NovaLager vs. W-34/70 vs. Lutra Kveik Dry Yeast Comparison!

We compared NovaLager, W-34/70, and Lutra Kveik dry yeasts side by side for lager learnings.
John made a clean and straightforward lager wort and did a three way fermentation in 1 gallon glass fermentors. All the beers were fermented at the same time and at the same temperature.
Lots of homebrewers are playing around with Lager fermentations under somewhat not traditional fermentation conditions; namely playing with warmer and warmer fermentation temperatures.
We put these three yeasts to the test under basement fermentation temps to test for the cleanliness/crispness of three very popular yeast strains.
Check out the cool results.
Cheers!
#LagerYeast #HomebrewExperiment #brewdudes
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[@BEERNBBQBYLARRY]

Excellent taste test! I loved that Mike was just going to town on the beer while John talked and talked. lol After Mike described each of them, I guessed correctly just from his own descriptions of the flavor and aroma. I think I would have identified them correctly if I were there. So close to getting them right!! Good video guys.

[@chevysaregr8]

Yea, clean smell is definitely 34 70

[@jonthebeau4653]

I'm glad the test confirmed your bias. I brew a lot of lagers and I brew a mexican psuedo lager with Lutra that finishes very dry and not in the least fruity. I pitch Lutra at 85-90 and hold it there for about a week even though it's done in 2 days. I'm not a kveik brewer at all I have tried and disliked 4-5 other strains but I keep a packet of the dry Lutra in the fridge because I really like the results it produces. I'm never replacing my lager yeasts with Lutra but I have brewed a half dozen psuedo lagers with it and it's far from garbage.

[@BrewDudes]

I was poking the bear with the garbage comment. We've always stood by people should brew to get the results they like. More experiments from us with Lutra in the future maybe, but glad it works for you in your specific application. Cheers! -Mike

[@KeithWaldner-qh3nr]

Them Lager yeast are all so sensitive on temperature. Each so different when fermenting in temperature from 12 too 20c changes thier style so much. They all have thier secret strick fermenting temperature.

[@davec4955]

I've done four batches using Nova lager at optimum temperatures under pressure, very pleased with the results. Next year I will trying 34/70 for the first time. 🍻

[@finspin4984]

Great vibes today gents. Thanks for the comparison

[@wrayzor97]

NovaLager is my new go to lager yeast. I’ve used it a few times and I like it.

[@lfcsponge]

Really appreciate your videos Brew Dudes. A lot of time and effort for our entertainment and a valuble resource for us home brewers🍺

[@stephanebergeron6085]

Love your yeasts experiments! Hope to see more of those. I had great results brewing fruity IPA with Voss. Also, in the pseudolager world, I love Krispy from Escarpment Lab (Canada). Keep up the good work!

[@djup_skogen]

Nice! Thanks dudes.

[@dgrove81]

Thanks for doing this! Personally, I swear by Lutra for lagers, with the following caveats: I always build a starter for a 5 gallon batch (if i'm making a high gravity lager, like a dopple bock, I do a double starter) and I always add yeast nutrient, at 3 times the manufacturer's recommendation (the WYeast nutrient works really well). I noticed you do not mention adding nutrient to any of the beers, and I had read a lot about kviek needing a ton of nutrient to work well (I also do this when I'm fermenting kveik hot for IPA's & stouts).

[@BrewDudes]

In a one gallon batch John is overpitching so there should be plenty of active yeast. Also the gravity is pretty manageable. I've read the Kviek nutrient thing as well, but I thing its a little bit off the mark. To each their own. Remember this isn't a poo poo on using Lutra its just a comparison to these other two strains and comparing how they taste. If Lutra needs additional nutrients to be clean, why not just use Nova or W34/70? Cheers! -Mike

[@pattonmoore]

Love Voss dry and use it a lot. Lutra on the other hand, I have used it several times but never was totally thrilled with it. Once I used Lutra liquid yeast and while most people thought it was good, I didn't care for it. That 5 gallons lasted a bit...

[@campfiretunes8598]

I’ve had very similar experiences with those yeasts. I’ve tried Voss Kveik at least 7 times now. It always gives me a sour citrus twang that i cant palate. No matter which Lallemand yeast I try, it never ferments past 1.024. 34/70 works like Kveik, without the off flavours. One if my favourite yeasts.

[@EbliZ]

There is 70 strains of Kveik out there with diffrent pofiles, Voss is more suited for Ipa,apa, etc while Lutra leans towards lager.

