Carving the Kveik Ring, a Tool for Traditional Norwegian Beer Brewing
Class Details
- Schedule: April 17-19 (9:00 am-5:00 pm CT)
- Location: This was an in-person class held at Vesterheim Folk Art School.
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Instructor: Fred Livesay
- Level of Instruction: Intermediate to Advanced
Description
During this intensive three-day course, you will craft a yeast ring from wood. Students will refine their understanding of joinery and gain skills including sharpening, layout, knife use, and simple mortise and tenon work. They'll also gain a knowledge of wood grain and its expansion and contraction. Students will leave class with a yeast ring fit for a home-brewer or an eye-catching decoration.
Distilling was a regulated business in Scandinavian countries. But beer was commonly brewed and drunk from ale bowls on farms and estates for special occasions such as weddings, holidays, and commemorations.
A critical brewing tool was the kveik kranz, or yeast wreath, which was made of simple interconnected wooden blocks and had an impressive amount of surface area for capturing the yeast. The ring was historically used by Norwegian farmhouse brewers to harvest, dry, and reuse kveik yeast. The ring was dipped into active fermentation then hung to dry, preserving the yeast for future batches by rehydrating it in a new batch.
Good yeast was necessary for consistent tasting beer from batch to batch. From the Middle Ages, Scandinavian people crafted wooden yeast rings to replace earlier types of rings made from braided straw, bark, and twigs.
Decorah's local award-winning brewery, Pulpit Rock, has deep Norwegian connections and makes several beers using kveik yeast, which they find incredibly versatile. Lars Idar Waage wrote more about Pulpit Rock's Norwegian influence.
As part of this class, students will have a private tour of the Pulpit Rock Brewing Company brewery with brewer Bob Slack, and will have beer tastings both of Pulpit Rock's beer and several Norwegian beers that are not available for purchase in the US. Many thanks to Pulpit Rock Brewing Company for their collaboration on this class!
Enrollment Deadline
This course is no longer open for registration. Check out our current and upcoming classes for other opportunities to join!
Woodcarving classes are supported by a generous gift to the Vesterheim Annual Fund from the Eric and Joan Norgaard Charitable Trust
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