenter a bit of a shake and ramp up to 35c to get it to finish off. Might just be me though.


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## Piggy Smalls (7/1/21)

Nickedoff said:


> I've done a few brews with Voss and Oslo now, and found that they go nuts for a day or so but can stall. I've been fermenting at 30c but found I needed to give the fermenter a bit of a shake and ramp up to 35c to get it to finish off. Might just be me though.


Hi Nickedoff - Do you recall what kind of OGs you had? I haven't had the increase in ambient temp that I was hoping for yet and the fermenter is still showing as 32 degrees. I am a bit worried that as the temp drops to 26 degrees overnight I may end up back below 30 degrees by the morning so this may be an issue for me too. I'm only starting from 1.041 so hopefully it will be pretty close by then anyway.
I've definitely got an active fermentation happening at 32 degrees. The krausen on top is thick and foamy and it is starting to really churn now. The mandarin smell is very apparent even at this temp. I am hoping it works well with the cascade flavour hops and doesn't overpower the beer. I may be detecting a little bit of sulphur too but could be mistaking something else for this.
Also - how do you find the Oslo compares to the Voss and what styles are you brewing with kveik?


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## Nickedoff (7/1/21)

I've done a dodgy Czech pilsner with Oslo. OG 1.039. Mashed a bit higher than intended so that might account for the stuck fermentation.

Did @Grmblz dodgy 'harmless lager' with Oslo that got stuck. Didn't bother measuring OG for that but it was very green apple after fermentation stopped. Gave it a good shake and brought the temp back up and it went along again happily for a couple more days.

Also did a red ale with Voss, which I didn't have many issues with. 

Currently have a brown ale going with Voss that slowed down a quite bit when it hit 1.020 (from 1.050). Shook it up a bit and raised the temp to 35c and its going well again.


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## Piggy Smalls (7/1/21)

Nickedoff said:


> I've done a dodgy Czech pilsner with Oslo. OG 1.039. Mashed a bit higher than intended so that might account for the stuck fermentation.
> 
> Did @Grmblz dodgy 'harmless lager' with Oslo that got stuck. Didn't bother measuring OG for that but it was very green apple after fermentation stopped. Gave it a good shake and brought the temp back up and it went along again happily for a couple more days.
> 
> ...


Sounds like maybe the Oslo is more prone to stalling than the Voss but it also could have just been chance that it went that way.
Mine is just sitting at 32 degrees. Its even hotter here tomorrow (41 freaking degrees) so I will just move it outside if it stalls overnight.


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## Nickedoff (7/1/21)

Might just be me and something to do with how I'm brewing. Just something I noticed.


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## Piggy Smalls (8/1/21)

Stayed at 32 degrees overnight and it has gone from 1.041 to 1.020 in the first 24 hours and chugging along. Had a sample from the hydrometer tube - it is strange to taste it so hot. I think it is going to be fairly clean, there is still a fair bit of sweetness from the unfermented sugars but there are no noticeable off flavours so far and only a very subtle fruitiness detected.


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## Piggy Smalls (9/1/21)

Checked this morning at exactly 48 hours post pitch and the krausen has completely dropped away and it is at my expected FG of 1.007. There’s definitely a fair bit of yeast character present but it is hard to describe it while the beer is warm and flat.
Not sure whether I am going to bother with a cold crash now. Might just let it sit at room temp for another 24-36 hours to clean up and ensure it has finished and then bottle on Sunday arvo. With the way this stuff flocs I am thinking I will get a faster carbonation leaving it hot and I’m pretty sure it will drop clear in the bottles after chilling anyway.
I think going grain to glass in 7 days is definitely achievable with this batch.