[@campfiretunes8598]

Sure, that may be true., but I mostly brew IPA’s and pale ales (no hazy’s though) dont get the hype there. Also, living in south korea, there is not a lot of variety in brewing ingredients.

[@EbliZ]

​@@campfiretunes8598There is no hype, kveik have been around for many years now. Kveik doesen't require temp control as many other yeast strain do. I only use kveik strains since 3 years back for all styles.

[@drp2007]

I wish I had three glasses and was part of the tasting! Love these side by side videos.

[@GarySylvester]

So glad you did this! Haven't used Nova yet. I'll have to give it a try!

[@KeithWaldner-qh3nr]

I've used Novalager all summer last year. Very best fermentation temp right at 16c. Very fruity anything lower then 14c. Unbelievable perfect at 16to18c.

[@BrewDudes]

Nice advice. I might have to try this out myself and play with it. Cheers! -Mike

[@xjamis]

Thx for these comparison videos guys very valuable resource cheers

[@pauldeluiaard1638]

Great video. Love yeast comparisons. I have used a kveik once and was not too happy with it. Luckily more share my view. W34-70 has served me well. I’ll skip the lutra and will try nova lager next

[@mmmhsweetlemonade]

I like the yeast comparisons! thx

[@pv4669]

Another excellent experiment!

[@LipovBog]

good comparison

[@serthorn]

Thanks for a great video. I would appreciate more info about the fermentation temperature. "Cooler basement temperature" probably means something completely different in yours state than where I live in Poland.

[@BrewDudes]

65F/18C. Cheers! -Mike

[@TheWinkingPigBarBQ]

Thanks for the video, I just had a Lutra beer that I was not happy with at all because it was too fruity. I'm currently fermenting a German Export Lager using NovaLager. Based on your review, I have a feeling I'll be much happier with the NovaLager. Especially since I won't be having a 34/70 beer right beside it to compare against.

[@davidhall158]

Have used Nova a couple of times but not yet used it cold. I think I’ll use it again. W34/70 has always been good for me. It’s a little more expensive here than most other ADY packs. I’ve used Diamond as a substitute and have been very happy with it, although I think it made more sulphur than I’ve had with W34/70. Wasn’t really a big deal though. Where I am, with all the yeast which is available, it’s not easy to envisage a situation where I’m likely to choose a kveik to make a beer.

[@thaifoodtakeaway]

A couple of years ago, when the Kveik fashion exploded, I bought ten or so farm strains of Kveik, ranging from the pseudolager to the more fruity variants. all the beers I fermented with Kveik had an farmyard off-flavour that some might like or not notice, but I can taste. I have later tried the commercial variants, and again, also those have that Kveik flavour, that eventually dissipates, but takes months to go. I guess that when you cover it with tons of hops it can't be noticed, but as I don't do hop bombs, I will. 34/70 is usually in my yeast stash, as it never fails, but I have also had very good experiences with Diamond, which has a slight residual sulphur note that really fits a good pilsner. I will try S23 on my next brew, so that I can add it to my weapons of choice.

[@tylerb6081]

You totally summed up my notes on kveik. I think during the kveik hype phase we all ignored the farm-esters they put off.

[@PatrickBuckles]

Don't hold back your feelings Mike. haha. I love it

[@reneaclark7689]

Lutra is great for mead, retains honey character and a preceived residual sweetness. Which is great for a mead but I can see how that could throw off a beer. I have used it a lot for different meads and beer and like it a lot, buy ferment at a higher temperature. I feel like the warmer you ferment it the cleaner it is.

[@mkeysou812]

I'm with double A Arn Anderson on this one - not a fan of kviek yeasts and love the novalager.

[@johndemmer3496]

Yeah I tried Lutra and did not like. To put it mildly. Looking at the comments below, and Mike's reaction LOL, looks like I'm not alone I need to try 34/70. Thanks again guys. I used a dry. Maybe it's about which particular strain?

[@Richard-ck3jl]

I also tried lutra kveik, at low temperatures, which is recommended to best mimic a lager. For me, it was nothing like a lager, at least in a munich helles. The flavor profile was like a clean ale, but nothing like a lager. I don't understand the hype, but maybe it could work like a lager in something with more hops, or something heavier and maltier, idk

[@BrewDudes]

Agreed. I think the whole kviek thing was just a desire to be on the new-ness train and we were convincing ourselves it worked well in all these oddball applications. You know where Kveik works best... in Scandinavian/Norwegian beers. Why aren't people trying to brew those with that yeast? You know what works really well in a German style lager... I'll let you guess. Cheers! -Mike

[@iflanzy]

I'll have to see if my homebrew shop has nova lager. I've done a few 34/70s that have turned out great but it might be nice to try something different

[@beachedwalrusau]

Lutra comes out closer to a kolsch then a lager. I definitely prefer and have had my best lagers with 34/70. Novalager is ok but if i was going to use a yeast from their range it's diamond.

