Kveik Yeast new to me and still chugging?

[The Baron]

Hi I have only just tried Kveik Voss in my latest couple of brews. Now the question is it is 14 days and it is still chugging away as it did on the first brew I did the other week is this normal?
I pitched it high at 38c in both and unfortunately I do not have temp control so it has slowly dropped over fermentation to 25Cish(I have wrapped the fermenters to maintain a higher temp).
Both brews have shown the same characteristics of still chugging away after 14 days. I can tell it is not CO2 being released (under normal circumstances)as there are bubbles coming up to the surface much too much for CO2 release IMO. I will however take a hydrometer reading later today as in my mind it should be done but it just seems strange.
Come on you Kveik boffins answers on a postcard please or is this just releasing more CO2 than other yeasts and that is what it is?

 

[Rodcx500z]

Hi Baron, i have just done 3 brew's with cml no1 voss all 3 were done in 3 days, i took hydro reading all were 1010-1012 with no activity, as for the bubbles i don,t recall any but i am brewing again in a couple of days using this yeast i check, i use this yeast for the same reason i have no temp control i pitch at 35c and let it free fall

 

[The Baron]

Thats the same yeast I used Rod I was expecting it to be done a lot quicker although as a well served brewer maybe I should have taken readings (I do not normally as I can trust my experience)and maybe the beer is done it is just the amount of bubbles that are throwing me. As I said I will take a reading later this morning and report back as it should finish @ 1.009
Thats what I did Rod let it freefall too and I am glad you have done the same as I thought that may have been the issue but looks like it isn't

 

[Rodcx500z]

Let us know your readings please, i have a wit on at the moment using their Gretal yeast it's on day 3 no more bubbles and starting to drop i will take a reading later

 

[The Baron]

Its 1.009 Rod so its saying its finished the sample is showing as clear as one would expect after a large hop bill and dry hop so I think I will keg it-just strange more bubbles than normal after 14 days, possibly as explainable as the UFO's in America

 

[Rodcx500z]

The reason i use it is i have no hot side temp control a fridge yes, it suits me over the summer and i find it very neutral, some say they get a citras flavour, are you going to save some slurry for the next brew

 

[The Baron]

Yes I will use it again in the next 2 or 3 brews as what you say suits me I like a slight citrus taste so if it throws that even in my ales/bitters or neutral will be fine. It certainly goes off within hours I think I just had a weird glitch and it has possibly just been cleaning up a long time maybe, the sample tasted fine just a little bit bitter but thats my fault I changed the hop additions and timings and did not take much notice of the IBU's but hopefully it will mellow

 

[stubrewworx]

Ive just done the same as you guys. Pitched at 38c ish, let temp drop as ferment went on. Bottled at day 10 at 25c, although it was probably done after 3/4 days (i don't take readings).

As i was transferring to the bottling bucket i noticed bubbles from the yeast cake, which i dont recall from other yeast.

Mine finished at 1.008, ~ 85%aa

I haven't sampled any yet

 

[The Baron]

Right so I normally let normal yeast run and clean up and keg on the 14th dayish, so the question is how long does it take Kveik Voss to clean up and do I keg earlier than normal yeast

 

[cushyno]

Right so I normally let normal yeast run and clean up and keg on the 14th dayish, so the question is how long does it take Kveik Voss to clean up and do I keg earlier than normal yeast

If I recall correctly there is little cleaning up needed, that's why simple kveik fermented beers are drinkable early, most strains don't produce phenols or byproducts that need cleaning up (or much cleaning up).