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## kadmium (9/1/21)

Piggy Smalls said:


> Checked this morning at exactly 48 hours post pitch and the krausen has completely dropped away and it is at my expected FG of 1.007. There’s definitely a fair bit of yeast character present but it is hard to describe it while the beer is warm and flat.
> Not sure whether I am going to bother with a cold crash now. Might just let it sit at room temp for another 24-36 hours to clean up and ensure it has finished and then bottle on Sunday arvo. With the way this stuff flocs I am thinking I will get a faster carbonation leaving it hot and I’m pretty sure it will drop clear in the bottles after chilling anyway.
> I think going grain to glass in 7 days is definitely achievable with this batch.


I don't think it will be properly carbed going grain to glass while bottle conditioning but who knows. Kveik is a beast, but I feel like when I bottled the earliest it was at its prime was about 3 weeks. Gave time for the co2 to be absorbed and the bottles to settle out. Kveik may be quicker but from grain to bottle to conditioned to glass may be a bit longer than 7 days? 

Either way it sounds delicious and as soon as my RIS is out of the fermenter I will be doing an Amarillo SMaTH with Citra and Veloria malt using Voss. First time, so interested to note your thoughts on the yeast character! Keep us updated!


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## Piggy Smalls (9/1/21)

kadmium said:


> I don't think it will be properly carbed going grain to glass while bottle conditioning but who knows. Kveik is a beast, but I feel like when I bottled the earliest it was at its prime was about 3 weeks. Gave time for the co2 to be absorbed and the bottles to settle out. Kveik may be quicker but from grain to bottle to conditioned to glass may be a bit longer than 7 days?
> 
> Either way it sounds delicious and as soon as my RIS is out of the fermenter I will be doing an Amarillo SMaTH with Citra and Veloria malt using Voss. First time, so interested to note your thoughts on the yeast character! Keep us updated!


I agree it will definitely get better with some ageing in the bottles but I’m keen to see if I can get a drinkable beer in 7 days, if even just to test the limits of the strain. I’ve read a bit online about people that have done it bottled with higher OGs than 1.041 but all of those agree it was drinkable but not ‘finished’ after such a short time frame.
In regards to your SMaTH I have read that Amarillo in particular works well with the citrusy esters from the Voss. I definitely could smell a lot of mandarin/tangerine early on in the ferment so I am expecting at least a bit of this to come through in the final taste.
I will definitely keep posting updates as I go!


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## Grmblz (9/1/21)

Three ways to go for a 7 day finish.
Boost og a bit and bottle before fg is reached, be careful, if trying this use champagne bottles preferably.
Pressure ferment and counter pressure fill.
Keg, force carb and counter pressure fill.
If bottle carbonating don't forget to keep it hot.
I'm enjoying the episodes btw, keep up the good work.


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## Piggy Smalls (9/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> Three ways to go for a 7 day finish.
> Boost og a bit and bottle before fg is reached, be careful, if trying this use champagne bottles preferably.
> Pressure ferment and counter pressure fill.
> Keg, force carb and counter pressure fill.
> ...


Thanks G. I’m glad you’re enjoying the updates. I’m really enjoying my experience with this yeast so far and looking forward to seeing how this beer progresses.

I’m going to have to go with option 3 as I don’t have champagne bottles or the ability to pressure transfer ( I do have a fermentasaurus but never got the pressure kit and find myself using the Coopers kit fermenter most often). It’s going to be a solid week of mid to high 30’s in Perth so keeping it hot shouldn’t be an issue, especially now I’ve decided not to cold crash.


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## Grmblz (9/1/21)

Shame you're in Perth, my wife doesn't drink tea or coffee, just water and "bubbles" with G&T's as a cleanser, a habit she's passed on to her daughters, so after the festives I'm drowning in champagne bottles.
Oh well big Belgians, barley wines, and Ris's for the foreseeable future, and like Kadmium I've got a 35L Robo so I predict a rather large order for extract going to Coopers, that might be sacrilege in some quarters but I find a 1050 grain in the Robo beefed up with a couple Kg's of extract/sugar is the easiest way to do 1100's, and I've got a new (for me) Kveik strain (Lutra) I'm itching to pitch.
It's supposed to be ultra clean and capable of a lager like beer, which I doubt but as I'm not brewing lagers that's no big deal.
If I get time (still renovating this bleedin house, and switching to commercial couplers) I'll post some results, I can feel a Brulosophy moment coming on.