[@gucci11887]

Great video and comparisons. I would love to see a comparison of the lager strains at different temperature. I always debate if it is worth the effort to keep the temp down when brewing with Novalager or 34/70.

[@BrewDudes]

Its not. Its certainly well documented that those two strains are very clean even at room temperatures. At homebrew con 2021 Fermentis showed very technical chemical analysis of finished ferments with W34/70 fermented at different temps and showed that as temperatures rise esters and sulfur compound don't. Nova was designed specifically to be clean at ale like temps. Cheers! -Mike

[@curtpick628]

I think Lutra has a green watermelon rind smell, and flavor. Great comparison

[@janetpiez3393]

Great stuff! I've had a "helles" made with Lutra at my lhbs. Neither they nor I was impressed. I thought Novalager is supposed to be a lager yeast without the wonderful "off" flavors like sulphur. Whatever. Does anyone worry that the traditional yeasts that taste so great will be pushed out by yeasts that ferment faster and are resistant to abuse? What do you guys think about s-23 vs 34/70?

[@wd6358]

I was very impressed with S-23 under pressure with temps in the 70's. According to my notes, 9 days in it was crystal clear and the beer tasted like it lagered for a month. Crisp, clean and bready. I've made some good brews with 34/70 as well under pressure.

[@skleice]

Not a fan of kveik in general. It is not clean IME and it usually has an acidic bite and slick/weird mouthfeel. 34/70 is solid! Gonna give novalager a try...

[@elj4176]

This has been my experience as well. Have used Oslo and one other kviek and dumped both. Have a pils with Novalager now and it tastes fine but didn't clear. Its been in the keg for a bit and is still hazy. My lagers with 34/70 usually clear very quickly.

[@sethb9687]

I haven't tried 34/70, but I like novalager so far. I've only fermented under pressure with it, but my most recent batch was by far my favorite beer I've brewed. I like kveik voss for ciders. That sour orange note goes well with cider imo, but I tend to like my ciders on the sour side

[@RK-hk2di]

Love you videos guys , but the big guy constantly sniffing the beers about 50 times a minute is incredibly distracting 😂

[@tourtree]

The most telling part of the video is how much more quickly you drank the 34/70 compared to the others, with the NovaLager following slightly behind.

[@BrewDudes]

I still think the 34/70 gives me what I have programmed my mind to accept as "good lager" flavor. I think Nova is awesome for lots of brew ideas, but I do perceive the end result slightly different between them. Maybe unconsciously were seeing that play out. Cheers! -Mike

[@malkocy]

I was planning to brew an IPL with the Lutra this week.. Should I go for it, or pass?

[@BrewDudes]

the fruitiness probably works really well for an IPL. Depends on what you want. The Lutra beer wasn't bad by any stretch. We are simply commenting on the reality that its not as flavorless as one might thing when fermented side by side. Cheers! -Mike

[@malkocy]

@@BrewDudes thanks for your reply. I will brew the ipl with Citra, Cascade and Mandarina Bavaria. İ was hoping the same as if the yeast would produce a fruity beer, then result wouldnt be so awkward. Expecting to get a clean lager beer but receive a fruity finish would be heartbreaking.

[@brewingbadTN]

It’s hard to beat 34/70

[@BrewDudes]

Agreed! Cheers! -Mike

[@tylerb6081]

Not a fan of Litra Kveik either. Its a clean ale kveik and that's it. It's NOT a near lager. Your glass levels is a tell all.

[@hhmminteresting]

From " Not really unpleasant", to, " Garbage". He did not get it also! 2angry of a beer taster ; )

[@virginia3168]

Judging beer for 23 years. I can say that those glasses are too full for any good consideration of aroma.

[@casey4412]

You can't get aroma as you drink the beer down?

[@johnmcmullan9741]

Sounds funny when people pronounce kveik as 'ka-vike'. Like a child learning to read. It's simply pronounced 'kvike'. Yeah, it's rubbish regardless. Just don't tell the Norwegians. They can't handle truth. Why food and beer is so 'great' in Norway, right? 😬