Kveik (Voss, Hornindal, others)
Norwegian farmhouse yeast. Ferments hot, fast, and clean. The most flexible yeast family in modern brewing.
What it tastes like
Kveik (rhymes with 'flake') is a family of Norwegian farmhouse yeast strains, traditionally maintained for generations by individual families on rural farms. Each strain is unique. The big surprise: they ferment cleanly at 85-100°F — temperatures that would destroy most ale yeasts. This makes them a brewer's secret weapon for fast turnaround, equipment-free temperature control, and unique flavor profiles ranging from clean and neutral (Lutra) to wild tropical (Hornindal).
Best in these styles
Fermentation profile
Pitch warm (75-90°F), let it run hot, and a 1.060 wort can finish in 48-72 hours. Drops clear fast, allows quick package turnaround. Different strains have wildly different character — Voss for orangey/spicy, Hornindal for tropical chaos, Lutra for lager-like clean fermentation, Hothead for pineapple-forward.
Available as
Kveik (Voss, Hornindal, others) is sold under multiple supplier brand names — same or near-identical strain.
| Format | Supplier | Product code | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dry yeast | Lallemand | Voss | 11g |
| Dry yeast | Omega | OYL-061 Voss | Various |
| Liquid | Omega | Hornindal OYL-091 | 100B cells |
| Liquid | Omega | Hothead OYL-057 | 100B cells |
| Liquid | Imperial | Loki A43 | 200B cells |
| Liquid | White Labs | WLP522 Hornindal | 100B cells |
Comparable strains
If you can't source this strain, these alternatives bring overlapping character or fermentation behavior.
History
Kveik strains were nearly extinct by 2000 — held only by a handful of Norwegian farm-brewing families. Lars Marius Garshol, a Norwegian writer and homebrewer, documented and catalogued the strains in the 2010s, eventually collaborating with commercial yeast labs to bring them to market. Within five years, Kveik went from obscure curiosity to one of the most-used yeast families in craft brewing.