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## Piggy Smalls (9/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> Shame you're in Perth, my wife doesn't drink tea or coffee, just water and "bubbles" with G&T's as a cleanser, a habit she's passed on to her daughters, so after the festives I'm drowning in champagne bottles.
> Oh well big Belgians, barley wines, and Ris's for the foreseeable future, and like Kadmium I've got a 35L Robo so I predict a rather large order for extract going to Coopers, that might be sacrilege in some quarters but I find a 1050 grain in the Robo beefed up with a couple Kg's of extract/sugar is the easiest way to do 1100's, and I've got a new (for me) Kveik strain (Lutra) I'm itching to pitch.
> It's supposed to be ultra clean and capable of a lager like beer, which I doubt but as I'm not brewing lagers that's no big deal.
> If I get time (still renovating this bleedin house, and switching to commercial couplers) I'll post some results, I can feel a Brulosophy moment coming on.


I actually need to get some champagne bottles so I can have another crack at a Belgian. I made a BGS similar to Duval (Saaz and Styrians IIRC) with the Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale about 9 months ago and it was pretty good at around 9.5% but it didn’t have the foamy head or smoothness of Duval. I’ve heard they primary to about 6% and then do a bottle refermentation to 8.5% before lagering the bottles for 60 days or something like that anyway. I work in waste management so I should be able to source some to give it a go sometime soon.

The Lutra sounds good. Can you buy it here? I’m keen to try to kveik Vienna lager next.


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## John1954 (9/1/21)

I've been using Oslo for a range of brews, stouts, bitters and false lagers. I ferment at 37C with the help of a heat belt, some insulation and an Inkbird. I've found it to ferment very clean and have reused the slurry multiple times. My ambient conditions are a bit different from yours though. Last nights beer shown - every bit as enjoyable as a similar brew fermented with M84.


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## Nickedoff (9/1/21)

I've got a pack of Espe in my fridge which I'm looking forward to trying out, sounds interesting:

"WARM ALCOHOL AND FRUIT. COGNAC AND PLUMS. MOST EXPRESSIVE FERMENTED HOT."









Espe Kveik - Kveik.com.au


Warm alcohol and fruit. Cognac and plums. Most expressive fermented hot.




kveik.com.au





Reckon it might work well with a Belgian or a Porter.


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## Piggy Smalls (10/1/21)

Nickedoff said:


> I've got a pack of Espe in my fridge which I'm looking forward to trying out, sounds interesting:
> 
> "WARM ALCOHOL AND FRUIT. COGNAC AND PLUMS. MOST EXPRESSIVE FERMENTED HOT."
> 
> ...


That looks interesting. I could definitely see it in a Dubbel or a Porter for sure. Cognac and plums are a bit different as flavour descriptors than those normally associated with other kveik strains. I’m keen to hear how it goes.

My kveik blonde has dropped clear and is stable at 1.007. The temp has dropped a bit today so I’m planning on bottling this arvo and using a heater to raise the ambient temp in my spare room overnight. Will post a few tasting notes from bottling later on.


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## Piggy Smalls (10/1/21)

John1954 said:


> I've been using Oslo for a range of brews, stouts, bitters and false lagers. I ferment at 37C with the help of a heat belt, some insulation and an Inkbird. I've found it to ferment very clean and have reused the slurry multiple times. My ambient conditions are a bit different from yours though. Last nights beer shown - every bit as enjoyable as a similar brew fermented with M84.
> View attachment 119780
> View attachment 119781



That looks delicious! Very clear as well. How much slurry do you pitch per batch? Also, how long do the kveik lagers take before you are drinking them?


