Kveik
Kveik is a name for traditional Norwegian farm-brewing yeast cultures, especially associated with western Norway. It refers to locally maintained cultures rather than one uniform strain or starter product.
Equipment · Yeast culture carriers
Yeast ring
A yeast ring (Norwegian gjærkrans) is an open wooden carrier that holds yeast from a previous brew while it dries for reuse. Lars Marius Garshol documented a linked-block ring in use at a farmhouse brewery in Vestbygda outside Voss.
A wooden carrier for saved yeast
A yeast ring is an open loop made from linked wooden blocks, rather than a jar in which beer ferments. In Norway the name gjærkrans is used for this kind of yeast wreath. A field account by brewing historian Lars Marius Garshol describes the Voss example as an intricate wooden necklace. Its linked pieces make a large, irregular wooden surface that can be moved through yeast and hung up, leaving the culture on the wood as it dries.
The ring carries yeast between brews; it does not create yeast or make beer on its own. In Garshol's account, Sigmund Gjernes showed him the ring during a farmhouse brew in Vestbygda outside Voss. The same household also had a tightly closed glass jar of wet kveik in the refrigerator. The two methods coexisted there, so the ring should not be described as the only or universal way Norwegian brewers preserved yeast.
Sources for this section
Gathering, drying and reusing the culture
Garshol's later explanation gives the handling sequence: draw the ring through yeast, either surface foam or slurry, so yeast adheres; hang it until dry; then lower the ring into a little wort when it is time to reuse the culture. The Voss field account says the ring is hung somewhere until the next brew and reports the brewer's belief that dried yeast could remain usable for years. That duration is a reported possibility, not a guarantee for every ring or culture.
This method stores living culture on a solid carrier instead of keeping it as wet slurry. Its practical advantage in the source account is simple transfer and drying between batches. The sources do not specify the timber species, dimensions, block count, joining technique, or a standard cleaning process, so none is implied here. If mould appeared, the Voss brewer discarded that culture and asked a family member for fresh kveik.
Sources for this section
A documented regional example
The evidence attached to this entry is specific: Garshol observed the ring in a home brewery outside Voss in 2014, and later described how the same brewer used it. These accounts support a Voss example within Norwegian farmhouse brewing; they do not establish the ring's first historical appearance, a single construction pattern across Scandinavia, or an unbroken lineage from an earlier period. Wooden carriers and rings are also mentioned in wider farmhouse-brewing discussions, but their shapes and materials can differ.
Sources for this section
History
Garshol's 2014 field account records a brewer in Vestbygda outside Voss showing him a traditional yeast ring. The archive describes the ring as linked wooden blocks and notes that the same household also kept wet yeast in a separate jar. This establishes a documented example by 2014, not when the form began.
Equipment details
PowerNo power The source describes a hand-held ring hung to dry; no powered components.
How you get oneNot established The sources do not say who made or supplied this particular ring or how a reader might obtain one.
CareGarshol reports that the ring is hung until the collected yeast dries. He does not describe a cleaning routine; in his Voss account, visible mould is a reason to discard the culture and obtain fresh kveik.
Made of
- wood — linked-block ring body
The supplied atlas describes an open ring made from small wooden blocks linked together; Garshol describes the Voss example as an intricate wooden necklace.
Limits
The Voss brewer discarded yeast when mould appeared on the ring and obtained fresh culture from a family member; the source does not establish a cleaning method for a mouldy ring.
Source →Places
Vestbygda, Voss
Documented use · Locality evidenceA farmhouse brewer in Vestbygda outside Voss showed Garshol the ring; this is one documented example, not an exclusive-origin claim.
Related
Used for
Same method
Yeast log
A carved wooden carrier used in Norwegian farmhouse brewing to dry and keep yeast-rich material between batches; its holes and hanging loop distinguish it from a linked wooden yeast ring.
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Sources
LarsblogHistory · Form · Use · Geography
Brewing with kveikA brewer in Vestbygda outside Voss showed Garshol a traditional wooden yeast ring in a 2014 farmhouse-brewing field account.
The ring collected yeast from the top of the fermenter; the yeast dried on the wood and the ring was hung until the next brew.
The brewer also kept wet kveik in a separate glass jar.
The brewer discarded culture when mould appeared.
Cited in: A wooden carrier for saved yeast; Gathering, drying and reusing the culture; A documented regional example
LarsblogMethod · Use
When did people start reusing yeast?Garshol describes moving a ring through foam or slurry so yeast adheres, hanging it to dry, and dipping it into a little wort for reuse.
He also mentions cloth, wooden branches and straw rings as other culture-retention methods, showing preservation forms vary.
Cited in: Gathering, drying and reusing the culture; A documented regional example