 

[The Baron]

Thankyou Cushyno I was hoping that was the case so I could keg as soon as fermentation has stopped although I think old habits will die hard and I will leave a little longer

 

[Rodcx500z]

Witbier after 4 days using cml gretal, taste is bang on as well just need to empty a keg, yeast was pitched at 30c then just left

 

[Rodcx500z]

I am going to brew another wit using kristalwiesen, i will use they same recipe apart from the yeast

 

[The Baron]

I was not keen of that one Rod it was the taste it just did not seem right to me but plenty have said it was good for them.
Try it and see as it may be just me

 

[Rodcx500z]

It is an acquired taste orange peel and corriandor i love a good wit

 

[Northern_Brewer]

Both brews have shown the same characteristics of still chugging away after 14 days. I can tell it is not CO2 being released (under normal circumstances)as there are bubbles coming up to the surface much too much for CO2 release IMO. I will however take a hydrometer reading later today as in my mind it should be done but it just seems strange.
Come on you Kveik boffins answers on a postcard please or is this just releasing more CO2 than other yeasts and that is what it is?

Fermentation involves breaking down one molecule of sugar into 2 molecules of ethanol and 2 molecules of CO2. Those proportions are fixed, so as long as you have fermentation going on, then eg a wort going from 1.040 to 1.010 will always generate the same amount of CO2.

I suspect that what you're seeing is nothing much to do with the yeast, and merely a result of fermenting a bit warmer and without temperature control. Warm liquids can hold less gas than cold liquids, and a fermenting wort produces so much CO2 that it is saturated with CO2. So any CO2 that can't be absorbed by a fermenting wort, will be released.

So whilst a wort going from 1.040 to 1.010 will always generate the same amount of CO2, less of that CO2 will be absorbed by a warm wort compared to a cold wort. So the warm fermentation will release more CO2 as bubbles from the same amount of chemical activity compared to a colder wort.

Without temperature control you will also get daily fluctuations in temperature, and so if the wort is saturated with CO2 at the coldest point of the night, it will release a bit of CO2 when it warms up during the day. Which of course is when you will notice it.

 

[The Baron]

I think you are right NB I have checked the FG's and now it is in a keg.
The other 2 I am fermenting with Kveik are behaving as expected and down to gravity within 3 days so all's well.
I did think it was releasing CO2 but thought to ask people who have a little more knowledge on this yeast
Many thanks

 

[531Man]

Fermentation involves breaking down one molecule of sugar into 2 molecules of ethanol and 2 molecules of CO2.

Sorry I'm a bit being pedantic here, but this is only true for the monosaccharides we are familiar with like glucose, fructose and galactose. What is commonly referred to as 'sugar' from cane and beet is a disaccharide. The three major disaccharides are sucrose, lactose, and maltose which will produce twice the amounts of alcohol and CO2 you quote.
So yeast will break down one molecule of 'sugar' into 4 molecules of ethanol and 4 molecules of CO2.
Oops - I just remembered our yeast can't ferment lactose nor galactose.
Shows I shouldn't try and be so clever.
I'll get my coat.................

 

[Kveik Freak]

Kveik is a greedy beast, it eats nutrients more aggressively than other types of beer yeast, so yes, it will go faster and release more CO2 in the short term than other types even at room temperature. The citrus flavours come out more at higher temperatures.

14 days seems an awful long time for it to still be bubbling away. I hold mine at whatever its recommended fermentation temperature for 48 hours and then leave it at room temperature until the airlock stops bubbling. Then I bottle it, and its ready to drink as soon as it has eaten its priming sugar. Beer in a week is possible for some strains and styles. I ferment pseudolagers at room temperature, but even then I'd only expect it to be in primary for 5-7 days.

I'm not sure what you mean by "clean up". I only started brewing at the end of 2019 and I've never used anything except kveik strains. If you mean "eats its priming sugar", that, in my experience only takes 3-5 days. If you mean "turns fusel alcohols into ethanol" then it doesn't need to because kveik strains don't produce fusel alcohols.

 

[The Baron]

You do exactly what I do I pitch high and wrap it up to hold the temp for a few days then let it slowly go down to room temp. I then keg after 10 days.
it must have been releasing some CO2 which was making the airlock bubble but since that my next batch went to plan