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## Nickedoff (10/1/21)

Kegged the nutbrown ale today (hoppy days recipe on brewfather, but substituted Carafa I for pale chocolate as I couldn't get it). Chucked a bit in a pet bottle, chilled it down then 'Ross carbed' it with 35psi and a bit of shaking. I'm sure it'll mellow out over the next few weeks but I'm enjoying a glass tonight and it's not bad at all. Very subtle citrus notes but I fermented @ 5ish psi. 5 days from brew day. Pretty happy with a first attempt at this, one of my favourite beers.


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## John1954 (11/1/21)

Piggy Smalls said:


> That looks delicious! Very clear as well. How much slurry do you pitch per batch? Also, how long do the kveik lagers take before you are drinking them?


I'm using about 30ml of slurry in a 23l batch. I don't rush them so usually start to drink them after a month in the bottle.


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## Grmblz (11/1/21)

Piggy Smalls said:


> I actually need to get some champagne bottles so I can have another crack at a Belgian. I made a BGS similar to Duval (Saaz and Styrians IIRC) with the Mangrove Jacks Belgian Ale about 9 months ago and it was pretty good at around 9.5% but it didn’t have the foamy head or smoothness of Duval. I’ve heard they primary to about 6% and then do a bottle refermentation to 8.5% before lagering the bottles for 60 days or something like that anyway. I work in waste management so I should be able to source some to give it a go sometime soon.
> 
> The Lutra sounds good. Can you buy it here? I’m keen to try to kveik Vienna lager next.


Just a quick tip, get the Jacobs creek style bottles, and store in milk crates, they fit really well, those curvy, fancy things are a pain to store, just in case you haven't used champagne bottles before you'll need "tirage" caps and a tirage bell for your capper, got mine from My Slice Of Life - Home, Gift & Trade Supplies - Butcher, Brewing, BBQ but they're available on evil bay as well.
Keep in mind the bottles are green. and highly hopped beers will "skunk" if left in direct sunlight, I'm drinking a couple of beers brewed last Xmas, and one brewed 2017, stored under the house in milk crates with a black plastic garbage bag over them, probably overkill but better safe than sorry.

I got the Lutra from Buy Kveik and Farmhouse Brewer's Yeast - Kveik.com.au they're a bit expensive but have some interesting strains not available elsewhere in Aus, and if you reuse/farm the cost becomes insignificant. 

On the topic of reusing/farming, Kveik has to be the easiest yeast in this respect, due in part I think to it's speed/aggressive nature, bacteria/wild yeast just doesn't get the chance to get a foothold, I'm not suggesting you can be lax with sanitation, but over the years I've had the odd infection with other yeasts, and never had one with Kveik. Could be just luck of course but Kveik is the only yeast I dry, all the others are frozen with glycol.

Cheers G


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## BKBrews (11/1/21)

I've got an old vial of Opshaug on the stir plate as we speak in a 2.5L starter. See if it kicks off, then I'll step it up once more.

Going to try a brut cream ale with it. Mash in at 60c with ultraferm for 1.5 hours, 30min at 66c, Simcoe to 20 IBU, pitch at ~30c and let free fall to 24c (just below recommended temp range of 25-35).


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## Piggy Smalls (11/1/21)

Due to lack of bottle tops (of all things!) I didn’t get to bottle yesterday arvo. I had to do it after work today instead.
The temp had dropped a bit overnight and today was a balmy 30 degrees so by the time I got round to bottling the beer was at 26 degrees.
I ended up with 29 king browns and I’ve put them in the room of my house that gets the warmest, going to use a heater to raise the temp overnight and then let the heat tomorrow keep it there.

I had a few samples while bottling and noticed some things:

Aroma is dominated by mandarin/orange from the yeast. With such a pale beer with no dry hop I’m not surprised there is little to no hop or malt aroma but I must admit the yeast has created more aroma than I anticipated. It is quite pleasant but definitely wouldn’t call it ‘clean’.

The taste is really good. A little bit of the mandarin and orange but nowhere near as forward as in the aroma. Also a lemony undertone which pairs beautifully with the cascade. No off flavours whatsoever and I really can’t wait to try this once it is carbed and ready to drink.

I will check in 48 hours and see if I have any carbonation.


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## Grmblz (11/1/21)

Another "quick tip" lol, when doing something like this I usually fill a single PET bottle along with my others, that way a quick squeeze gives a pretty good indication of how the carbonation is going without having to open anything. when the PET is rock hard I'll open it and have a good idea of how carbed the bottles are, this can be a life saver as occasionally it'll be a gusher in which case you have the chance to gently release the pressure on the bottles and recap.


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## DJR (12/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> I've got a new (for me) Kveik strain (Lutra) I'm itching to pitch.
> It's supposed to be ultra clean and capable of a lager like beer, which I doubt but as I'm not brewing lagers that's no big deal



It's good. In a clean beer it tastes a lot like a cleaner version of Coopers Pale Ale yeast, not a bad thing, but not exactly a crisp lager. You might be able to play around with pH, pitch rates and temp to get something crisper than mine, I think I underpitched a bit by just pitching about 3g of dried flakes and pitched at 30C down to 25C.


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## Piggy Smalls (12/1/21)

Grmblz said:


> Another "quick tip" lol, when doing something like this I usually fill a single PET bottle along with my others, that way a quick squeeze gives a pretty good indication of how the carbonation is going without having to open anything. when the PET is rock hard I'll open it and have a good idea of how carbed the bottles are, this can be a life saver as occasionally it'll be a gusher in which case you have the chance to gently release the pressure on the bottles and recap.


Thanks G. That’s a good idea. Would have saved me a fair few prematurely opened bottles over the years too if I’d been doing that.

I just took a quick look at the bottles and I can see little fermentation currents in them at the moment but anyone’s guess how carbonated they’d be already. They’re sitting at about 35 degrees now so I’m expecting things to happen pretty quickly after how fast the primary fermentation was.


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## An Ankoù (12/1/21)

Hi.
I've used Voss and Opshaug. I wouldn't even bother trying to make a blonde with Voss- especially at the top of it's temperature range- it's just too dominant. Opshaug, on the other hand is much lighter, but not perfectly "clean" either. I used it in a strong English bitter and thought it gave it a bit of a "sea breeze" taste that was unexpected but not unpleasant. This diminished with ageing- about 6 months in the bottle. 
It doesn't get as hot in this neck of the woods as it can in Perth, but my goto warm-weather yeast is Fermentis saflager W 34/70 which will ferment cleanly up to the high 20s C regardless of what the data sheet may say.


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## Piggy Smalls (13/1/21)

Cracked one open today after a quick crash chill in the freezer and it was semi-carbonated. Although fairly flat i am shocked at how cleaned up it tastes at 7 days grain to glass.
There’s definitely a lemony citrus element but everything seems to be pretty balanced. The bitterness is noticeable but smooth and the citrusy undertone blends beautifully with the cascade hops. It’s definitely not ‘clean’ but works quite well as a more expressive blonde ale.
Clarity is better than I expected after no cold crash. I’ve included a photo.


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## Piggy Smalls (13/1/21)

An Ankoù said:


> Hi.
> I've used Voss and Opshaug. I wouldn't even bother trying to make a blonde with Voss- especially at the top of it's temperature range- it's just too dominant. Opshaug, on the other hand is much lighter, but not perfectly "clean" either. I used it in a strong English bitter and thought it gave it a bit of a "sea breeze" taste that was unexpected but not unpleasant. This diminished with ageing- about 6 months in the bottle.
> It doesn't get as hot in this neck of the woods as it can in Perth, but my goto warm-weather yeast is Fermentis saflager W 34/70 which will ferment cleanly up to the high 20s C regardless of what the data sheet may say.


Hi An Ankou. 
What beers are you making with 34/70 at high 20’s and how quickly do they ferment out? I’ve only used it once for a Vienna lager I attempted to ferment cool. I ended up with a shitload of diacetyl which ruined the batch and I haven’t brewed a lager since.
As posted above my experience of fermenting a blonde with Voss at 32 degrees has been pretty good to date but I wouldn’t like to try anything too clean like a cream ale or lager with it.


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## An Ankoù (13/1/21)

Piggy Smalls said:


> Hi An Ankou.
> What beers are you making with 34/70 at high 20’s and how quickly do they ferment out? I’ve only used it once for a Vienna lager I attempted to ferment cool. I ended up with a shitload of diacetyl which ruined the batch and I haven’t brewed a lager since.
> As posted above my experience of fermenting a blonde with Voss at 32 degrees has been pretty good to date but I wouldn’t like to try anything too clean like a cream ale or lager with it.


Used it two summers ago (last summer i was experimenting with kveik) for anything where I might have used Safale US-05: light ale, blonde and an IPA. At the time I formulated a beer for my wife who had taken a fancy to Duvel Triple Hop- Citra. I don't know if you can get it over there, but it runs out at 9½% abv and is a Belgian blonde ale. My version is only 6½% and i use 34/70 at high temperature. My last batch was in August when it was had to find anywhere indoors much less than 30C. Looking at my notes, I racked it into secondary to clarify and dry hop after 10 days, but that's not to say it needed 10 days, I was probably busy doing something else and left it. 
Sorry to hear about your Vienna lager. Mine was crap, too. I followed the Greg Hughes recipe which advocates adding melanoidin and chocolate malt. Big mistake. This years attempt will be all Vienna with a bit of Munich.


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## BKBrews (16/1/21)

The cream ale is in the books. Pitched the 1-1.5 year old pack of Opshaug (did a 2.5L starter and decanted) at about 4pm, 3 hours later it’s going absolutely ballistic and has a krausen that would rival a 48 hour WLP001 krausen. Fermenting at bottom of its range - 25c - but pitched yeast at 30c.


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## BKBrews (20/1/21)

Fermentation had visibly slowed down by day 3 and was starting to flocc out, so hydro tested today (day 4) and it's sitting at 1.008. I used some dated Amyloglucosidase (ultraferm) on this batch, and am expecting a tiny bit lower, so I have just roused the yeast back up with a blast of CO2 into the bottom of the fermenter and will see what happens - not bad to reach 80% attenuation in 4 days though. It is very cloudy, so will be interested to see how it clears. A slight sulphury smell hanging around, but it actually tastes very good so far.


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## BKBrews (23/2/21)

Cleared up and tasting great! Different recipe to my previous cream ale using the WLP Cream Ale strain, but honestly it’s just as clean. Would use again.


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## John1954 (23/2/21)

BKBrews said:


> Cleared up and tasting great! Different recipe to my previous cream ale using the WLP Cream Ale strain, but honestly it’s just as clean. Would use again.


That looks lovely. Did you get any of the "sea breeze" taste that An Ankou refers to with his Opshaug bitter? I've been playing around with Oslo at 36C in a range of beers. It brings a peach aroma and taste at those temperatures which reduces with time and is otherwise clean. Less acidic than the Hornindal and Framgarden I've also tried. All sourced from YeasterBunny.


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## BKBrews (24/2/21)

John1954 said:


> That looks lovely. Did you get any of the "sea breeze" taste that An Ankou refers to with his Opshaug bitter? I've been playing around with Oslo at 36C in a range of beers. It brings a peach aroma and taste at those temperatures which reduces with time and is otherwise clean. Less acidic than the Hornindal and Framgarden I've also tried. All sourced from YeasterBunny.



Can’t say I noticed that, but wasn’t looking for it either. It’s also very dry because of my mash schedule and the amyloglucosidase, even though it only finished at 1.007. I will see if I pick that up next time I have one.

I’ve had really mixed experiences with kveik, but I think this beer has made me realise I need to experiment with it more in these hot QLD climates. Might have to give Oslo a try next.


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